Sydney Spring Racing Carnival

The 2014 Sydney Spring Racing Carnival is one of two spring carnivals that take place in Australia each year. The carnival begins in August, with the first Group race of the new season, the Group 3 Missile Stakes, being held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.  The Sydney Spring Racing Carnival runs from August to October and includes some of the best racing the country has to offer.

Group 1 racing in the Sydney spring begins with the running of the Golden Rose at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. Run over a distance of 1,400 metres, the Golden Rose is open to three-year-old horses only and run under set-weight conditions. All colts and gelding are allocated 55.5 kilograms, while fillies are required to carry 53 kilograms. The Group 1 Golden Rose is worth a total of $1 million in prize money, making it the richest race of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival. The Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes and the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes is also held on Golden Rose Day each year.

The second Group 1 of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival is run in the middle of September, when the $350,000 George Main Stakes takes place. Run at Randwick Racecourse, the George Main Stakes is contested over a distance of 1,600 metres and run under weight-for-age conditions.

The Sydney Spring Racing Carnival culminates with Epsom Handicap Day at Randwick Racecourse. Epsom Handicap Day is home to nine Group races, including the Group 1 Epsom Handicap, Group 1 The Metropolitan, and Group 1 Flight Stakes. The Epsom Handicap is run over a miler’s distance of 1,600 metres and under handicap conditions. Worth $500,000 in prize money, the Epsom Handicap is open to horses aged three-years-old and upwards. The Metropolitan is also open to three-year-old horses and above, however, is run over a stayer’s distance of 2,400 metres. Worth $400,000, The Metropolitan is run under handicap conditions.

Epsom Handicap Day features a Group 1 races dedicated solely to three-year-olds. The Flight Stakes is worth $400,000 and is open to three-year-old fillies only. Run under set-weight conditions, the Flight Stakes is run over 1,600 metres.

The meeting also features the Group 2 Premiere Stakes, Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes, and Group 3 Craven Plate. The entire Epsom Handicap Day is worth more than $2.1 million in prize money.

The following weekend, the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) provides an opportunity for three year old horses to prove their worth in a set weights competition. With a purse totalling $400,000, the Spring Champion Stakes is an exciting event.

After Epsom Handicap Day, the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival is taken over by the Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne.

sydney spring Racing Carnival Horse Races

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