This G1 3200m drew a very ordinary field and was one of the lowest rated runnings of this, of which there have been many this century in particular, if not the lowest of all time. It is not a G1 race anymore and nowhere near it today whatsoever. The first seven over the line all under substantial whipping were covered by a length and a half and all seemed to be going up and down on the same spot. The winner Ladies First carrying 54kg was wide in the midfield for the first 1200m and then went forward a lap out to get over and cover to be fourth the outer at the halfway mark. She then moved into third turning for home and was a close third with 150m to go before under a very hard ride got in the bob on the line. You can count on the replay she was hit with the whip sixteen times without a break in stroke the final 100m and ended up scoring by a nostril flare in 3:22.17. A counter could appear on YouTube to highlight and count and highlight each stroke with the whip it was that apparent to all who saw the race to win a 3200m event by a lip over the last 100m. After a tough run the mare dug deeper and she will sleep well and hopefully comes up next season as that was a brutal gut buster for a 5yo mare. It was her ninth win from sixteen starts so she knows what the winning post is for and can swim too so has many string to the earning bow. Today was her first attempt at G1 (or G2 for that matter) and she seemed to handle the firmer footing many other stables used as an excuse for defeat today over the entire card. This mare has won six of seven runs on heavy ground and that includes a 1400m in almost 1:33, a mile win in almost 1:48 and an 1800m win in almost 1:59, so those are bog like track times. Five To Midnight in at a luxurious 56kg got beaten the smallest amount possible after a soft run fourth then sixth the inner and getting out at the right time near the home turn. He led narrowly near the line but got outbobbed and when bettors find out he carried 56.5kg (half a kilo overweight) then the disappointment will be palpable. It stands to reason if half a kilo matters at G1 over sprint and mile distances and can be the difference between victory and defeat then you can bet the bank that over 3200m it is magnified many times more. It should not happen or be allowed as G1 is the pinnacle and one rider doing it (he was overweight by the same amount in the G1 Telegraph on Heroic Valour when it ran a close up fifth) then a new rule needs to come in now. What protection do bettors get and the stipes are paid to look after them whether it be on the day or earlier in the week when fixed odds futures are taken. It is alright for stables and owners to say they will accept half a kilo overweight but it is absurd that bettors have no protection and their dollars are the lifeblood of the sport. One does not exist without the other and stakemoney comes from betting, so if racing for ribbons and rugs only then being overweight does not matter but it does when the funding depends on the punter. You do not protect the bettor properly at the peril of a sport or business. Half a kilo is bad enough in ordinary races but in a handicap event at G1 it is paramount and defeats the purpose of having weights in a race and everything should be WFA or set weights then done by a set in stone template. Wildflower was massive in defeat when third beaten a nose and a short neck and her run was bigger than the winner, as she was tardy and settled second last the outer but then literally sprinted around the field a lap out and was four-wide before getting over one-off outside the leader at the halfway point. She gave the winner cover thereafter and while that mare ambled forward wide when the pace was a crawl, this mare was asked to explode around the field. The 5yo mare then moved alongside the leader near the home turn and led turning in with a go for the gold movement over 400m out. She was fighting them all of and was only headed the final 10m in a monumental performance. The most staggering thing to come out of the race was in the stipes report, as her rider got fined $800 for excessive use of the whip on the mare prior to the 100m mark. Now a racing person can count the whip strokes on the winner the final 100m and nothing was done nor any fine or suspension imposed, so it has to be a poor look for the sport to non-racing people. It looks ludicrous for the third finisher, a 5yo mare, to see the rider fined heavily for over-use of the whip up to the final 100m basically but the rider of the winner, also a 5yo mare, to get no fine or suspension. Rewatch the final 100m and count out loud the whip strokes on the winner as they sixteen in a row. A 3200m is extreme for racing in New Zealand and the final 100m is when both man and horse are straining and giving it all to win but the penalties for one rider over another separated by a nose and a short neck is ridiculous and makes the sport poorer. When something flies in the face of logic it almost always is a glaring howler and needing clarification as to why it happened and if this is in fact the rule, so everyone else will then know what can be done the final 100m of any race let alone a two-miler. The rider of the runner up just to make it a mind-boggling race report was fined $500 for weighing out in different boots (gear change is a massive a no-no in this sport), so it was all happening in this G1 race and clubs and Boards wonder why turnover is not increasing! Alinko Prince ran on gamely the inside from after settling well back the inner and Zacada ran on well too from third last mostly. Charles Road probably would have won but for being behind the wrong runners and losing his position badly. He was put in the race early and second the outer then once crossed by a few at the halfway mark continued to be pushed back in the middle column and was in fact held up and eleventh across the top. He turned for home fifteenth and ran on well to be sixth beaten less than a length and a half, so that loss of many lengths was crucial. Comin' through ran on from eighth or ninth to be close up too. Excalibur battled on okay down the outer from well back and can only get better with another year on him. Magic Chai ran on fairly down the outer from last early and was beaten just under six lengths like Show The World that too battled on from well back the inner. Sampson once pushed wide midrace was always going to struggle and the 8yo finished eleventh beaten just under eight lengths. Diesel was a clear leader and headed turning for home. Araldo Junior never got into the race while Von Tunzelman was weak the run home. Smedley at $150 got well back and wide so to be beaten less than ten lengths was not too bad as he dropped out last across the top. Kaharau after trailing the leaders stopped to finish second last beaten over eleven lengths and Toni May, a five win Queenslander, stopped to finish a distant last after settling midfield the outer. This is likely to be the lowest rating Auckland Cup perhaps of all time and certainly this century as no runner in the race was locally rated anywhere near 100 points and many of them were given too high numbers anyway as well. The field today was as far away from G1 standard as you can imagine and would struggle to be a G3 in Australia and is maybe on a par with a Brisbane or Adelaide or Perth Cup or perhaps lower and of a Hobart Cup level. A moratorium should not prevent this race being downgraded as it is not going to get any stronger in five years with the stamina breed not existing in New Zealand any more. The two runners that came over from Australia showed the respect has gone completely from the race in reality. An old well travelled gelding in Araldo Junior that last won in a Listed race at the Sunshine Coast over 3200m in July last year and a 5yo mare that last won a race in Benchmark 75 (six or more classes inferior to G1) at the Sunshine Coast in December. The 2018 race will be more remembered for the whip usage and overweight and boots change and overland outings regarding two of the first three over the line than the small margins between them.