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Letter of the Week

Too many

I don’t always agree with Peter V’landys, but he is spot on with his assessment of the pattern committee.
The system is faulty. First-up and lead-up races should not be given Group 1 status, and there are far too many Group 1s. Australia has 74. You could halve that number and probably still have too many.
Handicap races should only be rated Group 1 if special, like the Caulfield and Melbourne cups and the Doncaster, which are the only three I would classify as Group 1 standard. 
The Newmarket and Epsom have been special races, but need considerable prizemoney increases.
The Melbourne Racing Club alone has three Group 1 handicaps worth $500,000 each — the Rupert Clarke, Toorak and Oakleigh Plate. Good races, but not Group 1 standard in my opinion and not worth enough.
Although I am not a fan of gimmick races, I believe The Everest should be a Group 1. It is a great race.
The All-Star Mile surely can never be a Group 1, given that its voting system continues to put moderate horses into the field (and getting big money) ahead of much better performed gallopers.

Hugh Fraser
Frankston South (Vic)
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Friday 29 March
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