Big Day Out
It was the Big Day Out today of the equine kind … particularly if you were a Wellingtonian.
The Wellington Cup has become more than just a race – it’s become a real event. People who wouldn’t know which end of the horse to pat and which end of the horse to avoid pile up in masses to go to Cup Day.
One of the intriguing aspects of the day is the way in which sponsorship has been extended.
If you didn’t already know it, the colours (”silks”) worn by the jockey on a particular course have specific relevance. It’s not like the jockey gets up and decides what they want to wear that particular day!
The silks are either the colours worn by horses trained by a particular trainer or owned by a particular owner or group of owners. For example, Sunline’s famous colours are worn by all the McKee-trained horses. You get the picture.
It’s a big deal for an owner or trainer to win a big race like the Wellington Cup and see their colours first cross the line.
Which makes it an even bigger deal that as part of the sponsorship of the race, Dulux gets to prepare a set of colours based on their paints. So the poor owner pays the bills, gets their horse into the race, but doesn’t get to see their colours go round the track.
To be francis, most owners will view any sponsorship deal the size of the Dulux one as good for racing and there seems to have been no real negative reaction to this innovative move.
But pity the race commentator. Guess how he calls the horses? Based on the colours used by the jockey … in every race except one.
And if you saw the race, what a ride on Envoy by Grant Cooksley … from first to last in a phenomenal effort (as said about Kiwi in THAT Melbourne Cup win).
