The race to secure a prized start in the 2022 All-Star Mile is officially underway with the first nomination received from prominent West Australian owner Bob Peters who has entered his 2020 All-Star Mile runner-up, Superstorm, for the $5 million race at Flemington on 19 March.
Superstorm has a strong affiliation with the All-Star Mile, running a close second to stablemate Regal Power at Caulfield in 2020, giving Peters a quinella in the world’s richest mile.
Peters was well placed to launch an assault on back-to-back wins in the feature race showcased during Victoria’s Festival of Racing, after his star mare Arcadia Queen topped the votes in 2021 but was withdrawn on raceday with a hoof injury.
Now trained at Flemington by Danny O’Brien, Superstorm has made Victoria home specifically to target the March mile and is a genuine contender after winning the Group 1 Kennedy Cantala (1600m) over the track and distance at his last start.
O’Brien is also no stranger to the All-Star Mile either after his then stable star Russian Camelot finished a close second in Mugatoo in a thrilling finish to the 2021 edition at The Valley.
Quotes attributable to owner Bob Peters:
“We were lucky enough to quinella the All-Star Mile in 2020 and it was very exciting, even though I couldn’t be there in person to watch it, and we hope to be trackside next year.
“If Superstorm is lucky enough to be voted in he will be in with a strong chance to win as he runs his best races at Flemington.
“He’s had a good break in Melbourne and is ready to get back into it, with the All-Star Mile our ultimate aim.
“The All-Star Mile is a great concept and is an obvious race to aim at with the significant prizemoney on offer.”
Quotes attributable to trainer Danny O’Brien:
“We’re really excited to have Superstorm nominated for the All-Star Mile.
“We enjoyed the race this year with Russian Camelot, although it was frustrating to run second it was a great atmosphere and great to be a part of it.
“We’re hoping to go one better with Superstorm in 2022 and we think he’s in with a good chance at Flemington.”
Quotes attributable to RV’s Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter:
“We are thrilled to kick off the countdown to the 2022 edition of the All-Star Mile with such a high-quality first nomination in Group 1 winner Superstorm.
“Superstorm ran an exceptional race in the 2020 All-Star Mile when second as a three-year-old, and he was in outstanding form for the Danny O’Brien stable this spring winning the Cantala and Feehan Stakes over the mile.
“Whilst he’s currently trained in Victoria, we know that Superstorm still has a strong legion of fans in Western Australia so I expect he will be popular among voters on both sides of the nation when that opens on 24 January.”
Nominations for the fourth edition of the All-Star Mile opened today and will close at 12pm (AEDT) on Monday, 10 January 2022, with Racing Victoria (RV) again pledging to donate the $500 entry fee for each horse to the Good Friday Appeal – an annual fundraiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.
The 2022 All Star-Mile also sees the introduction of a late entry option with nominations received between 12pm (AEDT) on 10 January and 12pm (AEDT) the following Monday (17 January 2022) to incur a $2,500 fee, which will also be donated to the Good Friday Appeal.
The introduction of a one-week window for late entries is designed to give connections of horses which perform well on Queensland’s lucrative Magic Millions Raceday or in New Zealand’s Group 1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) – which are both held on Saturday, 15 January 2022 – the opportunity to nominate them for Australia’s only fan-voted race.
From Monday, 24 January 2022, fans across Australia and New Zealand will be given their chance to select the first 10 horses into the 2022 All-Star Mile field through a three-week public vote, with the balance of the 15-horse to be completed by five wildcards.
To view The 2022 All-Star Mile official race conditions, click here
To view an infographic on The 2022 All-Star Mile, click here