Racenet - 21 November 2007

Debate rages over which horses will be inducted into the Hall of Fame

The 2007 Australian Racehorse of the Year & Hall of Fame will be held for the first time in Sydney, next Monday night and once again debate rages over which legends of the turf – trainers, jockeys, horses and associates – will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

There are eight finalists in the Arrowfield Stud Hall of Fame Racehorse category – Comic Court, Northerly, Octagonal, Strawberry Road, Super Impose, Wenona Girl, Flight and Grand Flaneur.

Comic Court was trained by Jim Cummings, father of Inaugural Hall of Fame trainer Bart Cummings, and set records from 1200 metres to 3200 metres. A Victoria Derby winner at three, Comic Court was at his best as a five-year-old winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Stakes, Memsie Stakes, Turnbull Stakes and Mackinnon Stakes.

Modern day champion Northerly was a nine time Group 1 winner before injury ended his career. Northerly’s trademark was his courage and extraordinary will to win and it was these traits that netted the West Australian star two Cox Plates (2001-02), two Australian Cups (2001 & 03), a Caulfield Cup in 2002 and Horse of the Year honours in 2002-03.

Hall of Fame trainer John Hawkes still declares Octagonal the best horse he’s ever trained. Like Northerly, Octagonal’s will to win was his greatest asset. He won the Cox Plate as a three-year-old in the spring of 1995 before unleashing a run of four Group 1 wins in as many weeks during the autumn of that season. Octagonal won the Canterbury Guineas, Rosehill Guineas, Mercedes Classic and AJC Derby to earn Horse of the Year honours.

Strawberry Road was a champion galloper of international renown, winning Group 1 races in Australia, Germany and France. As a three-year-old in 1983 he won the Rosehill Guineas and AJC Derby before returning as a four-year-old to claim the Manikato Stakes and Cox Plate. Strawberry Road was then sent overseas where he won the Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in France.

Lee Freedman’s mighty gelding Super Impose endeared himself to racing fans across the nation with his famous “last-to-first” racing style. He made Royal Randwick his own with unprecedented back-to-back wins in the Epsom and Doncaster Handicaps in 1990 and 1991. But it was as an eight-year-old that “Super” sealed his greatness with victory in the drama packed Cox Plate of 1992.

Wenona Girl established herself not only as one of Australia’s greatest sprinting mares, but displayed amazing ability to win up to 2400 metres. Included in her career highlights were two Lightning Stakes, a CF Orr Stakes, Futurity Stakes, George Main Stakes, Rosehill Guineas, Thousand Guineas and AJC Oaks.

Flight burst onto the racing scene winning five of her eight starts as a two-year-old. As a three-year-old the mighty filly finished second in the AJC Derby and Doncaster Handicap but it was in the Cox Plate which Flight cemented her greatness, winning the race in 1945 and 1946.

Grand Flaneur was a champion three-year-old of the 1880’s. He was undefeated in nine career starts, including the Melbourne Cup, AJC Derby and Victoria Derby. Injury forced Grand Flaneur into retirement however his contribution to racing didn’t end. He sired two Melbourne Cup winners – Bravo in 1889 and Patron in 1894.