The Roar
The Roar

Racing
Advertisement

Opinion

Why the All-Star Mile must stay at Moonee Valley
Matt Nicholls
Expert
16th March, 2021
5
Join the conversation
Advertisement
Write for The Roar

Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists.

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Matt Nicholls
Expert
16th March, 2021
5

Moonee Valley did such a good job hosting this year’s All-Star Mile that the race should remain as a permanent fixture on the club’s calendar.

The race has now been rotated among the three big clubs in Melbourne and there’s something magical about the Valley.

For starters, spectators are much closer to the action than Caufield and Flemington, which creates an amphitheatre-type environment.

Secondly, the Valley needs one more big event. Flemington has more than enough, while Caulfield has just enough as is.

Sports opinion delivered daily 

   

Advertisement

The racing at Moonee Valley can be a little hit and miss, but there’s rarely a boring feature event at the track.

Think about the Cox Plates, Manikatos, Moirs and the like. Big fields and hot racing.

I understand that typical races can be jump-and-run with a lot of leader bias, but you don’t typically see that in the feature races at Moonee Valley.

All-Star Mile

(Scott Barbour/Racing Photos via Getty Images)

The rain certainly added excitement, even if it did kill a few punters, including yours truly.

That’s the beauty of racing. The variables are what makes the great game so wonderful.

When the heavens opened up, the whole dynamic of the All-Star Mile changed.

Horses that were favourites were drifting, while the winner Mugatoo relished the slop, as did runner-up Russian Camelot.

Advertisement

Both of these would be expected to be in this year’s Cox Plate.

More Racing

Racing

A special shout out to Queenslander The Harrovian, who hit the front approaching the bend but just tired late to finish fifth.

It was a great performance for a horse who was still racing in provincial Cairns this time last year.

The big change the All-Star Mile needs to make is the timing. It needs to be switched with the Australian Cup so that genuine 2000-metre horses can contest both.

With the Group 1 classic held a week beforehand, it makes it hard for the elite horses to compete in both.

Advertisement

Get the calendar right and this race will become a cornerstone of Victorian racing for years to come.

While there’s a decent card at Mornington on Saturday, the real action moves to Sydney at Rosehill Gardens with a number of cracking Group 1 races.

Join me here on Friday for a preview of the main events.

5
Join the conversation
Matt Nicholls
Expert
Matt is a newspaper editor by trade but spends his time dwelling about his glory years as an average opening batsman and slow half-back flanker. If he's not flicking between all the sport he can find on TV, he's out trying to lower his handicap on the golf course. He loves writing about horse racing – one of the most intriguing industries in the world.

Related Posts

close