Doncaster Mile destined for a shootout

IT took a champion to beat Shoot Out in the Doncaster Mile last year - and I reckon that's what it's going to take to deny him today.

Shoot Out

IT took a champion to beat Shoot Out in the Doncaster Mile last year - and I reckon that's what it's going to take to deny him at Royal Randwick today.

The Doncaster is always tough and competitive but I do feel my mount, Shoot Out, is one of the best chances.

Shoot Out ran second to More Joyous in this race 12 months ago but I'm convinced he has had a better preparation this autumn.

Last year he was fourth-up going into the Doncaster and coming off a negative run when beaten in the Ranvet Stakes. Today is different. He has had two runs leading into the race, winning the Chipping Norton Stakes impressively first-up and then running a very good third to Pierro in the George Ryder Stakes.

My gut feeling is he is in superior shape this time. He's well weighted and at the peak of his form.

The most logical danger is the champion three-year-old Pierro, who is a very special racehorse. But he is poorly weighted with 57kg, just 1kg less than Shoot Out.

Pierro deserves his weight, but racing history tells us it is going to take a monumental effort from him to win.

I'm not saying Pierro can't do it but he's not as well placed in a Doncaster as he was in the George Ryder.

The other chances are Norzita, Streama and Appearance. Norzita is a terrific, versatile filly and I don't think her wide barrier is the end of the world.

PRIZEMONEY FLAW

SOMETIMES I think Australian racing is locked in a time warp.

Why are most of our main races handicaps which often don't cater for our best racehorses?

The Doncaster, Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup - they are all handicaps and worth at least $2 million.

But there are races like the George Ryder Stakes - the best race in Sydney just about every year - that carry only $400,000 in prizemoney.

In most other leading racing nations, the best races with the most prizemoney are weight-for-age affairs which cater for the elite gallopers.

Perhaps, the prizemoney at the top end of our races should be spread around a little to address this imbalance.

CROWNING MOMENT

IT was great to be back riding at Royal Randwick last Saturday - and what a race meeting to remember.

The atmosphere for Black Caviar's race was just extraordinary. I have been riding at Randwick for 15 years and have never seen so many people lining the fence on Alison Rd just to watch a horse race.

The track itself, although rain-affected, raced superbly and the new grandstand and Theatre of the Horse worked particularly well.

The Theatre of the Horse could be a little bigger but I find that the horses were quite comfortable in that enclosed environment and are less likely to become too wound up before a race.

I can understand the debate about moving the winner's parade ring to the front of the grandstand but, realistically, this should only be for Group 1 race days.