Australian Turf Club will implement a new Summer Sprint Series – including a major boost to its stand-alone Saturday meeting at Canterbury Park – giving trainers more chances to target several Black Type races over coming months.
The ATC has worked with Gosford Race Club on programming to include its feature sprint, the Takeover Target Stakes, in a series of five summer sprint races, all spaced a fortnight apart through November, December and January.
The Summer Sprint Series begins with the Listed $100,000 Starlight Stakes over 1100m at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday 29 November before the Listed $100,000 Razor Sharp at Royal Randwick over 1200m on Saturday 13 December.
The Listed $100,000 Canterbury Classic over 1200m, which had been held in late January on a Friday night in previous years, will now be the centrepiece of the stand-alone Saturday meeting at Canterbury Park on 27 December as the race day continues to build in popularity with families around the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
A fortnight on, the series takes in the Takeover Target Stakes over 1200m at Gosford on Friday 9 January before finishing with the Carrington Stakes at Royal Randwick on 24 January, which has had a distance increase to 1400m.
ATC Executive General Manager of Racing, Matt Rudolph, said the Club was keen to continue to build its only Saturday meeting at Canterbury Park.
“The moving of the Canterbury Classic to the Saturday is a further boost in confidence for a day that has built up quickly over the past couple of years during the holiday season,” Mr Rudolph said. “The Canterbury Classic has been a great launching pad for the sprinters over recent years and last year’s winner Knoydart went on to be Group One-placed during the autumn.
“We anticipate that this series will unearth another prospect capable of progressing to autumn Group Ones including The Galaxy on Tooheys New Golden Slipper Day and the $2.5 million Darley TJ Smith during The Championships.”
“Increasing the Carrington Stakes to 1400m late in January will round out the Summer Sprint Series and also provides an option for horses commencing their campaigns toward longer races ahead of what will be an exciting autumn.”
The sprint changes come as the ATC continues its Schweppes Friday Night Racing season with the next meeting under lights on 14 November, followed by 23 January, and two more nights on 6 and 20 February.
– Racing NSW
