This G1 mile under WFA conditions was held on an actual dry track, a rare thing indeed this season in particular at the pinnacle level for thoroughbred gallopers. The race was transferred from Otaki due to that track not being of an acceptable standard to the Hastings venue and this helped some (the winner definitely) and hindered others. This race used to be at 1400m and has had some date changes and struggles to hold its credibility plus was moved up to a mile in 2006 and this is the first time since it has been raced at another venue. When a 1400m race in 2004 it was raced at Hastings and in 2001 and 2001 was raced at Trentham. The field today was completely exposed once Bonneval was scratched and was an ordinary field on paper and as has been the norm all season something else had a turn at winning. Instead of old gallopers or old handicappers winning at G1 under WFA, which alarmingly has been prevalent this season and is becoming a worrying trend, at least a 4yo mare won today in Devise. She was placed three times behind Bonneval last season and always looked like being a shy winner and a professional placegetter but good things come to those that wait or cherry pick. Today she struck the right weak field on a track she had never been out of the money on and after a great run fifth the outer was jogging across the top. Once moved up fourth and four-wide turning for home she started to pick off her rivals gradually and led at the 100m before winning by half a length in 1:34.30. The time looking at all of this event historically held at a mile is mediocre and the sixth best only but being held at Hastings is key because that is a decent mile time when the track record is 1:33.60 set in 1998 when dry tracks were pursued with real vigour, purpose and intent. Devise was winning her fourth race in fourteen starts and obviously her first G1 success and interestingly all her victories so far have come at either 1400m or 1600m. Consensus, one of just three mares in the field, sat outside the leader and took the front at the 200m but could not repel the winner but the 6yo fought gamely. She has not won a race for over a year now it must be highlighted. Travimyfried showed with a game third that the G1 WFA ranks in New Zealand are at an all time low. The 5yo gelding is a four-race winner that up until last December was a Ratings 85 galloper then has been entered since in Open Class, where the ranks are thin in numbers and on actual ability depth. Incredibly he has in those four runs since now finished fourth, a close up third at G3 under set weights and penalties, a third at G3 under Handicap conditions and now has a third at G1 under WFA. To emphasize the depth is not in New Zealand anymore at WFA he was wide and working early before slotting in third or fourth then poked though to third at the 100m and was beaten a length and three-quarters. Where they go now with this 5yo gelding is anyone’s guess as suddenly he is very high in all races at the weights and now may have to tackle WFA only or find a race where he can get a full claim. Brilliant Shine after a distant G1 third at his last start at WFA, when he is only a handicapper, led up and finished fourth to once again expose the staggering lack of WFA depth in New Zealand. Start Wondering, a triple G1 winner since coming back to New Zealand after being a midweek type or Saturday lower grades only for Chris Waller in Sydney, continued his up and down all over the place season with a fifth beaten almost four and a half lengths. He was trapped out back and wide throughout and came forward deep to reach sixth turning for home but had no ping left unsurprisingly. His hit and miss campaign punctuates the current New Zealand sprinter-miler depth and race results all season as nothing is able to dominate due to footing provided, track bias and of course the biggest lacking ingredient actual ability. Shadows Cast fought on fairly for sixth beaten almost five lengths but he is a handicapper only while Savvy Dreams ran on but her get back racing pattern is a concern the way most New Zealand tracks are presented at the moment. Beefeater was next home but is a handicapper only and then came Scapolo that is an 8yo now and his last three wins which came over the last season and a half have been on heavy footing. Authentic Paddy has had some deadest gutbusters of late and seems to be going around for the sake of it sadly. Four runs ago he led up and walked and won a G1 at WFA over 2000m at Ellerslie on a dreadfully presented and biased track. Since in three runs he has finished tenth at G3, eleventh at G3 and now tenth at G1 and incredibly has not led up or being able to in all these failures and that is a poor look indeed for any bettors trying to do New Zealand form. Ronchi was slow out as usual and last away and was there the whole race before passing a couple of tired ones and the Stipes may need to protect the bettors with this runner sooner rather than later. He has been slow out in his last six runs in a row so is not giving his backers a fair chance and it is hard to win if giving away starts to all opposition each time especially at Group level, which all of those six runs have been at. Splurge staggering started third favourite at $10 and ran a shocker plus is not a G1 horse at WFA so this is more proof of how little depth this race really had across the board. Nymph Monte ran last after being a stayer fresh up. The different winners every time this season at G1 at WFA show there is no depth whatsoever and anything can win on any given day depending on the footing presented and manmade bias. When the same pool of runners in general are having turns then it is very safe to assume they all cannot be anything special as history is yet to record any racing jurisdiction having this many good ones ever in the same season. This ended up one of the weaker G1 races this season, of which there has been a seemingly endless entrée served and no main dish appearing, but the irony is if Bonneval had run things could or would have changed. It is hard to accept that in the last two G1 WFA races in New Zealand that Brilliant Shine and now Travimyfriend finished third in them when clearly handicappers only. Two of the three legs of the Hawke's Bay Triple Crown in the Spring were won by 8yo and 7yo handicapper geldings and Close up almost won the second leg too. The track was never dry once on all three days at the Bay and the last leg was delayed by fifteen days due to the track being slippery and dangerous, so it has been a season of over-watering tracks and some downright silly chain of manmade events. There are still a few more G1 races left to run this season so it is impossible to therefore state everything has been seen and happened that could go possibly go wrong or is borderline farcical yet. The above is the definition of not knowing whether to laugh or cry for what is supposed to be the pinnacle of the sport and the pedestal everyone aspires to reach and be put up on.