Interstate racing bodies are unlikely to acknowledge some of the upgrades made to 12 races in New South Wales, in a move which may have consequences for horses looking to qualify or move up the order of entry to the Melbourne Cup.
A dozen races in the New South Wales spring were announced last week as either being given black-type for the first time or promoted in grade.
That came after The Everest and All-Star Mile were granted Group 1 status, something that seems to have finally received the correct international stamp on the eve of the $20 million sprint after a week of uncertainty.
Other states were set to announce their stakes upgrades this week but have opted to put their announcements on hold after questions were raised over whether the races would be properly recognised internationally.
The Tapp-Craig, contested at Rosehill last week, was the first of the NSW-promoted races to be run. It was given Listed status, but it subsequently emerged that the winner Anode would not be awarded internationally recognised black type status as the new Racing Australia black type guidelines had yet to be ratified.
The exact status of three upgraded races to be run on The Everest program (outside The Everest) on Saturday is under question, but Racing Australia has conceded that they won’t be considered at that level intentionally.
The Silver Eagle and the ATC St Leger were given black-type for the first time as Group 3s, while the Reginald Allen Stakes was promoted from Listed to Group 3 status.
But The Straight understands other states may also not recognise the new black type status of the ATC St Leger.
Bren O’Brien
Racing Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club have made a specific call on the St Leger which will impact horses progressing from that race to the Melbourne Cup.
Because the 2600-metre race is not viewed as having black-type, a victory would not be sufficient to pass the first ballot clause for the Melbourne Cup. That has relevance to just one runner in the St Leger, the Matthew Smith-trained Waltham.
However, there are five further horses in the St Leger who are still in the nominations for the Melbourne Cup. Because the VRC would not view a victory in the race as black-type win, those horses are not eligible to be re-handicapped.
Alegron, Athabascan and Military Mission are all inside the top 24 on the ballot order and would get a run if the Melbourne Cup was run today, but could slip outside the field if overtaken by other horses.
The Chris Waller-trained Etna Rosso (29th) and the Kiwi-trained Trust In You (33rd) are further down the order of entry and may need a re-handicap to get into the Cup field. They will not be eligible to be re-handicapped if they win the St Leger.
“Racing Victoria (RV), in consultation with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), sought clarification regarding the appropriate assessment of Lexus Melbourne Cup entries contesting the ATC St Leger Stakes (2600m) at Randwick on 19 October 2024 given conjecture over whether the race had been internationally recognised as a Group 3 race, a Racing Victoria statement said.
“Subsequent to the publication of the 2024 Melbourne Cup race conditions and the close of nominations on 3 September 2024, Racing Australia had published online that the ATC St Leger Stakes has been elevated to a Group 3 race after not carrying black type status in 2023.”
Racing Victoria said Clause 6 of the General Conditions of the Melbourne Cup explicitly states that, “Reference to a race being “internationally recognised” means a race published by the IRPAC in Part 1 of the International Cataloguing Standards as receiving black-type (Group, Graded or Listed status) for the year such race was run.”
Tim Rowe
Under the Balloting Conditions of the Melbourne Cup, the list of Relevant Race Performances includes those conducted since 1 February 2023 where a horse has won or was placed second or third in an internationally recognised Group or Graded flat race run over 2300 metres or further.
“Further, within the Penalties section of the Melbourne Cup conditions it states that the winner, after declaration of weights, of an internationally recognised Listed, Group or Graded flat race of 1600 metres or further if a handicap, or 2300 metres or further if a non-handicap, is eligible to be re- handicapped in the Melbourne Cup. The weights for the Melbourne Cup were declared on 17 September 2024,” RV said.
“RV subsequently sought clarity from Racing Australia who advised that the ATC St Leger Stakes has not, at this point in time, been internationally recognised as a Group 3 race by the Asian Pattern Committee and thereafter the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee (IRPAC).
“Based on this advice and all available information, RV and the VRC are in agreeance that the ATC St Leger Stakes does not, at this point in time, meet the criteria of an internationally recognised race as specifically documented within the conditions published for the 2024 Melbourne Cup.”
“Whilst acknowledging that it is a unique situation, RV and the VRC are aligned that it would be inappropriate to either ignore or change the conditions of the Melbourne Cup at this time given that connections have entered and paid up for their horses in the belief that they would be competing under those published conditions.”
The prospect of other states refusing to recognise the upgraded status of the New South Wales races has the potential to further politicise the Pattern discussion, which has dominated discussion on racing circles over the past two weeks.
Racing NSW has been contacted for comment.
