Auckland Cup downgraded to Group 3 as ARF approves five New Zealand black-type changes

The Auckland Cup will be run as a Group 3 in 2026/27 after the Asian Racing Federation (ARF) Executive Council approved five changes to New Zealand’s black-type programme.

The Wakefield Challenge Stakes, a 1200-metre race for two-year-olds, also falls from Group 2 to Group 3. The 1100-metre Counties Challenge Stakes for two-year-olds rises from Listed to Group 3, and the Chittick Family Fillies Classic, an 1100-metre race at Taupo for three-year-old fillies, gains Listed status. The Triton Stakes, run as the Castletown Stakes, loses black type.

The changes were set out in the New Zealand Pattern Committee’s (NZPC) September 15 report. The Asian Pattern Committee considered them at its September 3 meeting before passing its recommendations to the ARF.

The NZPC rated the 2025/26 Auckland Cup at 103.75. The Group 2 tolerance threshold is 107 and the benchmark is 110, and the Cup’s three-year average sits at 102.33.

“This was a downgrade made with considerable regret given the remarkable tradition and historical importance of the race,” the committee said. It added: “The 6-length win by Paradise Storm put the rating level of the other horses in perspective.”

The NZPC recommended that the Cup keep its heritage status and, if possible, its stake. The race carried NZ$600,000 in 2025/26. It fell from Group 1 to Group 2 for the 2021/22 season.

The Wakefield had faced downgrade pressure for at least a decade. The committee gave it a final chance at Manawatu on December 20, 2025, where Lara Antipova won in a seven-horse field. The first four averaged 100.5, against a Group 2 tolerance of 102.

The Counties race has a three-year average of 101.6, above the Group 3 juvenile benchmark of 100. The committee said the changes leave the juvenile pattern with two Group 2 and four Group 3 races.

New Zealand’s total stays at 144 black-type races. Group 2s drop from 27 to 25, Group 3s rise from 48 to 51 and Listed races fall from 51 to 50. The Oaks, Breeders’ Stakes and Telegraph kept Group 1 status after last month’s review.

The Auckland Cup follows the Adelaide Cup and Brisbane Cup, both 3200-metre races, which the ARF downgraded from Group 2 to Group 3 for 2026/27 on September 24.