MY CALL: DOOR IS LEFT OPEN FOR A POSSIBLE BRISBANE WINTER CARNIVAL QUALIFIER FOR THE MELBOURNE CUP

By David Fowler | Tuesday, November 12, 2019

David Fowler is the principal thoroughbred caller for Radio TAB. David, who is a keen form student and punter, has enjoyed a lifetime involvement in the racing media. His personal blog, ‘My Call’, appears exclusively on HRO.

A Brisbane Winter Carnival qualifier for the Melbourne Cup is far from a longshot.

VRC’s General Manger of Racing Leigh Jordan certainly left the door open when I spoke with him on my PRESS ROOM program on RadioTAB on Monday.

Racing Victoria and the VRC have been acutely aware that it’s a tough task for locals to secure a spot in the Cup as the international invasion swamps the final acceptance.

Yet Aussies Surprise Baby and Steel Prince stepped out last week courtesy of winning qualifying races, The Bart Cummings and the Andrew Ramsden respectively.

And both performed admirably with Surprise Baby’s fifth an outstanding performance considering an unsuitable tempo and a poor draw worked against it. Steel Prince finished a length behind in ninth.

Jordan certainly didn’t rule out that any further Qualifying races would be confined to inside Victoria’s borders.

Such a race bestowed to the Brisbane Winter Carnival would be a great boost to its image but which race would it be?

The most logical would seem the Brisbane Cup but this is not necessarily so.

MY CALL expects further announcements regarding the makeover of next year’s Winter Carnival will be rolled out in the coming weeks

And one particular race will take a huge leap forward in prominence.

As discussed here previously, the repositioning of the Queensland Derby was a major talking point behind closed doors.

A shift away from Stradbroke day would necessitate other races moving as well.

The Queensland Guineas was another feature under the microscope.

Yesterday’s unveiling of the $2.25 million Future Champion Series was an impressive one.

The feature two-year-old Winter Carnival races are now locked into a pay-up bracket of the Champagne Classic, Sires Produce and the J.J.Atkins.

Significantly, the Sires Produce and J.J. Atkins have had their prizemoney boosted to $1million.

It would appear the push is on to re-establish Group One status for the Sires after it lost that rating several years ago.

Spring Carnival results in Sydney and Melbourne have provided a great advertisement for this year’s Winter Carnival.

Racing Queensland and the BRC should be applauded on their attention to the 2020 version.

The Future Champions Series is just the starter.

Watch this space.

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