The upgraded status of three stakes races on Saturday’s feature The Everest meeting at Randwick is yet to be internationally recognised as uncertainty persists over the black type pattern in Australia.
There were 12 races announced (not including The Everest) as upgraded in New South Wales this spring, including the Reginald Allen Quality, upgraded from Listed to Group 3, and the Silver Eagle and ATC St Leger, afforded black-type status for the first time as Group 3 races, all to be run on Saturday.
However, as the new Australian Black Type Guidelines on which the upgrades were based has yet to receive international approval, it is unlikely these races’ new status will be internationally recognised.
The new process has to be seen to comply with the Asian Pattern Committee’ ground rules. Once this happens, international bodies, IRPAC and SITA, are then advised of any changes to the pattern and update the globally recognised “Blue Book” accordingly.
The Straight understands after multiple enquiries from clubs and catalogue publishers, neither IRPAC or SITA had received the required approval from the APC as of Friday (US/European time).
As such, the upgrades to the three races on Saturday and the newly Listed Tapp-Craig run last Saturday will not be recognised.
Other states were set to announce their upgraded stakes races this week but put those announcements on hold after strong feedback from key stakeholders as well as the confusion over the internationally validity of any new upgrades.
It appears that the new guidelines, unanimously approved by Racing Australia’s board, have run aground, both domestically and internationally,
There is a suggestion that interstate racing authorities may not recognise the upgraded state of the 12 New South Wales races.
Bren O’Brien
Racing Victoria has specifically said it will not recognise the Group 3 status of the ATC ST Leger as it pertains to Melbourne Cup qualification. That means that any horse which wins the race at Randwick on Saturday would not be eligible to be re-handicapped for the Melbourne Cup, nor would it count as a ballot clause race.
This is due to the existing Melbourne Cup conditions which explicitly state that races which impact ballot or handicaps must have their status recognised by IRPAC.
While doubts persist over the upgraded races, it appears the Group 1 status of The Everest has been resolved in time for the race. International pedigree companies as well as other key intentional authorities have acknowledged the upgrades to Group 1 for both The Everest and the All-Star Mile.
