'It's a matter of urgency' - auctioneer chairman calls for overhaul of Pattern in Australia after black-type debacle

The Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers (Sita) has expressed its disappointment that Australia has gone its own way in having no black-type committee and warned the global thoroughbred community was “not happy” with the country’s grading debacle.

Sita revealed it wrote to Racing Australia (RA) on Friday to express its concerns over the Australian black-type situation. ANZ Bloodstock News understands the Asian Pattern Committee (APC) also emailed a strongly worded letter to RA at the weekend to express its dissatisfaction.

Australia is believed to have had no races downgraded for 12 years and Sita chairman Jonathan D’Arcy, also a long-term auctioneer at Australian sales house Inglis, believes a Pattern overhaul is required.

D’Arcy told ANZ Bloodstock News: “The international community is not happy with the fact no one’s looking at Australian Group and Listed races and upgrading them and downgrading them as we see fit.

“Australia needs to have an overhaul of our Pattern. Races that deserve black type need to be recognised, and races that are not reaching the benchmarks set around the world with ratings need to be downgraded.

“We need to do that as a matter of urgency. We need a panel of people who have skin in the game, who understand how this system works.”

It also emerged on Monday that Racing Australia appears to have contravened ground rules set down by the APC in listing the 12 races in New South Wales as upgraded – despite having no recognition internationally.

A further 56 upgrades had been planned across other states, but these have now been put on hold amid the continuing storm over the issue.

Asked if the 12 New South Wales races were in fact upgraded, D’Arcy said: “At this point in time they are not, because they haven’t been notified to us. They have to be notified to IPRAC [International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee] and Sita before you can say they’re recognised in catalogues around the world.

“There are a series of ground rules and they have to be taken as a sum of a total, not just pick out a certain line in the ground rules that they think they might have followed.

“Racing Australia would be well aware of the full gamut of those ground rules and they should be following them.”

With the deadline looming next week for publication of pedigrees for January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale catalogue, uncertainty over Australia’s black-type Pattern is set to affect two more races at Randwick on Saturday in The Invitation and the Five Diamonds Prelude.

For complete coverage of racing and bloodstock in Australia and New Zealand, download ANZ Bloodstock News every day

Read more . . .

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