Planned changes to the autumn to accommodate a move of The Championships into the first two weeks of April have once again caused dramas between power states NSW and Victoria.
The battle lines were drawn at the Australian Pattern Committee last week and a subcommittee was formed to work through concerns, including the Australian Guineas and Randwick Guineas, which are to be run on the same day. As will 2000-metre weight-for-age contests, the Ranvet Stakes and the Australian Cup, a week later.
The Victorians are not happy that NSW wants to move the goalposts on its carnival and encroach on Melbourne's group 1 racing in the early autumn.
Once again, Victoria and NSW have put their local aims above the need for a national program allowing the best horses to meet. It is another test of which state holds the power where it should be seen as an opportunity to improve the black-type program.
The races that are the main concern have always competed for horses and often split the talent. The Randwick Guineas is probably a stronger race than the Australian Guineas, while the Australian Cup definitely holds sway over the Ranvet Stakes.
Australian Pattern Committee chairman Kevin Dixon said at the Asian Racing Conference in May that racing needs grand finals for horses to aim at, and that the pattern has to aim for this happen. It also needs to give to have the best racing the best as often as possible.
That is what will make the sport stronger.
So splitting the limited pool of top-line horses should not occur. There is a solution but it requires goodwill from both sides. A change of distance and date for the Australian Guineas might not suit the Victorians, but it would make for a stronger program.
The spring template seems to work, so use it as guide, a 1400m group 1 for three-year-olds is needed in the autumn. By moving the Australian Guineas forward a fortnight earlier and running it at 1400m, instead of 1600m, it would act as the Golden Rose does to the Caulfield Guineas.
It would swap with the C.S. Hayes Stakes, a group 3 at Flemington, which is due to be run on February 21 next year. The Hayes could go back a fortnight and become a 1600m contest, which would still give a three-year-olds a chance of running a mile the week before the Australian Cup.
The advantage of having a 1400m three-year-old group 1 would mean it could attract the sprinters to stretch out before the Newmarket Handicap three weeks later, while also giving a stepping stone to the Randwick Guineas.
In the Ranvet and Australian Cup dilemma, NSW should be happy to give ground. The Ranvet should be moved to what is schedule to be Golden Slipper day on March 21 the next week, positioning it three weeks from the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in The Championships.
It would act in a similar way to the Turnbull Stakes in the spring to the Cox Plate. It could even have the conditions changed to be set weights and penalties. It would strengthen Golden Slipper day and provide a much needed lead-up to the Queen Elizabeth.
The change of focus in the autumn requires a change of policy at the APC and it is a chance to bring our top-level racing into the 21st century, but will it be taken?
