The inaugural running of The Championships, which concluded in spectacular fashion on Saturday 19 April, were a raging success. Credit must go to Racing NSW chairman, Paul Messara, and all of the other stakeholders.
Now that the curtain has come down on the thrilling two-day carnival at Royal Randwick, I thought I’d share some of my magic moments from The Championships.
Tommy Berry is a Group 1 human being
Courageous, incredible, awe-inspiring, extraordinary – these adjectives don’t do justice to what Tommy Berry displayed in recent weeks.
It was with heavy hearts that people attended and viewed the opening day of The Championships on Saturday 12 April. The racing community was still trying to come to terms with the tragic death of the enormously talented and incredibly popular young jockey, Nathan Berry, who lost his brave fight against Norse syndrome – a rare form of epilepsy – just nine days earlier.
Tommy, riding the crest of a wave, was dealt the cruelest blow imaginable on the eve of the biggest period in his riding career.
Yet somehow, in the ultimate show of bravery, this beautiful young man rode on.
He did it for his twin brother. He did it for his best mate. He did it for the man he loved and admired. He did it for Nathan.
Not only did young Tommy front up, he plied his trade with the professionalism that sees him rated as one of the finest young riders in the world. Fittingly, Tommy was the star of Day 2, punching home three winners, including two Group 1s, which saw him share the Nathan Berry Medal for best rider of the carnival with fellow-young gun, James McDonald.
Tommy, who would have been forgiven for suffering the odd slaughter, was simply enormous. His ability to soldier on when most people rightfully couldn’t is what I’ll best remember about the first year of The Championships.
It’s A Dundeel delivers on the big stage
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was the richest race of The Championships, and the best horse to grace the Randwick turf across the two days got the chocolates.
It’s A Dundeel bounced back to his best and silenced his critics, signing off a brief, yet glittering career, with a magnificent win in the $4 million feature. The son of High Chaparral’s reputation hadn’t been dealt a knockout punch, but certainly a few uppercuts were landed prior to him facing the started in the big one.
He deserved nothing less than to be deemed a star of the turf, and that’s how I’m sure he’ll be remembered.
Brent Stanley knows how to train
He was a very good jockey, winning a Caulfield Cup aboard Arctic Scent in 1995, but Brent Stanley looks to be an incredibly good trainer. The former hoop puts the polish on Veuvelicious, a stylish winner of the $150,000 Fernhill Handicap on Day 2 of The Championships.
Veuvelicious’ owner David Moodie is a savvy businessman; a big player who’s been involved in the industry for as long as I can remember. Moodie, who reluctantly purchased the Northern Meteor filly based on Stanley’s recommendation, knows a thing or two about the caper, so for him to entrust some of his valuable stock to Stanley is as good an endorsement you can get.
You can’t keep a good (w0)man down
Gai Waterhouse must have been giddy with excitement – even more so than usual – when she first heard of The Championships concept. Group 1s aplenty, millions of dollars up for grabs, all at the happy hunting ground that is her backyard – it couldn’t get any better.
Surprisingly, though, the first lady of racing didn’t make the headlines on Day 1, leading in just the one winner in The Offer.
You just knew, though, that she’d bounce back and be the star of the show on the final day. It was as certain as Black Caviar getting the better of Hay List. And so she did.
The 59-year-old, despite sporting some form of road kill on her head, bagged a treble and was back where she belongs – on centre stage.
The Offer is a serious Melbourne Cup player
The Offer’s 3.8-length romp in the Sydney Cup was the most dominant win of The Championships. Given the ease in which he put paid to his rivals in the $1 million, Group 1 feature over the Melbourne Cup trip of 3200m, it’s hard to imagine he won’t be there when the whips are cracking on that first Tuesday in November.
Granted he had a lot in his favour – a wet track, a reasonable weight (55kg), barrier No. 8, and a weakfish field. But he stays all day, and that’s something the connections of half of the 24 Cup runners won’t be able to boast.
Don’t underestimate the learnings Gai took from training Fiorente to Melbourne Cup glory last year either.
The Kiwis are back
Carbine, Gloaming, Balmerino, Empire Rose, Bonecrusher, Sunline, Horlicks, Rough Habit – these are just some of the Kiwi champions that have ventured across the ditch and taken down the best of the locals in Australia. The New Zealanders were once the masters of raiding Aussie shores and pocketing the loot. It was the norm, not the exception.
For reasons I can’t put a finger on, big wins in Australia for the Kiwis have dried up in recent years, but racing folk from Australia’s friendly neighbours had their fingerprints all over the carnival.
Beauty’s Beast (South Pacific Classic), Rising Romance (Australasian Oaks) and It’s A Dundeel (Queen Elizabeth Stakes) all recorded impressive victories for connections from ‘the land of the long white cloud’, and maybe – just maybe – it’s a sign of things to come.
You could also mount a case for James McDonald, Lankan Rupee, Mick Price, Chris Waller, Sacred Falls, Criterion, Sidestep and many more, such was the incredible level of entertainment The Championships offered.
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