RODLEY: I was sort of convinced, more than anything. There were a few people who were rallying for it. I spoke to the previous four editors to see if it could work, and they all suggested that I didn’t do it, ha ha. I just did some numbers. I wanted it to pay for my time. It’s not super lucrative or anything but I’m pretty proud of it, and it’s been well received.
Is it important the racing industry has things like the annual to sort of show it is still proud of what it has to offer?
Yeah, absolutely. This has been a really historical book. You’ve got all these records going back 50 years but it didn’t come out the past two years. So it’s nice to get it going again so people can have the resource at their fingertips.
When did you get bitten by the racing bug?
My dad used to love to watch the Melbourne Cup. I went to the races a few times as a kid and just loved it. The numbers, the horses, the atmosphere — and that hasn’t really changed. I also just really love how dedicated jockeys are to their task, and how mentally tough they are.
What is your journalism/broadcasting career history in a nutshell?
I left the Aoraki journalism course in 1997 and and went to the Ashburton Guardian, where about a quarter of my role was racing. Then I went to the Taranaki Daily News. Got married and went overseas and worked for a news agency out of Edinburgh. Came back to be Wellington bureau chief at Sunday News. then I approached Trackside and asked them to give me a yell if something came up. I was a terrible broadcaster to start with . At the same time, my dream job — racing editor at the Waikato Times — came up, and I got that. Now I’ve basically been freelance and broadcasting since about 2016.
And you’ve been a jockey agent as well, am I right?
Yeah, I think I started in about 2006 with Michael Walker. Won premierships and Group 1 races with him. At one point, I had five jockeys at once. But I’m down to two at the moment — Opie Bosson and Michael McNab. I picked up premierships with Lisa Allpress, and apprentice premierships with Rory Hutchings. And I’ve won 64 group 1 races as an agent, mainly through Opie.
He’s just a natural. He’s so humble and easygoing with it, and nothing really gets to him. He has the incredible instinct of being able to present a horse at the right time. He’s just so determined to win. Incredible jockey — he’d be the best I’ve seen outside James McDonald.
You got very excited about Opie winning the Australian Derby in 2015. The clip of you in the studio absolutely losing your mind was brilliant. What was it like to go viral, as the kids say?
Hah. It was immensely embarrassing. My kids never let me forget about it. I still can’t really watch the clip. It was an amazingly exciting moment at the time, and a $2million race, so there was a bit of a payday. But it was just about being part of a big moment in Opie’s career.
Is it true you are a part-owner of a Kentucky Derby winner?
There were five blokes, high school mates, who were just taking little ownership shares in various horses. We kept the shares very small. At one point, I think we had interests in 56 horses, but never anything bigger than a 2% share. One of the guys saw this opportunity in the States. Surprise, surprise, the horse — Authentic — kicked on and we won a Kentucky Derby. It was surreal. I think we’ve got a ten-thousandth of the horse each, so it’s next to nothing. But we are co-owners of a Kentucky Derby winner and no-one can take that away from us. He also won the Breeders Cup Classic and was named American horse of the year. He had his first foal last week, so we’re also shareholders in his stallion career.
How would you describe the state of New Zealand racing in 2022?
Because of the Covid situation, we have seen people with more discretionary spending, so overseas travel is off and we have seen a lot more punting. The turnover over the past 18 months has been through the roof. The TAB, on the point of crumbling, has had this great resurgence. It’s encouraging to see stake money going up. So it’s had some upside. The worst part is we’ve lost a lot of good horses to Australia. Our 3yr-old races, especially, aren’t as strong because horses that might have had a New Zealand base, and targeted some races in Australia and come home, have gone over there and not come back.
He’s really talented. He’s also unbelievably professional. He is so thorough with everything he does, and he’s got a great eye for a horse. He’s got that great Te Akau operation behind him, so he’s got a leg up, but he’s just a great horseman. Probably the best we’ve seen in 100 years.
Favourite race day?
It’s always been Derby Day, but the Karaka Million is fast creeping up. Just the hype and the atmosphere, and the opportunity to be racing for a million.
All-time favourite horse?
Authentic has to be the best. But up there would be Rough Habit. He was a real favourite.
Current horse you rate?
This Dynastic, who won the Karaka Million on Saturday, looks like a really exciting horse. Really promising 2yr-old. And Entriviere, who won the Railway. She got beaten in the Telegraph but she has got real potential.
Any major racing event on the bucket list?
Maybe the Kentucky Derby. But the beauty of what I’ve done is I’ve covered something like nine Melbourne Cups, and that’s still the absolute peak.
I know the answer to this question — do you have links to Otago?
Yep. I tried chasing a rugby career, and ended up boarding with some family friends in Alexandra. I picked fruit for a while there. Then I headed to Oamaru and played footy for Old Boys. I think I played two games for North Otago, and one was on Carisbrook. It was the curtain-raiser to a Highlanders game. That was pretty cool.
