The new order in Australian racing took shape at Randwick on Saturday.
And in the way of royalty, the throne has been claimed by its rightful heir.
All Too Hard, the younger brother of the departing queen Black Caviar, produced the run of his career to win the All Aged Stakes and move to the top of the tree.
The colt who had beaten the best three-year-olds in the spring in the Caulfield Guineas and then ran a brave second in the Cox Plate, sealed his bid for the No.1 ranking in Australian racing with his defeat of the older horses in racing’s ultimate test – Group One at weight-for-age.
“That’s got to be the performance of the carnival,” said the horse’s senior part-owner Peter Orton of Vinery Stud.
“He was dominant, totally dominant.”
Until Saturday the New Zealand colt It’s A Dundeel had seemed likely to assume the crown.
But his defeat at long odds-on in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes made the difference.
All Too Hard, the son of Casino Prince and Black Caviar’s dam Helsinge, had won his first two races this autumn, the CF Orr Stakes and the Futurity Stakes, both at Group One and both in Melbourne.
Like Black Caviar, he needed to do it in Sydney where he had disappointed last spring.
And 300 metres from the finish of the finish on Saturday, he looked to be struggling.
But in the style of a good horse he lifted and beat the front-running Rain Affair by a half length.
The only detraction from the performance is that All Too Hard will reign as a monarch in virtual exile.
If all goes to plan, he will leave for England within a couple of weeks, never to race in Australia again.
