Stars Fight for Champion Status
Date: 8 Oct 2024
James Tzaferis of racing.com reports -
One of the battles of the spring is set to be staged in Adelaide on Tuesday night when Pride of Jenni, Without A Fight and Imperatriz vie for the Australian Racehorse of the Year title.
The annual awards, which recognise excellence across 11 different categories for horses, trainers and jockeys, will be held at Morphettville’s new Wolf Blass Event Centre.
Group 1 winners Broadsiding, Lady of Camelot and Hayasugi will fight out the Champion 2YO crown.
Doncaster hero Celestial Legend, Newmarket winner Cylinder and the late Riff Rocket are finalists in the Champion 3YO Colt /Gelding division, while Oaks winners Zardozi and Autumn Angel join Stradbroke winner Steffi Magnetica as finalists for the Champion 3YO Filly award.
Imperatriz is a raging favourite to claim the Champion Sprinter title following a season that included five G1 wins, while Cups king Without A Fight looks hard to topple in the Champion Stayer division.
The Champion Middle Distance Horse is tipped to be one of the closest votes of the event, with Pride of Jenni, Mr Brightside, Fangirl, Alligator Blood and Romantic Warrior all boasting obvious claims.
All finalists are eligible for the Champion Racehorse of the Year award, which has been won by Winx (x4), Black Caviar (x3), Makybe Diva (x2), Lonhro, Sunline (x3), Might And Power (x2), and Octagonal in the past 30 years.
Chris Waller and James McDonald will be honoured for their brilliant 2023/24 seasons, in which they enjoyed more Group 1 success than any of their respective rivals.