In the era of the ‘pop-up’ race, the Newmarket Handicap has stood the test of time.
First run at Flemington 151 years ago, it may not have the prize pot of Sydney’s flashy new The Everest but the ‘straight six’ sprint represents all of the best elements of Australian racing: a big field, a wide spread in weights, a 1200m distance at which Australian horses generally excel, and it’s run at the country’s most famous racecourse.
The Newmarket Handicap is not unique – in Australia alone there are 14 separate races known as the Newmarket Handicap – but refer to ‘the’ Newmarket and it can only be the Flemington iteration.
Surprisingly, it has no link to the home of horse racing but was named for what was once Australia’s biggest livestock sale complex, situated right across the road – ‘New Market’ becoming the Newmarket Saleyards during the 1850s.
Often referred to as the Melbourne Cup for sprinters, in Australia it is the only race apart from the Cup that allows a maximum of 24 runners, although it hasn’t attracted a capacity field since 1990.
The race’s honour roll features champions unburdened by large weights and well-handicapped horses striking at the right time.
For every Black Caviar, there is a Rubitano, whose incredible victory down in the weights in 2002 saw less than a length covering the first eight across the line.
It creates stallions – Shamexpress, sire of Ka Ying Rising, comes to mind – while the handicap conditions allow for smaller stables to tackle the largest operations on the biggest stage.
Saturday marks 50 years to the day since Cap d’Antibes completed Flemington’s big sprint double: the Lightning (1000m) and the Newmarket. Remarkably, it came after she finished second in the VRC Oaks over 2500m in the spring and, the Saturday after the Newmarket, she stretched out to 2000m and won again.
Those sorts of campaigns don’t occur in the 21st century; certainly, one would not expect a Newmarket winner to tackle the Melbourne Cup in the same year, let alone win. That feat was achieved only once, when Malua completed the double in 1884.
In 1991, Shaftesbury Avenue completed the Lightning-Newmarket double too before stretching out in trip, culminating in a third in the 1991 Japan Cup behind Golden Pheasant.
More recently, the race has been a guide to Australian success at Royal Ascot. Newmarket winners Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast and Black Caviar all travelled to the United Kingdom and tasted dual-hemisphere success.
Former Sha Tin resident Redkirk Warrior, who was sent out as favourite in the 2015 Hong Kong Derby, became the fifth horse to win the race twice in 2017 and 2018 for David Hayes, in partnership with son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig. In his 2017 success he triumphed fresh, becoming the first horse in a century to win the race first-up.
On Saturday, Karis Teetan will aim to become the first jockey in a decade to fly in from Hong Kong and land the race when he rides the Chris Waller-trained Gatsby’s. It is 10 years since Joao Moreira won aboard Brazen Beau, also for Waller.
While a cyclone is forecast to hit the northern city of Brisbane heading into the weekend, Melbourne should be fine and sunny. It will be a far cry from 15 years ago, when a violent hail storm struck mid-race and left the 19 runners skating on a pop-up ice rink.
One of Australia’s most prominent ‘pop-up’ races, the All-Star Mile, is the richest feature on Saturday’s Flemington programme. It is testament to the Newmarket Handicap’s longevity and prestige though that it will be the race that attracts the most attention on the card ∎
