October
MayGreat carnival, but ...
Congratulations to Thoroughbred Racing SA on the completion of a high-quality and thoroughly enjoyable Adelaide Festival of Racing.
However, excellent though the three Saturdays were, there’s always room for improvement.
Given that SA has only four Group 1 races, I would like to see more balance across those elite events.
At present we have two distance classic races, one weight-for-age distaff sprint and one open sprint at set weights and penalties.
This year’s Goodwood was excellent, the Schweppes Oaks usually throws up a quality filly or two and Russian Camelot might have saved the SA Derby.
That leaves the TAB Classic, none of whose past five winners has even looked like winning another Group 1.
I realise it’s not this simple, but I believe TRSA should make it a goal to create or build up a weight-for-age open race over 1600 or 2000 metres to replace this powder-puff derby as its fourth Group 1.
Richmond (Vic)