AUS Championships Day 1 Postponed to April 6
Description:
Australia's Championships Day 1, set for April 4 with two Breeders' Cup Challenge races carded among four group I stakes, was canceled at Royal Randwick due to adverse weather and rescheduled for Monday, April 6.
Persistent rain overnight and throughout Saturday morning in Sydney—with no break in the weather forecast all through race day—meant that jockey safety and visibility on the track was of particular concern for Racing New South Wales stewards.
"With the significant amount of rain that has fallen since 6 a.m. we couldn't be confident due to the visibility for jockeys in the rain, and the effect that the rain would have hadon the track,'' chief steward Ray Murrihy said Saturday.
The Championships Day 1 card includes the 150th running of the $2 million The Star Doncaster Mile (Aus-I), which offers a berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) and the $2.5 million Darley T.J. Smith Stakes (Aus-I) at 1,200 meters (about six furlongs), a qualifying race for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT).
The Championships Day 2 is set for April 11.