The inaugural winner of the refashioned 1,200-metre Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night will have a new race to point towards after Racing New South Wales on Wednesday unveiled The Everest, a A$10 million (Dh27.81m) sprint to be staged at Royal Randwick Racecourse in the autumn.
Hot on the heels of the US$12m (Dh44m) Pegasus World Cup, won last week by Arrogate, the new Australian race requires 12 connections to stump up an entry fee of A$600,000.
Once an interest has been purchased, connections can proceed to sell on their berth should they so wish to interested parties. It was how owners Juddmonte secured a berth for Arrogate in the Gulfstream Park race.
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The winner of the 1,200m sprint, to be staged on October 17 in Sydney, receives A$5.8m, which eclipses the country’s famous Melbourne Cup and makes the contest the most valuable race on turf anywhere in the world.
The Dubai Sheema Classic and Dubai Turf were previously the two most valuable races on turf at US$6m each with a winner’s cheque of US$3.6m.
Much like the Pegasus World Cup, the prize pool will be funded partly by those who pay to enter, but it will also benefit from additional revenues such as television rights, if there are any, merchandising and so forth.
It is clear that organisers are looking beyond their borders for challengers.
“The Everest will be a game-changer for racing in Sydney and provide a stage for showcasing the best Australian sprinters against leading international contenders,” said Russell Balding, chairman of Racing NSW.
Taking on Australian sprinters in their own backyard is not the wisest move for any owner or trainer, but the new race would allow international horses the luxury of staying on to target the lucrative sprints on offer during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
The A$1m Manikato Stakes on October 27 at Moonee Valley, for example, and the A$1m Darley Classic, staged on November 11 on the straight at Flemington, are both Group 1 sprints over the same distance.
“This represents an innovative concept and a tremendous new event to promote thoroughbred racing to a broader audience,” said Peter V’landy’s, the Racing NSW chief executive.
“Being a sprint over Royal Randwick’s testing 1,200m circuit, The Everest is tailored to Australian racing.”
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