IT'S OFFICIAL - THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 3, 2022

It’s official. The world has gone mad!

A particular huge charity windfall, courtesy of a ten percent share from the Golden Eagle winner’s prize-money, as dictated by the official conditions of the race, has had to be redirected after being knocked back by the charity originally selected by the winning owners to be beneficiary.

And it’s a $520 000 donation we are talking about … hardly chump change!

As reported on 7News, the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland politely declined the offer of co-owner Mark Chittick, who shares ownership of the Golden Eagle winner I Wish I Win with trainer Peter Moody.

“I couldn’t believe it, and now that is $520,000 which will never come to New Zealand and help Kiwi kids,” Chittick reportedly told the NZ Herald.

On making his approach, as described by Chittick when speaking to Newstalk ZB, he was first told by Starship that they would get back to him.

You can only imagine how that must have taken the wind out of Chittick’s sails, but the final response, when it came, delivered an even more astounding outcome.

“They came back after and said, ‘thank you very much for thinking of us and it’s a wonderful gesture but sorry, we can’t take donations that are involved in a sport around gambling.’ said Chittick.

Chittick’s ‘I don’t believe it’ comment seems an understatement. It was a decision which certainly would have left most people incredulous.

Racing, so often maligned by the uninitiated, is already always doing a massive amount of good for communities through its taxations dollars which help go to improve many walks of life for the man in the street.

Little do most of them know how their lives will be impacted if there was no income from racing for the state governments but, that aside, when racing dictates a voluntary, unforced and dedicated desire to give back to the community itself, as in this case in point, for others to get on their high horses seems a bit much.

That said, the Starship Children’s Hospital Board of course have a right to make their own decisions as they see fit … and they did provide their response to the situation.

Aisha Daji Punga, Chief Executive of the Starship Foundation, speaking to the NZ Herald, said the offer was considered, but cited ‘existing partnership obligations’ as something that had been taken into account.

“The Starship Foundation is delighted to be the beneficiary of donations from individuals, clubs and organisations - donations which make a very real difference for children.

“Careful consideration is always given to Starship’s involvement in events and other initiatives where there is an intention to support it and its work.

“In this instance, we were unable to be the nominated charity due to these considerations.”

Some of the anti-racing brigade will probably be applauding their stance … but to what end?

Others will be lamenting a lost opportunity, but the bottom line is that seemingly the only losers here, effectively, are the children … who are caught in the middle of the argument … and the services supplied to them which surely would have benefitted by such an influx of funds.

After a discussion between Chittick and Moody, the $520 000 donation has now been redirected to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of NSW where it will play an important part in the good work that the Foundation does … which, thankfully, is far removed from, what some would be call, petty arguments that are difficult to fathom.

STORY UPDATE: (November 4)

A CHANGE OF TACK

STARSHIP FOUNDATION ISSUES FRESH PRESS RELEASE

Following the backlash surrounding the Starship Foundation’s reported rejection of a substantial donation (see separate story), Starship Foundation's CEO Aisha Daji Punga has issued a second statement to 1News to try and clarify the situation … now suggesting that it was time constraints that had torpedoed the deal and not the ‘partnership obligations’ she had referred to previously.

The joint statement from the Starship Foundation and Waikato Stud (Mark Chittick) reads:

"The Starship Foundation welcomes donations from gaming societies and the horse racing industry, and has long been the grateful beneficiary of donations of this nature. Donations are the life-blood of the Starship Foundation and every single dollar enables Starship Children's Hospital to deliver world-class healthcare for children.

"Mark Chittick's offer to be involved with and become the potential beneficiary of the charity component of the Golden Eagle Race, came in at 3pm and required us to make a rapid decision by close of business the same day. As with any charity, due diligence is an essential part of our responsibility to accept donations. In this instance, considerations around the size and off-shore nature of the donation regrettably could not be resolved within this timeframe.

"We are tremendously disappointed that we could not meet the deadline and become the beneficiary of this incredibly generous donation. If we had had more time, the decision may very well have been different.

"We have spoken directly to Mark this afternoon and he too is disappointed at the outcome, but acknowledges there were time pressures involved. He would have loved to be involved in the Golden Eagle with the Starship Foundation as the beneficiary and he remains a huge supporter of the incredible work the Hospital does for children and families in need," the statement said.

"Both the Starship Foundation and Waikato Stud have a huge amount of respect for each other’s work and industries and intend to work together to build a partnership in the future.”