A SECOND CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Jim Rundle, a controversial appointment to the interim Racing Queensland Board, has resigned his position after just five days in office.

To many racing participants the selection of Rundle seemed to be incomprehensible given the combative role that he has played in the past in terms of his leadership of the army of trainers in the northern regions of the state who very publically, and at times not without a touch of aggression, took on the Racing Queensland establishment while also being confrontational with the bulk of the trainers in South East Queensland.

Like any ‘rebel’ leader, Rundle was a hero for his cause and he had, and still has, his support base.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the public liability argument that cemented the bad blood between north and south (seen by the north as the battlers versus the big stables) is of little consequence to the matter at hand.

The angst that still hangs over that battle field is very much a factor though which is why Rundle’s role would have been compromised from the very start.

In an already volatile environment this particular appointment needed to be someone who came without baggage, whose temperament for reconciliation matched a proven ability to make hard decisions in a manner whereby participants would be able to relate to and understand ... and therefore support solid decisions being made to bring racing back from the brink.

Did Rundle have any of these qualities? Quite possibly he did and there were certainly some who thought he at least deserved his chance to ‘have a go.’

His form suggested otherwise though and while form is never a definite indicator of a result, there was enough there to make participants more than a little apprehensive.

With Rundle’s swift demise, for a matter completely unrelated to racing ... posts in a facebook account ... many racing enthusiasts might feel they have dodged a bullet.

I have no issue with Rundle. I don’t know him well enough to pass any judgement and he certainly was an as entitled as anybody else to apply for the position and being selected can hardly be his fault.

I do take issue though with those charged with selecting the right candidate for the job.

Take the individual out of it now and go back to the credentials needed for somebody to succeed in this position for the ultimate good of racing.

Clearly, those in the position of power don’t have the same checklist mentioned earlier in this article ... and that is the scary part because if they don’t appoint somebody who has even half a chance of bringing the racing fraternity together than it is actually a pointless exercise.

Whatever his strong points, Rundle, rightly or wrongly, would clearly have kicked off the job from a negative starting position ... or, if you want another word for ‘negative’, an ‘impossible’ starting position might not be too far a stretch.

So, just as some racing participants feel they might have dodged a bullet, let’s hope the sound of the gunshot has at least woken up those who will make the substitute appointment.

The right candidate needs to not only meet specific criteria but, above all, needs to have the best all round ability to cope with and manage the current situation in racing in Queensland.

That is no easy selection task ... but this ‘false start’ means the powers that be have a second chance to get it right.