Sydney's most popular racehorse Hot Danish brought the carnival to a fitting finale with a stunning victory in the last Group One race of the autumn, the All-Aged Stakes.The jury is still out on the revamped program which locks the Golden Slipper meeting into the first Saturday in April which this year took the AJC Australian Derby away from its traditional Easter date.Although designed so the major races of the Melbourne and Sydney carnivals did not clash, a freak hail storm intervened, forcin
Sydney's most popular racehorse Hot Danish brought the carnival to a fitting finale with a stunning victory in the last Group One race of the autumn, the All-Aged Stakes.
The jury is still out on the revamped program which locks the Golden Slipper meeting into the first Saturday in April which this year took the AJC Australian Derby away from its traditional Easter date.
Although designed so the major races of the Melbourne and Sydney carnivals did not clash, a freak hail storm intervened, forcing the postponement of the Australian Cup and Australian Guineas by a week.
The Randwick Guineas on March 13 was won by emerging staying star Shoot Out who would go on to win the AJC Australian Derby while on the same day Rock Classic upset some big names at Flemington.
The Australian Cup was a triumph for the evergreen Zipping and a deserved Group One win after many attempts.
The battle among the two-year-olds for places in the Golden Slipper field was enthralling. Each year owners pay up for hundreds of yearlings to avoid the hefty late payment into the race.
David Moodie chose not to do so, parting with $150,000 to put Crystal Lily in the $3.5 million Slipper.
It proved to be a canny investment when the filly took out the juvenile showpiece from another late entry Decision Time.
On the same day, Typhoon Tracy grabbed her fourth Group One victory of the season in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes to lay claim to the Horse of the Year title.
An out of sorts run in the Doncaster Mile a couple of weeks later did little to dent her reputation.
The Doncaster was won by Rangirangdoo after an unprecedented legal battle over who would ride him.
Gai Waterhouse took her case to the NSW Supreme Court to try to get stable jockey Nash Rawiller off the Chris Waller-trained Rangirangdoo once she decided to run Theseo.
The judge ruled the stewards decision to hold Rawiller to the ride was valid and the leading jockey made no mistakes, showing why he was in such great demand.
The Doncaster controversy didn't end there with runner-up Road To Rock's jockey Damien Oliver weighing in more than a kilogram heavy.
Oliver was handed a three week suspension for the infringement but was around long enough to make amends on Road To Rock in Saturday's Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Crystal Lily went home to Melbourne after the Slipper with another Melbourne filly Yosei taking out the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes.
The final leg of the two-year-old triple crown on the final day gave the powerful Darley operation a welcome Group One victory after an uncharacteristic drought.
Skilled's win in the Champagne Stakes came after the closest of seconds in the Sires' and gave the stable's number two rider Josh Parr his first Group One win.
The final day also featured the Sydney Cup, the only other 3200 metre Group One race on the Australian calendar apart from the Melbourne Cup.
Jessicabeel stamped herself as the superior stayer on the day and further enhanced the incredible record of her sire Zabeel, giving him his 41st individual Group One winner.
But the day belonged to Hot Danish who received a reception fit for a queen when she returned to scale.
Throughout her career, the six-year-old has struggled on wet tracks and those conditions dogged her previous Group One bids.
In the All-Aged she got a firm track and showed just how effective she could be.
Just an hour after the race it rained.
The focus for horses now shifts north to Brisbane and the riches on offer over winter.
The focus for administrators returns to court cases over rights fees, the merger of the two Sydney clubs and ways to attract crowds back to the races.