today's feature race runners
Racing and Sports offers punters important FREE on-line racing information every day.
One of the big attractions during carnival time, when the feature races are conducted mainly in Melbourne and Sydney, is placing a Pre-Post bet.
Using the technology at our disposal, Racing And Sports will display all the early nominations for the major races within one clearly defined webpage. They have been collated for you on our Feature Race Runners list where we track their entries as the days get closer to the big event. As well as notifying punters of the noms, we also provide for you a direct link to every horse via our extensive and expanding form database.
As a reference, below you’ll find the details of the most recent renewal of the specific Group One race, the video of that race and the last decade of winners.
Plus, there is the associated Betfair price for the specific feature race. We hope you enjoy this addition to your betting strategies during carnival time from all of us here at Racing And Sports.
Please Note: Some races that do not have finalised nominations with have a notifier of the time that this is to occur.
G1 1600m RANDWICK
Saturday 5 October
The Epsom is one of the famous miles in this country and is a fast run handicap run from the best starting position in racing.
Over the last 30 years we’ve seen some high quality WFA stars like Racing To Win, Desert War, Shogun Lodge, Filante and Winx salute. The mighty Super Impose won this twice as part of his quartet of mile victories.
Chris Waller was at his brilliant training best getting the quinella and Rediener gave Kathy O’Hara another G1 meaning it was a dual G1 day for the female riders.
2023 Race Details:
REDIENER (Kathy O’Hara/Chris Waller)
Barrier 2 - 50.0kg - $9.5
2nd Kovalica (J Moreira)/3rd Golden Mile (B Shinn)
G1 2400m RANDWICK
Saturday 5 October
The Metropolitan is a staying test that can throw up a good horse.
Before Equine Influenza struck, back to back Metrop winners went on to win the Caulfield Cup in the shape of Tawqeet and Railings.
At the time, the win of Montefilia was lauded as an historic victory given it provided Hugh Bowman his 100th G1 win (25 of which came on the champ Winx). As it turned out later, circumstances meant he lost a previous one but has roared past the milestone since. The mare got up by a nose over the 2400m giving her a third G1 at the track.
Last year it was a great day for the women jockeys as Rachel King joined Kathy O’Hara in winning a G1 on the same day with Just Fine scrambling home for Tulloch Lodge.
2023 Race Details:
JUST FINE (Rachel King/Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott)
Barrier 2 - 50.0kg - $1.7
2nd Spirit Ridge (R Bayliss)/3rd Kalapour (K McEvoy)
G1 1600m RANDWICK
Saturday 5 October
The Flight is Sydney’s mile classic for the fillies and is a top race most seasons.
The last leg of the Princess Series, many top fillies win and then go on to be even better mares.
When the likes of Bounding Away, Research, Triscay, Slight Chance, Sunline, Ha Ha, Samantha Miss, More Joyous and Streama are on the honour roll, you know it’s a good race.
Gai Waterhouse (now with Adrian Bott) won the Flight for the 11th time as Tropical Squall dominated another G1 from the front.
2023 Race Details:
TROPICAL SQUALL (Adam Hyeronimus/Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott)
Barrier 5 - 56.0kg - $9
2nd Kimochi (J Collett)/3rd Tutta La Vita (J Moreira)
G1 1600m CAULFIELD
Saturday 12 October
A classic test for the 3yos, it often provides great theatre and/or great controversy.
A lot of the form in recent seasons has come from the Golden Rose as it strangely has been a northern state’s race in contrast to most other Victorian G1s.
Who will forget the extraordinary win of God’s Own after being knocked over three times or the Redoute’s Choice/Testa Rossa war from the home turn.
There was a big upset again as Griff wandered up the straight under Ben Melham but did enough to hold off a decent field.
2023 Race Details:
GRIFF (Ben Melham/Ciaron Maher & David Eustace)
Barrier 15 - 57.0kg - $31
2nd Veight (D Lane)/3rd Steparty (J Allen)
G1 2400m CAULFIELD
Saturday 19 Octoberr
Victoria in the Spring is all about the staying handicaps and the Caulfield Cup is the first of the big two.
In some ways for a while it was showing up more of the quality stayers in the country than the Melbourne Cup. Within 30 years we’ve seen the likes of Elvstroem, Mummify, Ethereal, Sky Heights, Doriemus and two legends in Northerly and Might and Power score sensational wins.
There have been five international winners in just over a decade after Godolphin’s first major in Australia in 2008 as the royal blue of All The Good surged home with local boy Kerrin McEvoy aboard.
Then the mighty French stayer Dunaden did what Viewed had done three years before in coming back from a Melbourne Cup to take the Caulfield Cup with a withering burst. Japan got on the board with a dramatic surge from Admire Rakti and then again with Mer De Glace in 2019. Godolphin again had Best Solution put up such a brave run to hold on by a nose.
It was a European import now with the Freedmans as Without A Fight brought his excellent Brisbane form lines to charge the last bit and beat fellow imports in 2023.
2023 Race Details:
WITHOUT A FIGHT (Mark Zahra/Anthony & Sam Freedman)
Barrier 7 - 55.5kg - $8.50
2nd West Wind Blows (J Spencer)/3rd Gold Trip (B Melham
FEATURE RACES RUNNERS CAULFIELD CUP 2024
| Horse |
|
Course | Date | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RATTLE AND HUM | RHIL | 02 Oct 2024 | [R3] THE AGENCY REAL ESTATE HANDICAP |
G1 2040m MOONEE VALLEY
Saturday 26 October
Australasia’s WFA Championship is no idle boast. It’s just over two minutes of great drama with the rough and tumble of the equines around the tight Moonee Valley course.
Many of the absolute champions of the turf have won this race with Phar Lap, Tulloch and Kingston Town amongst them. Besides the King’s trifecta there’s also been Super Impose’s mayhem Plate, the earth rumbling for Might and Power, Sunline and Northerly’s dual wins and Makybe Diva’s affirmation. Then there was Bonecrusher vs Our Waverley Star racing into equine immortality.
We thought we’d seen it all until Bart produced a fifth starter to score in the second fastest Plate in history with So You Think utterly dominant then he backed it up twelve months on. However Winx winning four straight will never be eclipsed.
More international success evolved in 2023 with Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior nailing Mr Brightside right on the line giving James McDonald another Cox Plate.
2023 Race Details:
ROMANTIC WARRIOR (James McDonald/Danny Shum)
Barrier 7 - 59.0kg - $3.60
2nd Mr Brightside (C Williams)/3rd Alligator Blood (T Clark)
FEATURE RACES RUNNERS COX PLATE 2024
| Horse |
|
Course | Date | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RED GALAXY | CRAN | 02 Oct 2024 | [R6] Celebrate Christmas on the Southside Class 1 Handicap |
G1 2000m RANDWICK
Saturday 26 October
The main race for the staying 3yos in the Sydney Spring is the Spring Champion Stakes.
It was originally known as the Australasian Champion Stakes before it swapped with the AJC Derby and that race became the major Autumn G1 classic.
So many good ones have tasted success in it when it moved to the Spring such as Kingston Town, Beau Zam, Tie The Knot and Dundeel to name a few.
A horse that had had not much luck in the lead up would win the Spring Champion with ease as Tom Kitten got out turning and charged away from rivals.
2023 Race Details:
TOM KITTEN (Adam Hyeronimus/James Cummings)
Barrier 1 - 56.5kg - $2.50
2nd Cap Ferrat (K McEvoy)/3rd Ganbare (B Prebble)
G1 2500m FLEMINGTON
Saturday 2 November
Victoria Derbys are for the 3yos to determine who is the best stayer at the time although there are often calls for a reduction in distance back to 2000m.
Whatever it is over, the Derby is the main spectacle on the first day of the VRC Cup Carnival. Efficient won the Derby in 2006 and came back a year later to add the Cup to the Lloyd Williams mantelpiece.
New Zealand took three in a row with Monaco Consul, Lion Tamer and Sangster all winning the Blue Riband. The race has been won by maidens in the past and another scored in 2014 as Preferment surged late as he had done in the Geelong Classic but this time he won by a head.
Chris Waller made it back to back in 2023 after Manzoice when favourite Riff Rocket just put his nose down on the line to win.
2023 Race Details:
RIFF ROCKET (James McDonald/Chris Waller)
Barrier 5 - 57.0kg - $2.20
2nd Apulia (M Zahra)/3rd Sunsets (J Allen)
1500m ROSEHILL
Saturday 2 November
Racing NSW decided that one way to keep the best of the 3yos in training was to develop a new race for the new season 4yos.
So the Golden Eagle was created and run at the end of October at Rosehill over 1500m now worth $10million.
In its first year the Epsom winner Kolding dropped back and scored and then in the second it was another G1 winner Colette that won the prize.
Making in three G1ers on the bounce, Victorian I’m Thunderstruck just got home after taking the Toorak Handicap in a great drive to the line. Then the first time a non G1 winner won saw I Wish I Win score.
The first international winner was Japan’s Obamburumai who took inside runs and flashed home to beat the Godolphin pair.
2023 Race Details:
OBAMBURUMAI (Josh Parr/Keiji Yoshimura)
Barrier 2 - 56.5kg - $7
2nd Pericles (B Melham)/3rd Golden Mile (Z Lloyd)
G1 3200m FLEMINGTON
Tuesday 5 November
The Melbourne Cup - you don’t need to say much more. Its history is its shining light.
And the one who shines brightest won it for the 12th time in 2008 as Bart conjured Viewed to win the Cup by a nose from Bauer. It may be a handicap but it’s the race every Australian owner wants to win just to say you are part of that history.
Doubtful we’ll see another Champion become a Legend in our lifetimes like Makybe Diva but we love the Cup anyway.
After back to back French winners, it was a former English trained horse, then at Mt Macedon, who won in a decisive manner in 2012. Green Moon was already a Turnbull winner but after disappointment as Cox Plate favourite, he loved the firm ground and the light weight at Flemington.
Fiorente made it another ex-Euro giving Gai Waterhouse her biggest success before a locally owned but overseas trained horse in Protectionist provided Germany with its first victory in the race that stops a nation and gave Ryan Moore the big double. He beat the gallant Red Cadeaux who was second again.
2015 saw more history made as a woman jockey won for the first time bringing a 100-1 shot up the centre. Prince Of Penzance took on a tough field of stayers but it was run very slowly. There were amazing scenes.
Lloyd Williams won another Cup as Rekindling gave Joseph O’Brien the win his father had sought several times and then another Euro 3yo would give Godolphin their first Cup as Cross Counter surged home from near last in 2018.
It wasn’t a French trained winner in 2022 but Gold Trip was a French horse who came to be trained by the Maher/Eustace yard and boy didn’t he love the wet tracks of the Spring. Another horse from overseas but trained here scored in 2023 with Without A Fight taking the Cups double.
2023 Race Details:
WITHOUT A FIGHT (Mark Zahra/Anthony & Sam Freedman)
Barrier 16 - 56.5kg - $8
2nd Soulcombe (J Moreira)/3rd Sheraz (B Mertens)
G1 2500m FLEMINGTON
Thursday 7 November
While the Derby has seen upsets, the Oaks is usually the domain for favoured fillies. Not so in 2016.
So many have been at or around even money and have gotten the chocolates. Not many in recent times have been as impressive as Samantha Miss who played with them after taking the Princess Series in Sydney.
Ciaron Maher would make it consecutive wins in the Oaks as Jameka followed a Vase victory with a strong win at headquarters.
A classy filly got the job done as favourite again last year as Zardozi showed a love of Flemington with an effortless victory.
2023 Race Details:
ZARDOZI (James McDonald/James Cummings)
Barrier 5 - 56.0kg - $2.70
2nd Aethelflaed (M Zahra)/3rd Basilinna (D Oliver)
G1 1600m CAULFIELD
Saturday 16 November
The fillies in Melbourne are provided with their chance for a mile G1 but it has also been an important Oaks lead up historically. However that is not the case now with the move to after Flemington.
We saw half-sisters Atlantic Jewel and Commanding Jewel win in consecutive years and Fastnet Rock won another edition when Amicus sat on the speed in the first running of the race to be held on Caulfield Guineas day.
The first running of the Guineas in the new spot saw Waller and McDonald end another huge Spring with Joliestar winning with some ease.
2023 Race Details:
JOLIESTAR (James McDonald/Chris Waller)
Barrier 1 - 56.0kg - $4.60
2nd Kimochi (C Williams)/3rd Skybird (B Mertens)
