A total of 163 nominations have been weighted for the 151st running of the $3 million The Star Doncaster Mile (Group 1, 1600m) to be staged on Day 1 of The Championships at Royal Randwick on Saturday, 2 April 2016.
Heading the weights is multiple Group 1 winner Fawkner, who has been allocated topweight of 58kg on a 50kg minimum (49kg for three-year-olds). The grey is the winner of the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) along with a narrow 2nd in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).
Next in line on 57.5kg is Boban, winner of five Group 1 races, two of which were run under handicap conditions. Boban has competed and been victorious at Group 1 level every year since 2013.
Winner of the 2015 Doncaster Mile, Kermadec (NZ), who is now a four-year-old, will carry 57kg. After weights were released for last year’s race he finished 3rd in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) and has since won the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m) at the same course and distance.
Turn Me Loose (NZ) and Contributer (Ire) join Kermadec on 57kg. Turn Me Loose (NZ) is a dual Group 1 winner and most recently won the 2015 Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m), beating a number of horses that are also nominated for the Doncaster Mile.
Contributer joined the Godolphin team in the spring of 2014 and burst onto the scene winning his first race start in Australia and resuming in the autumn of last year with wins in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m), Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m).
The highest rated entry and current Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) and Cox Plate (2040m) champion is Winx off a mark of 116 and a weight of 56.5kg, including her 2kg mare’s allowance. Winx is unbeaten at her last six starts which include three Group Ones, the most recent a 4.5 length win in the WFA Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).
Suavito (NZ) is the next highest weighted mare with 54.5kg, bringing strong Group 1 form with wins in the Futurity Stakes (1400m) and most recently the C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) defeating a number of other Doncaster Mile entrants at weight-for-age level.
Press Statement heads the three-year-olds and will be asked to carry 54kg. He is the winner of six races from eight starts, including the Group 1 J.J. Atkins (1600m) run during the Brisbane winter carnival and the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m). He resumed with a comfortable win in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) last Saturday.
Xtravagant (NZ), a three-year-old from New Zealand with a similar record to the aforementioned Press Statement, is also a dual Group 1 winner and comes off an 8-length win in the open age Group 1 NRM Sprint (1400m) and will carry 53kg.
Tosen Stardom (Jpn) and Logotype (Jpn) will travel from Japan and are both nominated to contest the famous Royal Randwick mile. Tosen Stardom has been allotted 56kg and finished 2nd to Contributer in last year’s Group 1 Ranvet Stakes and a creditable 5th the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Logotype, winner of the 2013 Group 1 Japan 2000 Guineas (2000m) as a three-year-old beating Epiphaneia and Fame Game, has been allotted 55.5kg.
2015 Group 2 Villiers Stakes (1600m) winner, Happy Clapper, is assured a start in the 2016 edition of the Doncaster Mile, being exempt from ballot and will carry 50.5kg. A total of 63 entries have been given allocated weight above the minimum.
- Racing NSW Handicapping Panel