The G3 2100m Open Handicap saw four runners cross the line with just half a length between them in an all run on finish. The field contained many of the usual suspects that go around in most if not all the late Spring, entire Summer and early Autumn Cups. The lack of stamina depth in New Zealand has been alarming for many years and this season in particular looks grim with the G3 NZ Cup last week only able to draw a dozen runners and it had no serious depth whatsoever. It is making the G3 Wellington Cup look dubious already and the Auckland Cup that has retained its G1 status by the strangest moratorium protecting it until 2020 that makes no sense whatsoever If you have stopped breeding stayers then a 3200m race protected until 2020 seems pointless and the fields will keep being shockers as they have been for quite a while and the move from New Years Day to a risky weather month of March has been an unmitigated disaster. The 2018 Auckland Cup is looking as weak as ever now as the stayer depth has not been replenished for a long time and too many very old types and jumpers are attracted to be kept in work for it. Maygrove won this under equal topweight of 60kg and the Australian bred ironically got a soft run sixth the inside and worked off near the home turn before driving through to lead at the 350m He got headed narrowly at the 200m but fought back to lead at the 100m and won by a short head in the end in 2:10.13, which is an average time at best for the race. It was the for the now 7yo his ninth win in forty-eight starts and of those two have come at G2, one at G3 and two at Listed level. His two attempts at G1 saw an eighth in the 2014 NZ Derby and an eighth at WFA earlier this year over 2000m. Twenty-seven of his starts have come at Group or Listed grade and incredibly in Australia he has never done better than fourth (three times at G3) and once at Listed level showing his actual limitations. Five To Midnight had every conceivable chance from fifth the outer and was certainly given a gift weight in this of 57kg, as he had blown away Maygrove by two lengths in April at Listed level with this same 3kg pull. He was placed or thereabouts in almost every Cup run over Summer last season and will follow that same path again meeting many of his usual competitors once again. Promise To Reign, also Australian bred to highlight where in fact are the New Zealand bred stayers these days, settled ninth and then surged quickly the run home to take a narrow lead at the 200m. She looked set to win but being just a one-win mare in twenty starts had forgotten how to win and ended up third beaten a short head and a short head. The now 5yo mare won her maiden as a 3yo back in January of 2016 so would not know where to go for the winners stall after such a long drought. Francis Drake, a well tried 7yo gelding, ran home strongly for fourth from eleventh on settling and his effort alone showed the lack of depth as he is a left-hander. Six of his seven wins have come left-handed and his lone clockwise win came at Ruakaka against Benchmark 85. He has now had five runs at Blacktype level with the fourth today at G3 his best ever effort showing the depth is getting worse rather than this older horse getting better. Zambezi Warrior was fifth beaten just under three lengths but the usual closer was ridden up outside the leader and that was a tempo map howler. He has in the main been a closer and is definitely best ridden with some cover as can unleash saved for one shot at them. Alinko Prince ran on okay from last after being crowded early and the 6yo is starting to beat the handicapper as had just 54kg in this. He was a Listed winner under 57kg earlier this year and prior to today had finished second to Maygrove at Listed level. Uabasso, a two-win galloper, was well out of his grade but whacked away for seventh and Youwantmore that has been found out every time in an Open Handicap finished eighth. Jiayuguan, a 7yo mare that ran third in this last year, was one-batting the run home to finish ninth. The leader Saint Emilion, the equal topweight and stablemate of the winner, stopped the run home and has not won a race for over a year and that was in fact the last time he paid a dividend too. Mangaroa Flo Jo is a wet tracker and Big Dreamer cannot stay while Pacorus had a gutbuster wide sixth then third the whole way and will sleep well. This was not a strong field at all and contained many of the usual suspects that go around every season plus a few that had no right to get a start at this level and either are wet trackers or cannot really stay anyway. If this is the level of stayer plus a few additions that will make up the basis of the G3 Wellington Cup (20th January) and G1 Auckland Cup (10th March) next year then both races are up for grabs surely. Where are the New Zealand bred stayers these days and the same questions are being asked now about WFA and sprinting? Breeding the 3yo Derby and Oaks winners never guarantees stayers whatsoever as the vast majority of them are not actual stayers or of G1 quality when 4yos and meeting older horses. The moratorium seems precisely the wrong thing to do as no New Zealand trainer runner appeared in the Melbourne Cup this year and that is becoming a trend while only a couple of New Zealand bred older runners ran and poorly plus there has been years when none ran quite incredibly. A dose of stamina reality needs to happen and the three major 3200m Cups in New Zealand (NZ, Wellington and Auckland) should all be G3 and on a par with the Adelaide Cup or of Brisbane Cup/Perth Cup depth basically. The Auckland Cup now until 2020 is the weakest G1 each season for older gallopers by a long way and is eclipsing some very suspect WFA races.