News

Queen Elizabeth Stks - Heavyweight Title Of The Season

23rd Apr 2009

Racing NSW - Mark Brassel - Thursday, 23 April 2009

The Australian Jockey Club will stage THE heavyweight championship of the racing season at Royal Randwick this Saturday in what promises to be an enthralling contest.

Saturday's $500,000 Emirates Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) will see Australasia's finest gallopers go head-to-head in a weight-for-age event full to the brim with outstanding gallopers.

Facts and figures alone show that the Queen Elizabeth Stakes has usurped last spring's Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

The '08 Cox Plate attracted the winners of 18 Group One races; having won a combined total of $12.7million in prizemoney.

The Queen Elizabeth will have the winners of 20 Group One races for a combined prizemoney sum of $15.77m.

Current favourite is Group One winner Whobegotyou with the fine record of five wins and five placings from just 12 starts and $1.4m in prizemoney. The chestnut was a luckless third to Vision and Power in last week's Doncaster Mile and will be seeking revenge.

Vision and Power, who will pass the $2m mark in prizemoney should he finish a place, has been in blazing form and is chasing his third successive Group One victory.

And then there are the 'wild cards' - a pack of classy three-year-olds also in contention, namely Sousa (winner of the Spring Champion Stakes), Roman Emperor (AJC Australian Derby), Metal Bender (Randwick & Rosehill Guineas) and Predatory Pricer (multiple Group 1 placegetter).

The 'heavyweight championship' will commence at 3:10pm.