Championships: Sydney's Autumn Carnival is finally world class

Scub If its meant at be a crowd puller the Sires on a Wednesday it doesn't work, I'd love to know the gate for the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield run on the Wednesday prior to the Clfd Cup I'd suggest it would be a general midweek crowd or marginally over.Shoving products down peoples throats doesn't work. I think the race meets (cards) are somewhere now near right, I cant complain with programming.

I don't disagree with the concept of running the Sires on the Wednesday - it makes sense from the point of view of having horses progress from the Slipper, but surely they'd be lucky to get more than two men and a dog there?

brilliant wal. absolutely brillant. she is an immortal. immortals can't be bettered.

Here are some of the positive facts about BC. 1st world thoroughbred rankings 2013 with rating 130 tied with treve (1st Aust horse to do this).WTRR world champion sprinter 2010-13 (1st horse in world history to win any division 4 times). Aust racehorse of the year 2011-13 (leads with sunline as 3 time winners). Aust champ sprinter 3 times(of course leads this award). European champion sprinter 2012( 1st time horse trained outside Europe has won this award). In 2013 inducted into Aust racing hall of fame (only 2nd time active competitor inducted). Won 2013 BC Lightning (don't know of any other horse who has won their own race).Timeform rating 136 (only behind Tulloch 138/Kingston Town 137). Undefeated in 25 starts which is 2nd alltime and has been only bettered by Kincem's 54 wins 140 years ago (who knows what the stewards did in 1874). 6th in successive wins alltime only beaten by Kincem and 4 central american horses( so really leads at the top level). 15 grp ones which is 4th in modern times in group ones (Hurricane Fly a hurdler leads on 19 and is still active plus another hurdler on 16 plus John Henry on same figure).4th in successive group ones just 1 behind Frankel/Zenyatta/Hurricane Fly. World alltime leader in successive stakes races on 24 which is 7 in front of Zenyatta. So Vain/Manikato/Todman won at an extra furlong so what. How many open class WFA races did Vain win. Not many I think. Don Bradman was only a specialist batsmen, not an allrounder. John Coleman was one of the greatest AFL footballers and was only a specialist forward. Did not have to play all over the field to be recognised as a champion. BC was Australia's greatest ever sprinter as it stands at present. I hope Lankan Rupee challenges that position.

I'd suggest due to the inclement weather we lost 2-3 k in attendance but still not a bad turn up, if weather permitted it could've taken the attendance to just under 30 k which would've been solid for any form of sports outing in Sydney. As a staunch New South Welshman who's blood when dripping spills sky blue in colour its my carnival and the carnival is somewhere near pure for mine,if one looks at the Carnival form Dubai its completely soulless devoid of atmosphere and people for that matter though the Pom's and Yank's when interviewed love it wonder why,if one reflects on the Melbourne Carnival is dressing as Donald Duck or the Pope necessary what are they their for?, the joy of the thoroughbred surging towards the post, me thinks not. Sydney's race meets are pure and taken seriously by those who appreciate the finer points to sport, not five drunk blokes from Melbourne dressed as Nun's on Cup day I think that says it all really. Apologies for time of post but woke in a muck lather must be that time of year.

And this Saturday's Group 1 races are over 2 x 1600m, 2000m and 2400m races. The next sprint race targeted to upgrade to Group 1 status is The Royal Sovereign Stakes, and it clearly is filling a gap in the program. We all love staying races; but a single Autumn Group 1, held during The Championships, aimed at the 3yr old sprinters is something we should all be able to live with. The Coolmore Stud Stakes has been developed into a great race, and this race is set to be the autumn version. It should be embraced, just like the Golden Rose. These races aren't subtracting from the variety of our races, they are adding the missing links at our top level, as currently the only 3yr old Group 1s during The Championships are both over 2400m. No one is suggesting removing The Derby or Oaks, but adding a race that caters for the majority of our quality 3yr olds is not a bad thing.

agree tristan ... the sydney autumn has sprung to life again. BTW they have tried the sires mid-week and easter monday but crowds were generally poor. when i was a lad :)... doncaster week was the focus of the autumn. sat = doncaster, champion stks (before derby switch) ... monday = sires, sydney cup ... wed = country cup, fernhill ... sat =all-aged, oaks and then they started playing musical chairs with the races before losing focus completely and then there was a promotional push to the STC races. i was a country lad (newcastle was country then) who was taken to doncaster day by the stable as a 12yr - a day out for the workers. what chaos going down anzac parade, traffic clogged for the races / the easter show was on (at the now footy stadium) / footy at the SCG ... CHAOS. but finally we arrived and i walked into royal randwick for the first time. i reckon i was like a 3 yr-old walking into disneyland standing there in awe. There was the huge stand that had barely opened (the one they just levelled) and bookies everywhere and i mean everywhere. But here i was in this holy place that i had only ever heard about from 'oldies' or the radio or a formguide or TV snippets. here i was looking at the current champs that were to race that day but also aware of the place were phar lap, tulloch, peter pan and the other immortals had walked and won. i'd only heard their names on the radio or read about them in 'turf monthly' or 'racetrack' or from sat morn. racing radio prog. i knew from that moment what my life would be about. that was a long time ago. i would luv to see them turn the wed. back into a country races grand final like it used to be. country stables would set the district champs for the Country Cup 1600m (a big deal for the bush). it was regarded as the country doncaster. on the mid-week wed be nice to see a sprint x 2 / mile/ distance for country based horses with decent prizemoney - not over the top just blk-type level. the 1000m sprint would be worth the entry fee alone. anyway, i felt that old excitment on saturday as the racing cranked over and built towards the G1s. strange how endorphins work but who cares ... DONCASTER WEEK IS BACK :) :) :) :) :).

Tristan, So far Sydney has shown why our racing remains the best in the world for variety, despite I think, the short-sighted attempt by some to ruin our rich heritage. I'm talking about the obsession with sprints & quick breeding to racing back to breeding. Just the other day, someone mentioned our obsession with speed. But this is a rather recent phenomenon, compounded by Black Caviar's popularity. As you know, if you remember, I wasn't a particularly big fan of Black Caviar's legacy. Six wins at 1000m, 18 wins at 1200m & only one win at 1400m. Other noted sprinters Manikato, Vain & Todman all won at 1600m. Champion miler Gunsynd stunned almost everyone finishing third in both the Melbourne & Caulfield Cups carrying huge weights. Another famous miler, the mare Flight, won up to 2800m. Sunline won from 1100-2040m. The Mighty Berborough won 26 races between 1000-2200m, & carried a whopping 10.10 (68 kgs) into fifthplace in the Caulfield Cup. We used to rate the weight-carrying stayers because of their ability to win over a wide range of distances, carrying massive weights. Carbine won races from 1000-4800m! Phar Lap from 1000-3600m. Tulloch from 1000m-3200m. And all carried huge weights. Sprinters by comparison, like BC, are restricted to a narrower band of distances. Last Saturdays four group ones were run over 1200m, 1400m, 1600m & 2400m. One group two was run over 2600m & four group threes were run over 1100m, 1200m, 1600m & 2000m. We don't want to lose this wonderful variety in our racing.

Hi Tristan, It says a lot about how well the first half of The Championship went well despite the weather. That's always the true test - succeeding when some things, in this case the weather, works against you. I also like the suggestion that the Championship might be brought forward by one week. I'm also a fan of the midweek carnival, it works so well for the Melbourne Spring. I also like the idea of running the Sires Produce midweek. For still-developing two-year-olds, you would then have a week & a half between the Slipper & Sires, & again between the Sires & Champagne. So far so good. But remember, Melbourne is yet to return fire with any structural changes & prize-money top-ups. They are watching & waiting. And no doubt plotting!

Hi Tristan, I was also very impressed by the first day of The Championships, and see this as a great starting point for the future. I hope they go ahead with the Wednesday midweek meeting, as even shown by your article, the Sires Produce got a little lost amongst the 3 major Group 1s. Giving 10 days instead of 7 will entice more Slipper runs to progress to this race which is a positive. I was really interested in this part of your article; "....while the Brisbane Winter Carnival will also be changed to attempt the make the local calendar as accessible as possible for owners and trainers. " What is going on to the Brisbane carnival? Whilst I had been thinking it would be good for them if they could have a major day early in their carnival to try and get horses from the Championships, I hadn't seen anything on this and that with the state government delaying/reviewing their commitment to the Eagle Farm upgrade; it seemed that Queensland racing was in a holding pattern. Very interested to know what is going on.