Highly respected Gold Coast trainer Bryan Guy has thrown his support behind a new series which aims to give emerging three-year-old stayers the chance to test their 2019 Queensland Derby and Oaks credentials during the Queensland Summer Racing Carnival.
The Eagle Way 3YO Stayers Series, named in honour of Guy and his son Daniel’s 2016 Queensland Derby winner, will culminate in a $100,000 Final (plus QTIS bonuses) at Doomben on 22 December 2018.
The series will comprise three heats beginning at the Sunshine Coast on 10 November 2018, with horses to qualify for the final on a points-based system.
QTIS restricted finalists will race for up to $152,000 (fillies) and $135,000 (colts and geldings) with an additional $20,000 bonus – split 80/20 between owner and trainer – if the winner is a Queensland-trained horse.
SERIES CONDITIONS AND DATES
Guy said the timing of the series was ideal, with trainers able to set their horse for the winter carnival three-year-old classics should they show signs of encouragement during the summer.
“Everybody wants a speed horse due to the money in races such as the Golden Slipper or the Magic Millions but not every horse is a speed horse,” he said.
“This series will give Queensland trainers the opportunity to discover whether their horse will be a stayer and allows them to then set the horse for a target, like the Derby, in the future.”
Guy said it was the now Hong Kong-based gelding’s 2015 summer form that gave him a clear indication he had a nice stayer on his hands.
“He’s up with some of the top horses I’ve trained,” Guy said.
“He is owned by John Moore so he was always going to end up in Hong Kong but it would’ve been nice if he could have stayed here to have a crack at the Melbourne Cup.”
Racing Queensland Thoroughbred Racing Manager Ross Gove said the series was developed following consultation with the Queensland branch of the Australian Trainer’s Association (ATA) after the conclusion of the 2017/18 summer carnival.
“This series aims to give trainers the opportunity to qualify for Queensland’s winter three-year-old classics well in advance and then plan their winter preparations accordingly,” he said.
“The advent of the series not only provides a great new opportunity for trainers with budding stayers but is an extension of RQ’s commitment to a continuation of the development of its Summer Racing Carnival.”