The payment of a A$100,000 ($70,844) bonus to the connections of six visiting horses that ran in the Caulfield Cup, including the winner, Best Solution, has been described as "ill-conceived," according to Brendan Cormick of THE AUSTRALIAN. The Caulfield Cup travel allowance will be paid to internationally-trained horses that "compete in the Caulfield Cup, and is paid separately to any prizemoney earned." Terry Henderson of OTI Racing, represented by locally-trained Gallic Chieftain and Night's Watch, "could not justify" the money leaving Australia, "especially with horses that received prizemoney." Henderson: "I'm very happy to see the internationals come out here and compete but for a horse to go into the Caulfield Cup and if it ran 10th get A$220,000 ($155,857) is way, way over the top. I've seen a lot of things that favor the internationals quite blatantly, but I've not seen anything as blatant as this." It is understood a "motivating factor behind the decision was to attract Japanese starters." Henderson: "It'll be interesting to see if the so-called benefits of the gambling justified it" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/22).
