COMMENT: Is the Everest-Guineas double now our best race day?

Sure, the Melbourne Cup has its own holiday and traditions, but this carefully co-ordinated two-state extravaganza may now rival it as the peak punting day for the average Aussie.

The crowds at The Everest day 2023. Picture: David Swift.

The marketing gurus coined it ‘Australia’s greatest race day’ and this was no hollow boast.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s not hard to make the case The Everest/Caulfield Guineas day has put the Melbourne Cup in the shade in the popularity stakes for the average Aussie punter.

The Melbourne Cup has its own holiday and its own traditions, but Saturday had everything else.

For starters, the Cup is the only race that matters in Melbourne on the first Tuesday in November.

You could safely offer up 20-1 about any rank-and-file Aussie knowing the name of any horse racing in any other race on the day at Flemington.

But elite hero horses were everywhere you looked in two states on Saturday, rather than the largely anonymous international raiders we see in the Cup.

THINK ABOUT IT CONQUERS THE EVEREST! 🏔️@PrideRacing@[e-mail]/kapqkVZF2N

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 14, 2023

READ MORE:Sprinter who’s forgotten how to lose wins The Everest

The days of schoolkids being able to rattle off the past 10 or 20 Melbourne Cup winners, in chronological order if you don’t mind, are long gone.

Another appetising factor about Saturday was it was broadcast on the one commercial TV network and had two states pulling as one.

Both Sydney and Melbourne got great bang for their buck.

The race clock worked, each state was able to have their moments in the sun and appropriate broadcast pump-ups before their marquee races.

It was on show after the second Caulfield race when Channel 7’s Hamish McLachlan asked Lindsay Park co-trainer Will Hayes about Mr Brightside’s Group 1 chances later in the day in Sydney.

"She raced a bit fresh early but to see her stick it out late just shows her quality."

Hamish caught up with Will Hayes after the win of [e-mail]/TYJWEzF628

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 14, 2023

You sure won’t see that in Melbourne Cup week when Channel 10 (and in future years Channel 9) broadcasts Cup week, while Channel 7 shows the Golden Eagle and other days in Sydney.

READ MORE:Amelia’s Jewel ‘wasn’t the same horse’

Having one broadcaster promote a race in the other state during that week won’t be happening.

Kudos to Racing New South Wales and the Melbourne Racing Club for working hand-in-hand to deliver the best products for racing fans everywhere on Saturday.

It almost made too much sense to be true.

King Charles III himself – who we hear could be at Randwick on this day next year to watch the race named after him – would have given it his Royal seal of approval.

Jockey James McDonald kisses the King Charles III trophy after riding Fangirl to victory at Randwick. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

The day was a ripper and for many it landed in the top podium spot for their favourite race day of the year.

Cox Plate day and Victoria Derby day make compelling cases for podium finishes but, for many, the Melbourne Cup isn’t even in the trifecta anymore.

Whereas, Saturday was like having Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy all arrive at once with their goodies.

There was another referendum on Saturday, but sports lovers voted a big Yes to one of the most exhilarating and supercharged days of racing you would see.

"This is what we get up in the morning to do."

Hamish chats to Mitchell Freedman who can now call himself a Group 1 trainer. @Freedmanmitchpic.twitter.com/FJqtcKsDOK

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 14, 2023

Whether it was the ‘Blood’ saying ‘see you later, Alligator’, winning machine Think About It changing the lives of everyone involved, the dramatic final stages and interference of the Caulfield Guineas, or the raw Group 1 emotion from Beau Mertens and Mitch Freedman, there was something for everyone.

They all had a ball – the young and the old, the men and women and the racing aficionados and newcomers.

Originally published as COMMENT: Is the Everest-Guineas double now our best race day?