The Golden Eagle will be run at Royal Randwick in 2025, six years after the now $10 million race for four-year-olds was first held at Sydney’s inner western racecourse Rosehill Gardens.
The lucrative race, which was won in its inaugural year by the Chris Waller-trained Kolding, has been successfully targeted by international horses in recent years despite the absence of black type status.
Japan’s Obamburumai won the 2023 edition of the Golden Eagle while William Haggas’ Lake Forest took out last year’s race, which has produced eight subsequent Group 1 winners, including Royal Ascot scorer Lazzat.
Racing NSW’s Peter V’landys, the architect of the Golden Eagle and the state’s other big-money pop-up race The Everest, announced on Friday that the 1500-metre race would be switched from Rosehill to Randwick from this November.
The change, which was speculated may have occurred last year, comes a little more than two months after Australian Turf Club members voted down a proposal to sell Rosehill for at least $5 billion to the state government.
Randwick, which is known for its famous 1600-metre start for races such as the Group 1 Epsom Handicap and Doncaster Mile, rarely uses the 1500-metre start.
However, the Group 2 Tea Rose for three-year-old fillies was run at Randwick over that distance in 2012 when won by Longport before being changed to a 1400-metre race the following year.
The Bjorn Baker-trained Iknowastar broke the 1500-metre Randwick track record when the gelding won the $1 million Five Diamonds Prelude in October last year.
“Sydney’s Everest Carnival continues to grow every year, with the highlight being a sold-out Royal Randwick for Everest Day last year,” Racing NSW chair Saranne Cooke said in a statement.
“The Golden Eagle race, especially with the $1 million charity component, forms a prominent position at the new Randwick carnival.
“It will, like The Everest, become the young generation’s must-go event. Once again in 2025, the Golden Eagle is also again attracting world-class contenders, with a growing number of international stars - many of whom have already triumphed in prestigious Group races across Europe and Asia - now targeting the Randwick feature.”
The transfer from Rosehill to Randwick will mean the eastern suburbs course will host seven metropolitan meetings in a two-month period and race four times in 24 days, culminating in its Melbourne Cup day Big Dance card on November 4.
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V’landys told The Straight in June that the Golden Eagle deserved to have globally recognised Group 1 status given the quality of the fields the race has been able to attract since its inception.
“Naturally, we believe the Golden Eagle should be a Group 1,” V’landys said after Lazzat’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes win at Royal Ascot.
“It’s a new age race that has gained worldwide attention. It is only going to continue to grow and become more prestigious.”
A review of the Pattern Guidelines is underway with Racing Australia and that outcome will determine when Racing NSW will push its case for Group 1 status to be granted to the Golden Eagle.
