March 11, 2020
Six international gallopers from some of the northern hemisphere’s biggest stables are set to arrive in Sydney as they target a range of races at the Sydney Racing Carnival at Rosehill Gardens and Royal Randwick.
European trained horses will be the first to arrive on Saturday and head to the Canterbury Park Quarantine Centre, with three horses aiming to compete on Longines Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens on 21 March before heading to The Star Championships at Royal Randwick.
Those horses are:
- Group 1 placegetter Addeybb for leading British trainer William Haggas, targeting the Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill Gardens (21 March) and Group 1 $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick (11 April)
- Multiple Group winner Young Rascal (William Haggas) is being prepared for the Group 1 $2 million Schweppes Sydney Cup at Royal Randwick (11 April)
- French Group 1 winner Olmedo now under the care of Australian trainer Kacy Fogden will aim to run in both the Group 1 $1 million George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill Gardens (21 March) and Group 1 $3 million The Star Doncaster (4 April)
A high-quality Japanese contingent will target The Star Championships with a trio of Group 1 performers planning to enter quarantine in Japan on Tuesday before arriving in Australia on 17 March.
Those horses are:
- Danon Premium trained by Mitsumasa Nakauchida who will target the Group 1 $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (11 April). Danon Premium most recently finished second in the Group 1 Mile Champsionship at Kyoto Racecourse.
- Multiple Group 1 winner Mozu Ascot trained by Cox Plate winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi. The Group 1 Yasuda Kinen winner will target the Group 1 $3 million The Star Doncaster Mile on 4 April
- My Style trained by Mitsugu Kon who recently finished fourth in the Group 1 Mile Championship in Japan, and will also target the Group 1 $3 million The Star Doncaster Mile.
Australian Turf Club General Manager Racing, Wagering and International James Ross said The Star Championships continued to capture the attention of the racing world.
“It is very positive to see the international interest in competing in Sydney growing again this year and even more encouraging that the likely contenders are largely 115 plus rated horses who will be very competitive in our flagship Group 1 races,” Mr Ross said.
“Overall the Carnival attracted 31 international entries this year and to receive such high quality participation from leading stables gives us every confidence this renewal will be one of our strongest Sydney carnivals.
“With dual Group 1 winners from Japan it is clearly the most well performed group of horses that have targeted the Sydney Racing Carnival in many years and given the success of Japanese runners in Australia, England, Dubai and Hong Kong in recent times, they should be highly competitive here.
“The success of Polarisation (Charley Appleby) and also the competitive efforts of Kluger (Tomokazu Takano) and He’s Eminent (Sir Mark Todd) has given trainers increased confidence to travel to Sydney for the valuable prizemoney on offer, along with the guarantee of world-class facilities and raceday experiences.”