AUSRACING
RACING AND BREEDING ON THE INTERNET SINCE 1996

Victoria's Autumn Woes
by Steve Meakes

Whilst the success of Victoria's Spring carnival remains the envy of all racing clubs outside it's home state, the autumn carnival, on the other hand has failed to achieve the same profile. With crowds numbering around 100,000 on Flemington's three main days Derby day, Cup day and Oaks day racing finds itself making an invaluable contribution to the tourism dollar in that state. But as this year's autumn carnival draws to a close it seems racing administrators still have a long way to go to match the success of the spring. Autumn seemed to be marked by substandard crowds and programming which seemed questionable at times. Of course the success of the spring means racing administrators have set a high standard for comparison and for that they can be rightly congratulated. And what was considered to be Dubai's gain was obviously Australia's loss as Sunline headed off overseas in search of more international riches, add injuries to Fairway and Zonda and racing in the autumn lost three weight for age stars. Notwithstanding these factors the programme of racing in the autumn could well be overdue for an overhaul.

Prior to the autumn carnival Racing Victoria announced there would not be a triple crown for three year olds. The result of this saw the Australian Guineas drop back to its original distance of 1600m, reduce its prizemoney and disappear from the Australian Cup meeting. Disappear being the key word as the Australian Guineas, previously the shining jewel in the triple crown, was run on a nondescript Sunday meeting without any other black type races amid little fanfare which resulted in a disappointing crowd. Considering the triple crown had previously featured horses like Gold Guru, Zonda and Dignity Dancer surely there was an argument to retain some of the key features of the triple crown concept. And it did seem that Victorian racing was lacking something which racegoers could focus their attention on. In recent years this had been provided by the triple crown with the 'will he or wont he run?' providing fodder for discussion.

The argument against a triple crown has undoubtedly been the proximity to the Easter carnival in Sydney. With both ample prizemoney and tradition most trainers and owners have been reluctant to subject their horses to, effectively, two campaigns with most opting to maximise the break after spring.

In the case of two year olds there is even less enthusiasm for subjecting their horses to both Melbourne and Sydney. The Blue Diamond is an interesting case. With prizemoney doubled to almost a million dollars in the 1996/1997 season there was seemingly instant results with the Lee Freedman trained Knowledge winning, a horse who Freedman admitted in any other year would have been aimed solely at the Golden Slipper. However, the timing of the Easter carnival combined with the prizemoney had changed this. In subsequent years the only notable result has been Redoute's Choice who after winning the Blue Diamond went on to Sydney only to be scratched on race morning when favourite. The Blue Diamond will always play second fiddle to the Golden Slipper, but the prizemoney and timing of the race has resulted in a race worthy of Group One status and which adds to the Sydney carnival with trainers and owners usually happy to have a shot at the Golden Slipper.

Racing Victoria has led the way in terms of its race programming however the fragmented approach with each club looking after its own still results in less than ideal racing programmes. Given the power to modify the current programme the powers within racing may well consider the following:

• The Group 1 Australia Stakes, formerly the William Reid is a race with great tradition and great winners, but is it ideally placed in late January? Whilst the Lightning Stakes is run around two weeks later the Australia Stakes could well be considered for the Moonee Valley Oaks card. Run two weeks after the Newmarket and some four weeks before the Galaxy would seem ideally placed to draw Newmarket runners. In fact the race card would be a prime candidate to be run at night. The Group 2 Norman Carlyon could well be moved to the Australia Day meeting in January.

• The Blamey Stakes, which this year was run on the Sire's Produce meeting, seemed out of place and is best placed earlier in the autumn as a lead up to the Australian Cup either on the Lightning Stakes meeting or soon after.

• The Australian Guineas this year reverted to its original distance of 1600m. Left at this the race could be placed on the Australian Cup meeting which would allow trainers the option of going up in distance to races like the Rosehill Guineas or to be kept around 1600m for races such as the George Ryder and Doncaster. Alternatively placed earlier in the carnival alongside a race such as the Blamey, which is run over the same distance, the Australian Guineas could form the first leg of a three race series. The races being the Guineas, the Autumn Classic (run by the VATC over 1800m) and the Australian Cup. Added prizemoney being offered for the three year old who has accumulated the most points, having run in all three races, or some similar scheme. The aim being obvious, to have the in form three year olds competing in the Australian Cup against the older horses.

• The Group 2 Alister Clarke Stakes run at Moonee Valley has a great tradition with Vo Rogue, Naturalism, Zabeel, Zonda and Dignity Dancer all winners in the last fifteen years. Whilst the race could remain at 1600m and be a stand alone race it could well revert back to the MV Oaks meeting where it was been held in years gone by, even going up in distance to 2000m. However, it's placing is dependant on the timing of the Australian Guineas.

For Racing Victoria the possibilities are endless. The question is whether they are content to remain as a second player to Sydney or push on for outright status. What should not be open to question is the programming and timing of key races.