Dual-hemisphere breeding giant Darley is the new sponsor of the premier sprint of the Victoria Racing Club’s Melbourne Cup carnival.
Formerly known as the VRC Sprint Classic, the Emirates Stakes day speed test will become known as the Group One Darley Classic (1200m) in the spring.
The Darley Classic will carry $1 million prize money and will remain the penultimate race in the Global Sprint Challenge series.
The VRC will also put up a $600,000 bonus to any horse that can win an international leg of the Global Sprint Challenge as well as the Darley Classic.
Irish sprinter Slade Power will race for the bonus if he heads to Flemington in November as he has won the Group One Diamond Jubilee Stakes and July Cup, which are both legs of the Global Sprint Challenge.
Slade Power, who will stand at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland next year, will probably need to overcome the local star Lankan Rupee to claim a seven-figure payday.
Hong Kong galloper Lucky Nine failed to collect the bonus last year when he finished midfield in the VRC Sprint as a $3.40 favourite.
Champion sprinter Black Caviar won the event in 2010 and 2011, when the race was known as the Patinack Farm Classic.
