Flemington braced for heavy track on triple Group 1 Champions Day

Flemington could be rated close to a Heavy 8 for Saturday’s triple Group 1 Champions Day, with Victoria Racing Club (VRC) head of racecourse Liam O’Keeffe expecting 11mm of rain to start falling around breakfast time.

O’Keeffe told SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up that the rain would continue “until about 1 or 2 o’clock and then easing off to scattered showers after that”. The first race is at 12.40pm.

“So if we were to get 11 millimetres, and some of that during racing, on Day 5 then I think we’ll be very close to a Heavy 8,” he said.

He expects runners in the straight races to look for fresher ground in the middle to outside lanes, as they did on Oaks Day. That pattern matters for the 1200-metre Champions Sprint, where favourite Tempted makes her first appearance on Flemington’s straight course.

James McDonald rides Champions Mile favourite Autumn Glow, Joliestar in the Sprint and Aeliana in the Champions Stakes. He compared the outlook with last year’s meeting, when the Sprint was run on a Heavy 9.

Sabaj has already been scratched from the Champions Stakes with an elevated temperature.