Cameron George will split his Saturday between the track and the footy, with the One New Zealand Warriors chief executive heading to Doomben today to watch Dream Roca in the Spirit Of Boom Classic before tomorrow's NRL Magic Round showdown with the Brisbane Broncos. The Warriors meet the reigning premiers at Suncorp Stadium in what is being billed as the biggest game of the round.
Dream Roca is drawn barrier 1 in the Group 2 race worth A$300,000 and is rated a $4.60 second favourite behind Vantorix, with the bookies giving George a $7.50 chance of landing the sporting double. George has long been part of racing as a stipendiary steward before later becoming chief executive of the Auckland Racing Club, and this is hardly a one-off interest: last September, he and Warriors coach Stacey Jones co-owned Quintessa when it won the first Group 1 race of the New Zealand season.
This run carries a little extra weight because Dream Roca already has a link back to George's own sporting world. The horse was bred in New Zealand, sold to Queensland trainer Liam Birchley at the Karaka yearling sales, then returned home to win the $1 million Karaka Millions at Ellerslie in January, with George trackside for that victory. The horse now heads into a rain-affected Doomben meeting after a wet week in Brisbane, and the track is expected to take the sting out of the day for runners across the card.
George will not be the only racing figure with New Zealand ties watching closely. Cambridge filly Solid Gold is stepping up against male 3-year-olds in the Rough Habit Plate after beating the boys at Ellerslie last start, while Jimmysstar is the favourite for the A$1.5 million Doomben 10,000 and remains part-owned in New Zealand by breeder Sam Williams. Back home at Ellerslie, the season's last black type meeting features the $100,000 Champagne Stakes, where Excite looks the one to beat after winning a stronger race at Te Rapa.
For George, the timing is striking. Horse racing remains a major passion for him, Warriors coach Andrew Webster and Jones, but tomorrow's meeting with the Broncos will demand his full attention once the track dust settles. If Dream Roca runs to expectation at Doomben and the Warriors find a way past the premiers in Brisbane, it would be a weekend George is unlikely to forget.
