The Randwick Guineas is a Group 1 horse race for three year olds and up, held each year in Sydney at Randwick Racecourse.  Run over 1600 metres and worth $600,000 in prizemoney, this event has been run since 2006.  As one of the newest additions to the Australian racing calendar, the Randwick Guineas has quickly established itself as a major race during the Sydney Autumn Carnival.

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The Randwick Guineas replaced the Canterbury Guineas, an event which has been run at Canterbury Park Racecourse in Sydney since 1925.  However, this historic race was discontinued in 2005 when the Australian Jockey Club and Sydney Turf Club implemented a number of changes to the racing calendar.  The racing clubs removed the 1900 metre signature race from Canterbury and created the Randwick Guineas over a shorter distance.

Since its inception, the Randwick Guineas has been part of the Sydney 3yo Triple Crown, a group of important Group 1 races that also includes the Rosehill Guineas over 2000 metres and the AJC Derby over 2400 metres.  As the shortest race in the Triple Crown, the Randwick Guineas has been known to attract top quality gallopers who often go on to bigger things later in their career.

The Randwick Guineas is a set weights event, at 56.5 kg for colts and geldings and 54.5 kg for fillies.  The inaugural race was won by Hotel Grand, with other notable winners including Mentality in 2007, Weekend Hustler in 2008, Metal Bender in 2009, Shoot Out in 2010, Ilovethiscity in 2011, Mosheen in 2012, and It’s A Dundeel in 2013.

In its earlier incarnation as the Canterbury Guineas, notable winners of this event included Delta in 1949, Ring The Bell in 1981, Tidal Light in 1987, Veandercross in 1992, and Octagonal in 1996.  The Canterbury Guineas became a Group 1 event for the first time in 1980, a race grade inherited by the Randwick Guineas that still applies today.

The winner of the Randwick Guineas automatically qualifies for a berth in the AJC Australian Derby and Doncaster Handicap later in the season.  The Randwick Guineas was held at Warwick Farm for the 2012/2013 racing season.

In the news:

Tactical insight gained from two Melbourne rides aboard Bull Point has champion jockey Damien Oliver poised to deliver Gai Waterhouse another Group One win.

Bull Point was a beaten last-start favourite against older horses in the Futurity Stakes when he raced on the speed.

Oliver felt the colt got out of his comfort zone by sitting on the back of the leaders before toughing out the finish to run fourth to Moment Of Change.

“Damien said he thinks he had him a touch close last start,” Waterhouse’s stable spokesman Mark Newnham said.

“Moment Of Change runs fast sectionals and he (Bull Point) did the donkey work. Damien feels he will be better if he makes a run at them.”

A strong winner of the Manfred Stakes in February, Bull Point returns to three-year-old company in Saturday’s Randwick Guineas (1600m), a race neither Waterhouse nor Oliver has won.

However, the trainer-jockey combination has a lethal record in big races claiming the Melbourne and Australian Cups with Fiorente.

Bull Point shapes as Waterhouse’s leading Guineas chance at $8 ahead of Woodbine ($10) and Romantic Touch ($21) who both contested the Hobartville Stakes on a slow track last start finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

“Woodbine went super the other day and Romantic Touch didn’t handle the wet track,” Newnham said.

Romantic Touch might have to deal with similar conditions in the Guineas with Randwick given a slow rating on Thursday.

The surface could also be a negative for Koroibete, another who struggled to handle the wet in the Hobartville.

Trainer Gerald Ryan feels the gelding can be competitive if conditions suit on Saturday but will bloom once he steps up to longer distances.

“His run first-up was even, I don’t think he handled the ground too well,” Ryan said.

“This class of race, they may be a bit nippy for him at the mile but he will come into his own once he gets to 2000 metres and beyond.”

One horse who won’t be bothered by a rain-affected track is favourite El Roca.

The New Zealander has won three of four starts on dead and slow ground and is a clear top pick at $3.80.