Randwick Sydney Racing Saturday
This Saturday will see Randwick racecourse host Day 1 of The Championships. Our Sydney Racing Tips analyst Blaazxing Ben Perkins will be there with all the action with a full form sheet and Tips. What a day of Racing it will be with 4 Group 1 races and the magnificent Doncaster Handicap the feature race. So lets have a look at the big day of Racing of Group 1 races which are races 6 – 9 at Randwick.
Race 6 – Sires Produce
This is a 1400m Group 1 race for the 2 year olds and represents the “second leg” of the prestigious “Triple Crown” the first leg of which is the Golden Slipper and the last leg is the Champagne Stakes. Generally the path to the Sires is through the Golden Slipper although success can certainly be had by missing that and targeting the longer 1400m trip. Identifying a horse on “the up” is extremely important here as a majority come through the Slipper. That was their “grand final” and this at times can be an “afterthought” here is the market for this years big race.
Race 7 – Australian Derby
The AJC Derby is a group 1 for 3yo over the 2400m at Randwick racecourse with prize money of $2 million. It is the feature race for 3 year olds over the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. It’s a race that has been won by some of the superstars of the Australian turf including Octagonal (1996), Mahogany (1994), Bonecrusher (1986) and Strawberry Road (1983). The Triple Crown is the jewel in the crown for 3 year olds during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. The Triple Crown is the Rosehill Guineas, Randwick Guineas and Australian Derby. This is a very “hot” start race and barriers are very important there is only a 200m run to the first turn and those drawn wide risk doing extra work in the run
Race 8 – TJ Smith Stakes
The feature sprint race is the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes over 1200m and has prize money of $2.5 million.The T.J. Smith Stakes has very quickly established itself as the feature sprint race of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. It’s a meteoric rise for a race that started as a simple listed event in 1997 (originally called the “Endeavour” Stakes won by the great Mahogany). The very next year it was quickly elevated to a group 3 and in 1999 it was renamed the T.J. Smith Stakes. By 2005 it was a Group 1 and a true sign that Australian racing really embraced supporting the memory of the legendary trainer. This race has been dominated by some champion Australian sprinters of recent times. This includes Chautauqua who won between 2015-17 and Black Caviar won in 2011 and 2013.
Race 9 – Doncaster Handicap
Melbourne has attempted to hijack The Doncaster handicap by running The All Star Mile. However the Doncaster Handicap holds pride of place as the premier mile race in the country. The Doncaster is a race steeped in tradition first run in 1866 to an unbelievable field of 30 horses!! It has been won by many champions over the years paying testament to its underlying premise of being clearly the best mile race in the country. Former winners include Winx, Sunline, Grand Armee, Super Impose, Tobin Bronze and Gunsynd to name a few.
The Doncaster tends to be an excellent betting race for two reasons that are:
1. It is a handicap meaning that “in theory” all horses are on a level playing field
2. The Start, this is one of the best starts in Australian racing it allows a long run of 600m to the first turn and what this does is generally gives every horse a chance to find a nice position meaning the barrier draw becomes less of an influence.
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