Strong entries taken for The Championships
A record number of nominations have been taken for The Championships in Sydney including a host of international entries for feature races.
The 2015 Caulfield Cup runner-up Trip To Paris from the Ed Dunlop stable is among 99 nominations for the $2 million Sydney Cup – one of the 10 Championship races – while Willie Mullins has three Cup entries including 2015 Melbourne Cup runner-up Max Dynamite.
A total of 1371 nominations were taken for those 10 races – 81 more than last year.
The feature $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes has 100 entries.
Of those, 11 Japanese-based horses have been entered to take on Winx in the the 2000m weight-for-age showpiece.
Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby has two Sydney Cup entries, Polarisation and Penglai Pavilion, after having a successful Melbourne spring carnival with the team of horses he sent to Australia.
“We are thrilled the overall number of nominations is up so strongly, and that so many races have increased entries from last year,” the Australian Turf Club’s chief executive Darren Pearce said.
“The ATC is particularly pleased with the increased interest from international stables in Japan, the UK and Hong Kong, with some very well-performed horses nominated for several races.
“We will now continue to work hard to ensure as many of these overseas nominations as possible make the trip and compete against Australia’s very best. This increase in international nominations demonstrates a growing awareness of The Championships across the racing world.”
Champion mare Winx – rated the world’s best horse on turf – from the Chris Waller stable in Sydney headlines the entries for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).