STRONG FEATURE NOMINATIONS ACROSS SYDNEY AUTUMN RACING CARNIVAL
A huge 1,522 nominations have been received by the ATC for the upcoming The Star Championships
February 9, 2023
Nominations across a host of feature races at The Star Championships have seen strong increases as Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club prepare for a world-class Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival, offering a record $41 million prizemoney.
A total of 1522 nominations, up 17 per cent on 2022, were taken across ten races at Royal Randwick on 1 and 8 April including iconic events the Group 1 $5 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Group 1 $4 million The Star Doncaster Mile and Group 1 $3 million Furphy TJ Smith Stakes.
Amongst races to see the largest increases from last year are the Group 1 $5 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (up 48 nominations to 123), Group 1 $2 million Schweppes Sydney Cup (up 50 to 133), Group 2 $1 million Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (up 41 to 154) and Group 2 $1 million Furphy Percy Sykes Stakes (up 39 to 217).
The Group 1 $4 million The Star Doncaster Mile has 164 nominations, Group 1 Furphy TJ Smith Stakes $3 million 78 entries and the Group 1 $1 million Queen of The Turf Stakes 130 nominations.
Included are 10 nominations from leading Northern Hemisphere trainers Joseph O’Brien, William Haggas and Aidan O’Brien along with 15 from Japanese stables.
New Zealand stables have 75 nominations across all ten races including 19 horses in the Group 1 $2 million Australian Derby, 11 fillies in the Group 1 $1 million The Star Australian Oaks, 16 nominations in The Star Doncaster Mile and 10 in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
A full list of all nominations for all 10 races across both days at Royal Randwick are available here at:
Day 1 – https://racing.racingnsw.com.au/FreeFields/Nominations.aspx?Key=2023Apr01,NSW,Royal%20Randwick
Day 2 – https://racing.racingnsw.com.au/FreeFields/Nominations.aspx?Key=2023Apr08,NSW,Royal%20Randwick
Headline horses to nominate include:
- The world’s highest rated sprinter Nature Strip in the $3 million TJ Smith Stakes as the Chris Waller champion looks to an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory in the race
- Seven-time Group 1 winner Anamoe for James Cummings and Godolphin who holds a nomination in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes
- Highly rated international runners Dubai Honour (William Haggas Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes), Baron Samedi (Joseph O’Brien Schweppes Sydney Cup) and Raise You (Joseph O’Brien Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Schweppes Sydney Cup)
- Golden Eagle winner I Wish I Win who has been nominated in the TJ Smith Stakes, The Star Doncaster Mile and Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes
- The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Alcohol Free, purchased in the US for close to $A10 million by Yulong and is nominated for The Star Doncaster Mile, TJ Smith Stakes, Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Queen of the Turf Stakes.
Along with nominations for The Championships, Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club also received increases in the Group 1 $600,000 Sky Racing Rosehill Guineas (105 total nominations), Group 1 $1 million The Agency Randwick Guineas (87) and Group 1 $600,000 Surround Stakes (43).
ATC MEDIA CONTACT: Brett de Vine 0419 613 455 bdevine@theATC.com.au