Stradbroke Handicap: The grand old Queensland sprint

Without doubt, the best race in Queensland is the great sprint race known as the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap.

First run in 1890, it is steeped in tradition and comes with considerable prestige.

It was given its name by Henry James Rous, after his relative John Rous, the first Earl of Stradbroke from Suffolk County in England.

As an aside, it is ironic that the race is Australia’s premier 1400m handicap, because Henry Rous is the originator of the weight-for-age scale of racing worldwide!

Every year, thousands flock to Eagle Farm racecourse to see the race. It always assembles a high-class field, given that those who raced at the elite level during the Sydney Autumn carnival, in races like the Doncaster Mile and All Aged Stakes, are well-credentialed to plunder the riches of their northern counterparts.

The best from New Zealand also target the race, and have taken home the spoils on numerous occasions.

The most famous New Zealand winner is undoubtedly Rough Habit, whose second triumph in 1992 was called here by the late, great Wayne Wilson. That call will go down in folklore and it truly was a finish that you won’t see in a decade of racing.

Coming from last position near the turn, the wonder-horse weaved a passage through the field which included the likes of the great grey Schillaci to emerge triumphant near the inside rail.

The greatness of that win is matched only by Wayne’s commentary, surely one of the greatest race-calls in Australian history.

My first memory of the great race was in 1976, as a young boy.

A packed racecourse was highly charged in anticipation of the Queensland-trained Dalrello winning the trophy for his home state, with Queensland jockey Larry Olsen aboard. They had good reason to be confident given the fact their champion had won the prestigious Doncaster Handicap in Sydney one year earlier.

Unfortunately there was to be no home state victory, as Larry Olsen was sent tumbling off the favourite as the stalls opened. The horse passing the finishing post in front is indelibly etched in my memory, and it seemed so unfair to me at the time that he wouldn’t be awarded the race, despite having no guidance from his jockey whatsoever.

How good was this horse to do that, I thought?

Many great horses have attempted to win both the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke but quite incredibly only one has managed to complete the double – Spedito in 1975, during an era when both races were handicaps.

Nevertheless the big Doomben sprint race remains one of the key lead-up races, and might have a bigger influence this year, given the Straddie, as it is known, will be run at Doomben while Eagle Farm is undergoing its $10 million upgrade.

It is a race that is difficult to assess, because in human terms it is the equivalent of the Olympic 400m, as compared to the 200m and 800m. The true 1400m distance is neither a flat-out sprint nor a stamina mile race, and the better performed horses also have to contend with conceding weight to some up-and-coming younger horses, who often prevail.

It is also a unique race due to the fact that it is almost always run at a breakneck pace.

Those horses who draw wide and find themselves rearward are at no disadvantage, often flying home to win, either down the outside (Thorn Park and Black Piranha in recent times) or nearer the inside rail (Rough Habit, Linton).

The 2015 AAMI Stradbroke Handicap is the flagship race for the Channel Seven Brisbane Racing Carnival and will be run at Doomben on June 6.