Photo:

Martin King / Sportpix

Fans of premium international racing will experience sensory overload this weekend as Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse stages a race with a comparable purse to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Friday night.

The US$6.5 million Golden Eagle, for 4-year-olds at 7 1/2 furlongs, drew runners from Japan, France and England. The undercard includes an encore from the wonderful sprinter Bella Nipotina, heroine of The Everest two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s greatest annual card of racing will unfold across nine graded stakes at Flemington. As compelling as the Breeders’ Cup is, save some attention and money for Friday night festivities down under. Rosehill’s 10-race card commences at 9:10 p.m. EDT / 6:10 PDT, and Flemington gets underway 10 minutes later.

The record Japanese contingent heading to the Breeders’ Cup does not include a pair of fillies who are targeting the Golden Eagle, race 8 at Rosehill Friday night. Ascoli Piceno (5-1) and Corazon Beat (50-1) finished first and third, respectively, in the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies last December. Ascoli Piceno has a pair of Group 1 placings and a Group 3 victory this season, and is considered at least as talented as 2023 Japanese Golden Eagle winner Obamburumai.

Undefeated French gelding Lazzat (6-1) is a last-start Group 1 winner at Deauville. Three of his six victories have come at the Golden Eagle’s distance of 7-1/2 furlongs.

English trainer William Haggas, who has been lethal in targeting Sydney racing’s riches over recent years, has Lake Forest (20-1) stretching out beyond six furlongs for the first time. The son of U.S. stallion No Nay Never (who was narrowly beaten as favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint of 2014) was a Group 1 winner at York in 2023, and G1 runner-up at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting. Lake Forest will be ridden by Cieren Fallon, 25-year-old son of retired superstar jockey Kieren Fallon.

Local opposition includes Joliestar (5-1) and Stefi Magnetica (9-1), who finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in The Everest, each finding the six furlongs too short. Godolphin’s Tom Kitten (9-1) comes off a pair of strong efforts at a mile behind the exceptional Ceolwulf, and has drawn a good post position for the first time since winning at Rosehill four starts ago as a first-time gelding.

The nine graded stakes at Flemington Friday night provide Breeders’ Cup-like variety, from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 5/16 miles. The longest race is the Victoria Derby (G1, race 7), led by last week’s Spring Champion Stakes (G1) winner El Castello (5-2). In shooting for a fifth consecutive victory, El Castello must handle the step-up from 1 1/4 miles at Randwick in Sydney while racing in the opposite direction for the first time and on a one-week turnaround. The colt’s task became even more onerous after drawing the extreme outside post position in the 18-strong field, a starting point that affords only a short run to a sharp first turn.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes (G1, race 6) boasts a cracking field of 3-year-olds down Flemington’s straight six-furlong course. Growing Empire (3-1) and Lady of Camelot (8-1) finished third and fourth, respectively, in The Everest two weeks ago, but Traffic Warden (7-2) was denied his chance in the world’s richest turf race when scratched behind the starting gate. Switzerland (5-1) will carry the colors of this race’s sponsor and was almost given Coolmore’s slot in The Everest after a dynamic win the week prior. Ultimately, it was decided that race spacing worked better for Switzerland by awaiting Friday night’s contest.

This superb Flemington program is the first of four in quick succession at Melbourne’s most famous racetrack. Look for another article previewing Monday night’s iconic Melbourne Cup, the two-mile, 24-horse handicap “race that stops a nation.”

Wednesday night sees the running of the G1 Victoria Oaks, for which this Friday night’s Wakeful Stakes (G2) is the final prep, featuring current Oaks favorite Powers Of Opal. Next Friday night’s Champions Stakes Day program will include Via Sistina, whose eight-length, track-record triumph in last week’s Cox Plate has catapulted her to the top of Timeform’s global rankings, superseding Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite City Of Troy.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael’s vast U.S. experience includes race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders’ Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.