By ROY ASPINALL
ONE of the most memorable Melbourne Spring Racing Carnivals concludes with the running of Saturday’s Group 2 $351,000 Sportingbet Sandown Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield.
Sportingbet Park, Sandown is undergoing a $3.2 million upgrade so this year’s meeting is being held at Caulfield – racing to resume at Sportingbet Park, Sandown in late January.
Sportingbet Sandown Guineas Day concludes the world’s greatest racing carnival after the Melbourne Racing Club opened with the BECK Caulfield Guineas on October 12.
Through that time there has been some wonderful racing with Peter Snowden’s Darley Stable dominating early with Long John winning the BECK Caulfield Guineas and the following Wednesday Guelph was successful in the Schweppes Thousand Guineas. Leviathan owner, Lloyd Williams, won his first BMW Caulfield Cup with Fawkner.
Attention then turned to Moonee Valley when Shamus Award became the first maiden to win the Cox Plate – leading all the way – giving up-and-coming apprentice, Chad Schofield his first Group 1 win, not a bad race to open his account in.
Attention then focused on Flemington where the $4000 colt from Cranbourne, Polanski won the AAMI Victoria Derby showing once again the vagaries of racing – you do not necessarily have to invest millions to win the big prizes. Polanski will be one to watch next spring.
This was topped off by one of the best Emirates Melbourne Cups seen in its 153 years, providing Australia’s ‘First Lady of Racing’, Gai Waterhouse, her first win in the great race when Fiorente fought to the line under the superb riding of Damien Oliver who, 12 months earlier had been making headlines of a different kind. He became the first jockey to win an Australian ‘major’ (Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup/Cox Plate or Golden Slipper Stakes) 10 times.
Saturday’s super meeting features the $351,000 Group 2 Sportingbet Sandown Guineas (1600m), the $351,000 Group 2 Deadly Design Zipping Classic (2400m), the $150,750 Group 3 Eclipse Stakes (1800m), the Group 3 TMB Printing Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1200m), the Group 3 $150,750 Sandown Stakes (1400m) and the Group 3 Le Pine Funerals Summoned Stakes (1600m). Two Group 2 events, four Group 3 races and three Listed events. Entries do not close until today (Monday) but fields are sure to be strong as this is a very popular meeting.
Interesting event is the $150,500 Listed Sportingbet Sandown Cup (3200m). First introduced in 2010 the 3200 metres of the Sandown Cup will allow the winner to pass distance qualifications for the 2014 Melbourne Cup and becomes one of the few ‘other two milers’ run in Australia.
The Sportingbet Sandown Guineas has been the race of future champions with the likes of Always There, Adbul, Taj Rossi, So Called, Galleon and Durbridge having won and Storm Ruler, Analight, Denise’s Joy and the mighty Saintly being placed. It has proven a popular event for horses coming through the Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington on Derby Day. Peter Snowden is one trainer who regularly targets the race and has won three times since 2008 including last year with Tatra. His Carbine Club Stakes winner, Paximadia, is likely to be a top chance with the runner-up Hucklebuck a top contender.
Last year Tanby gave Lloyd Williams his fifth win in the Deadly Design Zipping Classic (previously known as the Williamstown Cup, Sandown Cup and Sandown Classic) in the last six years and he is sure to be represented. The race was renamed the Zipping Classic in 2011 following the incredible effort by Zipping, owned by Lloyd Williams, to win the Sandown Classic for the fourth successive year in 2010. The Sandown Classic was first run as the Williamstown Cup in 1888 and later renamed the Sandown Cup before becoming the Sandown Classic and now the Zipping Classic. The race has been run at the now defunct Williamstown Racecourse, Caulfield, Flemington, Moonee Valley and, of course, Sandown, making it the only event to have been contested on five Melbourne metropolitan tracks.
Sportingbet Sandown Guineas Day on Saturday, November 16 is a great conclusion to an outstanding carnival.
