The winner Who Shot Thebarman was very well weighted in the race at 52.5kg considering he had bolted in at G2 this same track prior with 53.5kg. The more than off track on the day ensured the times were quite substantially poor with even a very strong mares race at G3 (more depth in this race than any other on the card including this the Cup) ran 1:24.77 for 1400m worryingly. The winning time was 3:25.28 and since 2006, when this race was moved to a midweek March date from New Years Day (where it had the gravitas of a G1 race for generations that did not need changing as it was not broken), this is the seventh worst time in nine runnings. Only the back-to-back Cup winner Prize Lady in 2008 on a bog running 3:35.09 and Shez Sinsational in 2012 clocking 3:25.35 have been slower victors. The date move has weakened the Auckland Cup dramatically and it has not been a true G1 for a while now plus it has caused the Wellington Cup (also with many generations of G1 3200m glory) to become an embarrassing G2 2400m lead up for Ellerslie now. No winner of the Auckland Cup this century has ever looked near Melbourne Cup strength and you need to go back to 1998 and Jezabeel, which won the great race that same year. The sheer New Zealand handicapping farce in recent years was never more exposed than the 2014 Auckland Cup and the race should be downgraded or moved back to New Years Day to save face. The biggest example of how this field was rated so poorly and handicapped inexplicably badly is that the topweight on 59kg was Travolta and he has never won at better than Listed level. Today he ran an honest fourth beaten six lengths and gave the winner 6.5kg, which is laughable (ever heard of a Listed winner giving a G2 winner 6.5kg in a handicap?) It should be reiterated again the winner was an easy G2 winner at Ellerslie prior to winning today and dropped 1kg to make it even more hilarious. The 2014 clear topweight in the Auckland Cup at G1 was a Listed winner at 59kg and while he is tough and consistent he is no star. It defies belief how Travolta got such a weight and warrants an inquiry in itself as Australian trained runners will stop coming. They finished second and fourth today with runners that are no stars. Who Shot Thebarman can swim so any rain on the day wherever he runs next is a plus and if he can settle in the running then has stamina in spades. His trainer Mark Oulaghan is very astute and if you are good at producing jumpers then you are more than capable at bringing on a stayer to the top. It was a first Auckland Cup not just for the trainer but also rider Matt Cameron, who did not mind sitting wide for most of the race. Who Shot thebarman was having just his ninth start today and now has won six races (both directions) but more impressively on good, dead, slow and heavy footing. He could well end up in several years the best jumper Oulaghan has ever had but he will not be quoted on that whilst winning flat races at Group level with the 5yo gelding! Expect to see him defend the crown in 2015 but surely the handicapper (s) will have changed by then or at least kept it real in regard to competently weighting a G1 race. Celtic Prince was a Benchmark 76 winner two starts ago and had the same book weight as the winner, an easy G2 winner prior, which again suggests the handicapping has jumped the shark in New Zealand. So midweek at Sydney is the equivalent of a G2 winner in the current handicapper (s) judgement? It was a big effort from the back by the visitor and he kept coming hard. More Than Sacred was a tad stiff in losing her place badly and she came home strongly to suggest the 4yo mare has a Cups future here at home. Craig Grylls rode her and he has been in super G1 form this year. Travolta as mentioned was brave and he should go back to Sydney and do well if fairly weighted. Black Stockings the lone South Island trained runner ran on well the final bit and did the mainland proud. Saint Kitt was sound enough and even Postmans Daughter did okay down the outer from the rear. Surely after racing at every trip possible on the flat and often up and down distances like a yoyo at times Postmans Daughter will not have a crack over the fences? Now that would be cow-cockiness beyond belief! Sworntoperfection and Quest were okay with the former a 4yo mare like the third finisher. There were some massive failures in the race but mostly though not being good enough or not ever being a stamina type. Three of the most inexperienced runners in the field formed the trifecta with some that had less than twenty starts lifetime also finishing sixth and eighth. Mares have won this race five times this century so it is one G1 race they are not dominating at the moment. The fastest time the race was run and won in since a move to March midweek is by the jumper Titch that clocked 3:17.02 so he really did outstay them. The record of winners afterwards is not that great since the move to midweek March and in fact could be categorized as disastrous seeing so many have failed to fire at all. There was thirty-eight lengths between the first and last finisher across the line and in Chaparrone you had the runner up in the race last year to make a mockery of the Auckland Cup form worth. The odds of anything in this being a first Tuesday in Flemington winner this spring (unless rain came to level the playing/swimming field) are the same as winning Triple Trio when you must take each single combination for the minimum of a dollar!