This race has had more names changes and seasonal movement that a fugitive or someone in a witness relocation program. It is struggling for relevance this century despite being moved from an autumn date of 1980 to 1997 into a spring date that same year seeing two runnings. Now it is an early summer date (since 2009) and must be under extreme downgrading pressure. Just eight runners today and an awful spectacle from a tactical perspective with the favourite Veyron at even money as badly ridden as you will see at G1 level. He was four-wide early in an eight-horse field and then three-wide before moving first before the home turn so no wonder it was the first time he missed paying a dividend in over a year. Veyron has only been out of the top three in his career so far five times and the two worst finishes for the thirteen-race winner (four wins at G1) are a sixth and seventh. The time of the race was 1:35.91 and just using the spring date (1997) until now was the eighth fastest of sixteen runnings. Final Touch was the thirteenth filly or mare to win the race since 1980 and the first South Island trained winner since Hurrah in 2005. South Island trained runners have only won it four times in total and that includes the pair of mares in 1980 and 1981 namely Mellseur and The Twinkle. Final Touch after a horrendously unlucky fourth against just her own sex at G2 prior put away all comers with contemptuous ease at the line. She is durable and the five-year-old mare was having her thirty-fifth outing but with fourteen wins in the bank the mare is thriving with racing. Five of the eight runners today were mares and that is no surprise as they dominate New Zealand racing every year across the board in blacktype racing. The deadheat for second between Lady Kipling and Mufhasa saw the former get more credibility as she was wide and working early while the latter had a cheap lead once he get there. Lady Chaparral in finishing fourth returned her best effort at G1 and considering she has never won left-handed it puts the race overall into perspective. Veyron was a career worst performance but no fault of the big horse, as you simply cannot be ridden overland at G1 throughout and hope to avoid being found out. He is good but not a tiki tour thoroughbred. Trentham has been known as a graveyard for favourites for decades and also is the wet weather capital of New Zealand when it comes to raceday as it seems to be rain-affected all the time. Even when it is a concrete-track in prospect earlier in the week inexplicably half the roomy track gets over-watered rather than all, which is creating bias 101. The 2012 running was substandard and while the winner came out with her reputation intact and in fact bolstered many of the others did not and in fact some lowered the bar. The grading committee could well be moving on several races very soon and the Captain Cook is in the crosshairs and should be, as it cannot find a proper home on the calendar despite three seasonal shifts over three decades. The only season not used so far is winter and Trentham is a bottomless bog over these months so nowhere else to go. If you are not a true G1 for a long period of time, and this race has been dubious this century, then G2 or G3 should become stark reality.