What an incredible weekend awaits racing enthusiasts around the world.
On Saturday, Day One of The Championships takes place at Royal Randwick featuring, amongst others, the $4 million Group 1 Doncaster Mile, the $3 million Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes, the $2 million Group 1 Australian Derby and the $1 million Inglis Sires.
And the glorious feast of Group 1 servings does not end there.
What follows is a Saturday night double feature stretching 7500km from the magnificence of Meydan to the action at Aintree.
In Dubai the famed Dubai World Cup meeting with prize-money totalling US$30.5 million will take place at Meydan where the main feature, the Dubai World Cup is worth US$12, The Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic is worth $6 million and the Group 1 Dubai Turf is worth $5 million. Six other races, including the Group 1 Al Quoz and the Group 1 Golden Sheema, have prize-money of $1 million or more.
At Aintree, the 1 million pounds prize pool for the Grand National is up for grabs.
For all of the raw energy of Randwick and the pomp and ceremony of Meydan though, the Grand National, is a race like no other.
In spite of being ever-controversial and an obvious prime target for anti-jump racing lobbyists, the Grand National continues to be known as the “People’s Race’ in Britain … much akin to the Melbourne Cup in Australia, where once a year punters come out to place a bet on the big race.
In the Grand National a maximum field of thirty-four horses (it was forty until last year) will face a stern stamina test over 6900m with the task of negotiating thirty fences also included in the marathon trip. The race should last between nine and ten minutes, a timeframe into which the running of all four of the Group 1’s at Randwick would fit with over two minutes to spare.
And it is ‘no contest’ in terms of the ‘Tradition Stakes’.
The Championships have been held since 2014. The Dubai Worls Cup was first held in 1996 … whereas the roots of the Grand National can be traced back to 1839, when the race that would develop into the Grand National as we know it today was won by the aptly named Lottery.
Saturday is a day which will have something for everyone as far as the racing fraternity is concerned.
As a race-day, albeit globally, it doesn’t get much better than this.
So, shuffle the cushions on the couch. Find that relaxed comfort spot. Put your choice of snacks and refreshment within reach and settle in for some riveting viewing.
Days like this don’t come around often.
