It’s been less than two months since Australian Turf Club members narrowly rejected a A$5 billion proposal to sell Rosehill racecourse for housing, but its long-term use is already being questioned.
It was thought the extraordinary general meeting in which the majority of members objected to the contentious plan would be the end to the saga. Yet there is already fallout.
Ever since its inception in 2019, the Golden Eagle has been the richest race run at Rosehill, the ATC’s most valuable asset in metropolitan Sydney.
It arrived with all the trimmings, has a brilliant charity component and was billed as a race for the people of western Sydney, who wouldn’t have to look across to the east with envy at the glitterati which flock to Royal Randwick.
The Golden Eagle was run for A$10 million last year, the second richest race in the country only behind the A$20 million The Everest (the Melbourne Cup will also increase its purse to A$10 million in November).
But will the Golden Eagle even stay at Rosehill?
Idol Horse has been told by multiple sources top-level secret talks have been held about shifting Rosehill’s most lucrative race to Royal Randwick, potentially as early as this year.
No decision has been made yet, but there is a growing sentiment the race would be better suited on the other side of town given dwindling attendances at Rosehill, and a feeling wagering would be bolstered by having it run at Royal Randwick.
It would require a significant shake-up to the Sydney spring carnival and likely increase the workload on the Royal Randwick track, with the Golden Eagle meeting traditionally held in conjunction with Victoria Derby Day at Flemington.
Royal Randwick traditionally doesn’t use a 1500-metre start, the distance the Golden Eagle has been contested over from day one. That’s another conundrum to consider.
The decision will ultimately rest with Racing NSW, the regulator who founded the race only a couple of years after The Everest’s inception.
Unlike The Everest, which has turned into a betting behemoth and is largely funded by slotholders who pay a minimum $700,000 a year for one of 12 positions, Racing NSW props up the mammoth Golden Eagle purse.
It wants commercial revenues from corporate hospitality and on-track attendances, as well as big betting pools. Both of which might be easier to achieve at Royal Randwick.
If it does come to that, it will be a savage blow for the Save Rosehill group which campaigned tirelessly for members to vote against the ATC-NSW government project to ease Sydney’s housing crisis with a 25,000-home mini-city built on the racecourse.
This week, ATC chairman Peter McGauran resigned from the board after failing to convince enough of his membership to back the plans. Not even all of his fellow directors agreed with his stance.
It was an inevitable ending; not satisfied with keeping Rosehill within the club’s portfolio, the anti-sale lobby group turned their sights on removing the government appointee from the directorship.
McGauran believed if the proposal went ahead, it would be a game changer for the state’s horse racing industry, giving it cash reserves to last generations.
He didn’t hold back in his resignation statement, and is expected to keep his counsel from here.
David McGrath and Tim Hale are the two leading candidates on the fractured ATC board to assume the chairmanship.
“I remain convinced the potential sale of Rosehill Gardens was a lost opportunity for the club and the wider racing industry,” McGauran said in the letter.
“It was a fully transparent and vigorous debate, and I am grateful to the 44 per cent of ATC members who voted in favour of the proposal.
“I believe history will judge the decision to pursue the vision as having been the right one.”
It might well be, but is there any vision for Rosehill now?
The track still hosts Australia’s biggest day of Group 1 racing – the Golden Slipper meeting which features five majors – but even if the members wanted to keep Rosehill, it doesn’t mean Racing NSW or the ATC have any faith in scheduling more races there.
While it might not generate the almost year-round attention of The Everest, there could be a case to say the Golden Eagle is already a better race, one for the purists where only an outstanding four-year-old – either from Australia, Japan or Europe – will prevail.
British traveller Lake Forest was last year the second straight overseas-trained horse to win the event, following on from Japan’s Obamburumai in 2023. Remarkably, eight of the first 12 across the line in Lake Forest’s win have subsequently won Group 1 races, including Royal Ascot victor Lazzat.
It seems only a matter of time before The Golden Eagle is stamped a Group 1 and there will be another flood of interested overseas connections this year.
But will they be heading to Rosehill or Royal Randwick? ∎
