 Brett Davis | |
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| Brett Davis was introduced to Australian Racing by his father back in the early 1980’s when his family became involved in formulating “Thoroughbred Racing Syndications”. Brett worked from 1995 as a Professional Form Analysts and Race Broadcaster with an array of companies throughout most parts of the Australia Racing industry. He currently resides in Adelaide, his hometown in Australia, where he is Chief Thoroughbred Race Caller and Form Analyst for Tabcorp / SkyChannel / RadioTAB. Brett Davis also spent 2 years with the Singapore Turf Club and 13 Racing Seasons with the Hong Kong Jockey Club between 2006 to 2019 as a leading Form Analyst / Race Caller and was the HKJC Chief Race Caller from 2014, calling the last 5 Hong Kong International (Turf World Championships) race meetings and over 50 G1 races. Brett has immense passion for Australian Racing both personally and professionally. With his diverse knowledge and long standing industry relations he’s a valuable asset to racing and it’s enthusiasts. | |
Randwick Racecourse – Track Analysis (Doncaster Mile Day):
Randwick Racecourse is the home of racing in Sydney, with races being run there since 1833. It has a track circumference of 2227m, a width of 28m and a home straight that is 410m long with a gentle rise.
Renowned for its expanses, Randwick is a fair, right-handed racecourse where every horse in theory should get its chance, however, as can often be the case in Australian racing, track patterns and bias on a particular raceday can emerge, which is worth paying attention to.
Eight turf races from the Doncaster Mile Day will be simulcast to Hong Kong.
The G1 Doncaster Mile over 1600m is the feature race on the first day of The Championships at Randwick. It starts in the top left corner of Randwick and is renowned as being one of the best starting points in Australian racing, given that the field has a run of around 600m before they get to the first turn. The field then runs along the side of the track for another 600m and then enters the home straight.
Last year’s Doncaster Mile was won for the second time in a row by MR BRIGHTSIDE. Ridden by Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton, MR BRIGHTSIDE settled slightly better than midfield and got through near the inside to score, holding off MY OBERON, who came from towards the rear of the field to finish second. NUGGET was wide and worse than midfield but still finished off the race well for third. Due to the fairness of the 1600m start at Randwick, barrier positions aren’t overly important in the Doncaster Mile, as demonstrated by where the winners have come from this century.
The sprinters take centre stage in the G1 T J Smith Stakes over 1200m. The race will begin from the chute on the High St side of the course, where they race for 300m before linking up with the course proper at around the 900m mark. Although I WISH I WIN and NATURE STRIP have both defied wide barrier draws to win this race in the last two years, history suggests that it is an advantage to draw an inside to middle barrier in this event.
The staying feature on the card is the G1 Australian Derby over 2400m. This is a tricky start as the field only has a short run of over 200m before they get to the first turn, therefore, barrier positions and finding a good position early are of great significance.
The fourth of the G1s on the program is the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes over 1400m. Races over this distance at Randwick start from a chute, which they race along for approximately 300m before linking up with the course proper and going to the side of the course that brings them into the home straight. History shows that it’s difficult to win this race from a wide gate.
Wide barriers are also at a slight disadvantage in the G3 Adrian Knox Stakes over 2000m. This race begins at the bottom left-hand corner of Randwick at the Alison Road side of the course. The early stages of the race are run on the sweeping bend that makes up that side of the track, before the field enters the back straight, where they have a lengthy run of 600m. They then turn on to the side of the course and race for another 600m before entering the home straight.
The G3 HKJC World Pool Carbine Club Stakes is the same distance as the 1600m G1 Doncaster Mile. Meanwhile, the G3 Country Championships Final will also be run over 1400m at Randwick, while the G3 P J Bell Stakes is over the same course and distance as the G1 T J Smith Stakes.
Day one of The Championships is the first meeting in a month on the course proper at Randwick, so the track will be in ideal shape. However, with rain forecast in the lead up to the meeting, it’s likely that the program will be conducted on a wet track.
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