The Silver Eagle is one of the most recent feature races created by Racing NSW. Its inaugural running will take place at Randwick Racecourse on the 12th of October, 2019.
The concept behind the Silver Eagle is a cracking one. It aims to keep more star three-year-old colts in racing, rather than see them retire early and head off to stud.
This has been the case in recent years, with the likes of It's A Dundeel and The Autumn Sun headlining the long list of star colts sent off to the breeding paddock, when plenty of their fans would've preferred to see them remain on the track.
In an attempt to lure the owners of these talented colts (and fillies) to remain in racing, The Silver Eagle and The Golden Eagle were born. Both of the races are only open to four-year-olds, which is a first in Australian racing.
The Silver Eagle is the main lead-up event to The Golden Eagle. Contested over 1300 metres at Randwick, a hefty prize purse of $500,000 is up for grabs. But this is merely the taster of what's to come. That's because the Golden Eagle is boasting a massive prize purse of $7.5 million, making it one of the richest races on the Australian calendar.
The 1300-metre start at Randwick is an interesting one, and a distance that is not often used at the track. It sees the horses face the shortest of runs before hitting the first bend into the side straight. This means that horses drawn along the inside will have a significant advantage, as they will save ground while those caught out wide will need to be brave if they want to win.
The Silver Eagle joins the list of the non-Group 1, high prize money races that are starting to change the racing scene in Sydney. While traditionalists may take a few years to be convinced, there's no doubt that the Silver Eagle and races like it bring plenty of interest to the track.
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