Date posted September 3, 2010 | Posted by Michele Cullen | Filed under
Racing and BreedingThe coveted title of 2010 Sky Racing World Australian Racehorse of the Year will be bestowed this Sunday night at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium.
A galaxy of stars are in contention for the award which is voted on by senior racing administrators from all Australian principal racing authorities and metropolitan racing clubs, along with members of the Australian Racing Writers Association.
The four finalists will be revealed on the night, with those vying for selection including Victorians Shocking, Starspangledbanner and Typhoon Tracy, Sydneysiders Hot Danish, Melito, So You Think and Theseo and Queenslander Shoot Out.
The award headlines’ racing’s night of nights, the annual Australian Racehorse of the Year and Hall of Fame Awards presented by Sky Racing World, Tabcorp and Staging Connections.
The evening will also see five people and two horses inducted into the Hall of Fame and the elevation of one current member to Legend status alongside Phar Lap, Bart Cummings and Scobie Breasley.
The inductees are jockeys William “Billy” Pyers and John Letts, trainers Harry Plant and Jim Atkins, associate Henry Byron Moore and racehorses Sky High and Northerly.
Northerly
Along with the overall Australian Racehorse of the Year title, category awards will be presented to the nation’s champion two and three-year-olds, sprinter, middle distance performer, stayer and jumper, along with the premier Australian-bred international.
Cummings will be honoured as the champion Group 1 trainer with seven victories throughout the 2009-10 season, whilst Nash Rawiller will be presented with the champion Group 1 jockey trophy for the second consecutive season after winning nine races at the elite level over the past 12 months.
“This season exceeded all my expectations and it’s an honour to win this award again,” Rawiller said.
“I had a lean Spring Carnival and wondered where my next Group 1 was going to come from. Then I won the Railway in Perth and had a super autumn so the season picked up quickly from there.
“Of my wins the Chipping Norton was special because it was aboard Theseo, who is a favourite of mine and he wasn’t expected to win. But my main highlight was winning the Doncaster aboard Rangirangdoo.”
The category finalists for the 2010 Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards are (in alphabetical order);
Yallambee Stud Champion 2YO Finalists
• Crystal Lily (Trainers – Mat Ellerton and Simon Zahra)
• Military Rose (Trainer – Gillian Heinrich)
• Pressday (Trainer – Chris Waller)
• Skilled (Trainer – Peter Snowden)
• Star Witness (Trainer – Danny O’Brien)
New Zealand Bloodstock Champion 3YO Filly Finalists
• Dariana (Trainer – Bart Cummings)
• Faint Perfume (Trainer – Bart Cummings)
• Melito (Trainer – Gerald Ryan)
• More Joyous (Trainer – Gai Waterhouse)
Coolmore Australia Champion 3YO Colt or Gelding Finalists
• Denman (Trainer – Peter Snowden)
• Monaco Consul (Trainer – Mike Moroney)
• Shoot Out (Trainer – John Wallace)
• So You Think (Trainer – Bart Cummings)
• Starspangledbanner (Trainer – Leon Corstens)
Inglis Bloodstock Champion Sprinter Finalists
• All Silent (Trainer – Grahame Begg)
• Hot Danish (Trainer – Les Bridge)
• Melito (Trainer – Gerald Ryan)
• Starspangledbanner (Trainer – Leon Corstens)
• Typhoon Tracy (Trainer – Peter Moody)
Mittys Champion Middle Distance Performer Finalists
• Metal Bender (Trainer – Chris Waller)
• Rangirangdoo (Trainer – Chris Waller)
• So You Think (Trainer – Bart Cummings)
• Theseo (Trainer – Gai Waterhouse)
• Typhoon Tracy (Trainer – Peter Moody)
New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing Champion Stayer Finalists
• Jessicabeel (Trainer – John O’Shea)
• Littorio (Trainer – Nigel Blackiston)
• Shocking (Trainer – Mark Kavanagh)
• Viewed (Trainer – Bart Cummings)
• Zipping (Trainer – Robert Hickmott)
Design Awards Champion Jumper Finalists
• Al Garhood (Trainer – Ciaron Maher)
• Black And Bent (Trainer – Robert Smerdon)
• Pentiffic (Trainers – Fran Houlahan & Brian Johnston)
• Tarawera (Trainers – Fran Houlahan & Brian Johnston)
IRT Champion Australian-Bred International Finalists
• Musir (Sire – Redoute’s Choice. Trainer – Mike De Kock, South Africa)
• Rocket Man (Sire – Viscount. Trainer – Patrick Shaw, Singapore)
• Sacred Kingdom (Sire – Encosta De Lago. Trainer – Ricky Yiu, Hong Kong)
• Starspangledbanner (Sire – Choisir. Trainer – Aidan O’Brien, Ireland)
