A record 1,290 nominations have been received for the third renewal of 'The Championships' to be held at Sydney's Royal Randwick Racecourse. The 10 top events that comprise the series will be staged Saturday, Apr. 2 and Saturday, Apr. 9.
“The Championships is now firmly entrenched on the world stage after just a couple of years,” commented Peter V'landys AM, chief executive of Racing New South Wales (RNSW). “The increased number of nominations in 2016 is testament to the interest it generates around the globe.
V'landys added, “Nominations have been received from around Australia as well as some from overseas, including four from Japan. The Championships provides world-class racing over the two days and already interest is building with the Country and Provincial Championships commencing Saturday week, which proved highly successful in its inaugural year.”
Total nominations for The Championships is up by 69 over last season. The featured race of the two days, the A$4-million G1 Queen Elizabeth S. (2000m) Apr. 9, attracted 96 entries, while the A$3-million G1 The Star Doncaster Mile Apr. 2 drew no fewer than 163 nominations. The A$2.5-million G1 Darley T J Smith S. (1200m) saw the biggest percentage increase year over year, with its 91 entrants representing a 32% bump. The A$2-million G1 Australian Derby (2400m) and the A$1-million G1 Inglis Sires' Produce S. each saw a 19% increase in nominations.
The four Japanese entrants include Tosen Stardom (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), fifth in last year's Queen Elizabeth S. after finishing second in the G1 Ranvet S.; and Isla Bonita (Jpn) (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}), the 2014 G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner who was third behind champion Lovely Day (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and filled the same spot behind Horse of the Year Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) in the G1 Mile Championship last fall.
“The Championships with record nominations this year goes to another level, and we are especially excited at a horse like [G1 Cox Plate winer] Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) taking on some of the world's strongest middle-distance horses from Japan,” said Darren Pearce, chief executive officer of the Australian Turf Club.
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