The first Tuesday in November will always be Melbourne Cup Day, but now Sydney also has a race to complement the Race That Stops The Nation – the Big Dance.
The race is a quality handicap over the famous 1600m at Randwick, comprising 20 runners, with four emergencies, which means that like the Melbourne Cup, it has a total field of 24 horses.
Cisco Bay takes the Big Dance Wild Card.Credit:Getty
The race will pit the winners of country cups across NSW – from Murwillumbah in the north to Albury in the south and from Bega on the east coast to Coonamble way out west.
The concept has driven a better class of horses to the country, as they search to get to Randwick for the first Tuesday in November and what could be their biggest payday of their careers.
“You have to be aware of the opportunities to get horses into the best races possible, and we look at the country cups differently now because of this chance to win a big race,” said premier trainer Chris Waller, who has three runners in the Big Dance – Quality Time, Aleas and Wicklow.
How do horses qualify for the Big Dance?
There are 24 nominated cups around the state that offer the opportunity to get into the Big Dance. To qualify, a horse must win or run second.
The ballot for the Big Dance gives preference to cup winners and then the best second placegetters on benchmark ratings are next into the field. This year, there are 18 Cup winners in the field, with Orange Cup winner Shameonus making the first of four emergencies because of his benchmark.
The final two spots are reserved for the first two home in the Big Dance Wildcard on Everest day, in which Cisco Bay beat Wicklow.
“We’re going dancing next,” Cisco Bay’s co-trainer Gerald Ryan said after he won the Big Dance Wildcard. “You don’t get the chance to go to a race like that with an in-form horse over his favourite track and distance too often. It is becoming a sought-after prize and I’m just happy to be in the first running of it.”
What is the Little Dance?
It is a consolation race that gives the second placegetters a chance to run for big money. The field is full of city-class performers that went to the bush but found one better.
The Scone Cup runner-up Dr Drill is the topweight and has actually won more prizemoney than any horse in the Big Dance, with $1.1 million in earnings.
Bjorn Baker has the Little Dance’s second favourite, Ita, which qualified by being runner-up to Shameonus in the Orange Cup.
“She can win the Little Dance, so it was lucky she ran second to Shameonus,” Baker said. “But I want to do the dancing double, so I’m hoping Shameonus can get into the Big Dance because he is flying.”
What are the races worth?
The Big Dance offers $2 million in total prizemoney, with the winner getting just over $1m. For many of the runners in the race, it is the chance of a lifetime.
The Little Dance has a $500,000 prize pool and was designed to give horses that were beaten in a country cup a career-defining moment.
“Racing NSW is about making racing around the state better, and this race will be a focal point for horses coming through the grades for years to come,” Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said.
“It is there to complement the Melbourne Cup and not compete with it, and gives Sydney racing fans feature races to watch at Randwick on Tuesday.”
What time will the races be run?
The Big Dance will precede the Melbourne Cup by 40 minutes, jumping at 2.20pm to allow punters to enjoy the build-up to the traditional two-mile race from Flemington.
Then half an hour after the Melbourne Cup, the Little Dance will jump at Randwick at 3.30pm.
The Big Dance day will be the focus of live coverage on channel seven on Tuesday.
