THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: LET'S JUST ENJOY THIS SPECIAL TIME IN THE RACING CALENDAR

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 21, 2017

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.

Sydney racing administrators are likely to have withdrawal symptoms this weekend.

After literally months and months of hyping up The Everest, their new boy on the block, Sydney will now take a back seat as Melbourne sweeps into centre stage with the Caulfield Cup ... and, with the likes of the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup, amongst others, to follow that is firmly where the focus will stay.

Racing New South Wales can be proud of what they achieved with the first running of The Everest last weekend.

All of those concerned, from the highly passionate CEO ... to the administrators and officials of the Australian Turf Club ... to the myriad of foot soldiers buzzing around below executive level who helped make it all happen, the web of success was well woven.

Trying to quantify the possible long term success of The Everest at this early stage is a foolish exercise.

It is simply too early to do so.

The critical point of arrival will only be ascertained when current slot holders take up the option to renew their positions after the first three year cycle ... or not, and, if they don’t, how easy or difficult it will be to find their replacements.

That’s an discussion for another time. For now it is an initial success that NSW should enjoy it. Indeed a celebration would not be out of order ... but ... it should be done with a measure of humility and good judgement.

It is important that Racing NSW does not start believing its own press. That’s where humility comes in. Good judgement is not trying to compare The Everest to something where it is going to come second ... like the Melbourne Cup.

That would only take the gloss off New South Wales’ achievement so why even go there!

Let's forget about dissecting things for once and just enjoy it all ... afterall, it is a very special time in the racing calendar.