THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - TRAINERS ADDING VALUE TO THE QUEENSLAND RACING PRODUCT

By Graham Potter | Sunday, September 4, 2016

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

The Sunshine Coast can take another bow for its contribution to racing in Queensland.

Not only is the Corbold Park track in a class of its own in South East Queensland ... we all know how many times it has been the ‘go to’ track when other racing surfaces or schedules found trouble elsewhere ... but it is now also the catalyst for a seemingly new trend whereby it has started to attract trainers from overseas and interstate to settle in the region, thus bringing added value to the racing product in the South East corner of the state.

John Symons and Sheila Laxon, both Group 1 winning trainers in their own right, have applied for their Queensland co-trainers license after deciding to settle permanently in the Sunshine State.

Laxon famously won the Caulfield Cup / Melbourne Cup double with Ethereal while Symons sent out Bel Esprit to win both the Blue Diamond Stakes and the Doomben 10 000.

Confirmation of their permanent presence comes on the back of the move of another Group 1 winning trainer David Vandyke who also recently relocated to the Sunshine Coast.

These ‘imports’ are of particular significance not only for the quality of expertise they bring but also because their arrival flies in the face of the theory that trainers will be leaving Queensland ... not arriving ... because of the recent decrease in prize money.

The negative movement of traffic will certainly happen to a degree, but while the stakes on offer south of the border might be tempting there are certainly no easy pickings there and for the majority discretion has so far proved to be the better part of valour.

Will others follow ... as Symons and Laxon followed Vandyke’s lead ... and head to Queensland?

‘Unlikely’ the sceptics will say, but then again nobody would have predicted that three Group 1 trainers would have settled in the area in the past few months.

From the lifestyle to the weather ... from the training facilities to the racing surface, it is obviously proving to be an attractive option.

What happened next remains to be seen but the fact remains that the benefits of racing at the Sunshine Coast is certainly getting its story out there and that can only be a good thing.

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It would be remiss of me, on the back this week’s Racing Disciplinary Board’s decision, not revisit the fact that racing’s justice system needs an entire revamp if it is ever to achieve what it sets out to do.

On Friday Sunshine Coast based trainer Darryl Hansen won his appeal against a nine month disqualification, ELEVEN MONTHS after the fact.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of his and other individual cases which have travelled a similar route, the fact is that such an unacceptable delay in finalising any case can arguably actually defy justice.

Why ... because there is certainly no ‘natural justice’ ... a much vaunted ideal ... for somebody who carries the stigma of an accusation for a lengthy period of time, particular if any charge ultimately cannot be sustained.

Damage can be caused to personal standing and professional reputation which could prove irreparable.

There has got to be a better way!

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