The inaugural winner of the world’s richest mile race will have a race named in her honour on The All-Star Mile Raceday (Saturday, 19 March) next year when The Mystic Journey (2000m) makes its debut on the support card at Flemington.
Having recently been retired to begin her new life as a broodmare, the horse affectionately known as ‘Betty’ won’t be lining up in the fourth edition of The All-Star Mile but her heroic performance in the 2019 race will be commemorated through the creation of the new $200,000 contest (set weights and penalties) for fillies and mares.
It is fitting that Flemington will stage the first running of The Mystic Journey given that the mighty mare’s two biggest wins – in the 2019 Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) and The All-Star Mile (1600m) – both came at the host venue for the 2022 edition of Australia’s only fan-voted race.
The Mystic Journey is one of eight races on The All-Star Mile undercard, with the new VOBIS Gold Comet (1000m) for sprinters aged three years and older set to make its debut and two $200,000 quality handicaps – renamed The Regal Power (2000m) and The Mugatoo (1600m) – also featuring on the raceday.
The $200,000 VOBIS Gold Comet, offering a further $30,000 in VOBIS bonuses, is a new addition to the lucrative VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series, which is now worth more than $5.2 million in prizemoney and bonuses across 19 races this season.
The new race, which is only open to VOBIS Gold-nominated horses, will complement the $200,000 VOBIS Gold Reef (1600m), which was won earlier this year by the Shane Fliedner-trained Air Defence and returns to The All-Star Mile Raceday program in 2022.
Racing Victoria (RV)’s Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, said: “The All-Star Mile is more than just a horse race and given that Mystic Journey cost only $11,000 and went on to win over $4 million in prizemoney throughout her career, her fairy-tale story perfectly encapsulates The All-Star ethos and so it is only fitting that we name a race in Betty’s honour.
“The inaugural running of The Mystic Journey is set to be one of the many highlights on The All-Star Mile Raceday at Flemington next March and, whilst the fourth running of the world’s richest mile will be the showpiece event, we are very pleased with the spread of races on the support card.
“The VOBIS program, with the outstanding support of TBV, is going from strength to strength so we are delighted to unveil the new VOBIS Gold Comet and I look forward to seeing some exciting sprinters explode down the famous Flemington straight, which celebrates its 150th year of operation in 2022.
“We are now less than three months out from The All-Star Mile and the sense of excitement is already starting to grow, so today’s announcement will only add an extra element to the build-up.”
Unlike The Mystic Journey, which will retain its title, at this stage The Regal Power and The Mugatoo – honouring the respective All-Star Mile champions in 2020 and 2021 – will only feature in 2022 with a rotation policy set to determine those two race names in the future.
Both quality handicaps will feature a maximum topweight of 61kg with a minimum weight of 53kg, with The Mugatoo designed to provide a suitable racing opportunity for any All-Star Mile emergency runners which fail to gain a start in the marquee contest.
The remaining races on the program are the $150,000 Grand Handicap Sprint (1200m), which was claimed last year by the Danny O’Brien-trained Exeter; the Grand Handicap Classic (2500m) for stayers, which is also worth $150,000; and the recently-announced $250,000 Country Mile Series Final (1600m) with qualifiers from five heats and a wildcard race set to make up the 16-runner field.
With the Grand Handicaps to be run as Benchmark 80 races, the spread of weights will be a point of difference with horses rated 80 allocated 62kg down to a minimum weight of 53kg. Both races will also offer a $20,000 VOBIS Gold owners’ bonus to the winning horse if eligible, as too will the Country Mile Series Final.
The full program for The All-Star Mile 2022 Raceday at Flemington, which will collectively offer $6.67 million in prizemoney and bonuses, is as follows:
Prizemoney
|
Race
|
Distance
|
Class
|
VOBIS Bonus
|
$5 Million
|
The All-Star Mile
|
1600m
|
Open WFA
|
|
$250,000
|
Country Mile Series Final
|
1600m
|
BM80
|
$20,000
|
$200,000
|
VOBIS Gold Comet
|
1000m
|
3YO&UP
|
$30,000
|
$200,000
|
VOBIS Gold Reef
|
1600m
|
3YO SWP
|
$30,000
|
$200,000
|
The Mystic Journey
|
2000m
|
F&M SWP
|
|
$200,000
|
The Mugatoo
|
1600m
|
Quality Hcp
|
|
$200,000
|
The Regal Power
|
2000m
|
Quality Hcp
|
|
$150,000
|
Grand Handicap Sprint
|
1200m
|
BM80
|
$20,000
|
$150,000
|
Grand Handicap Classic
|
2500m
|
BM80
|
$20,000
|
Nominations for The All-Star Mile close at 12 noon (AEDT) on Monday, 10 January 2022 with the $500 entry fee donated to the Good Friday Appeal supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital. Nominations for the support program will close at 12 noon (AEDT) on Monday, 14 March 2022.