Golden ticket to Caulfield
Q22 win gives Cup start
Queensland’s $1.2m Q22 has received the ultimate stamp of approval by being awarded golden ticket status for the Caulfield Cup.
Racenet can reveal the winner of the June Group 2 weight-for-age event over 2200m, won last year by subsequent Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight, has been granted ballot exemption into the $5m Caulfield Cup in October.
It further franks the Queensland winter carnival as a springboard for Melbourne spring carnival glory, with future stars like Without A Fight, Incentivise and Zaaki, the inaugural Q22 winner, emerging in Sunshine State races in recent years.
In some years, a Q22 win would almost secure a place in a Caulfield Cup field anyway, but the golden ticket arrangement is a carrot for owners and trainers to chase the rich winter feature and further strengthens the relationship between the Melbourne Racing Club and the Brisbane Racing Club.
“They (BRC) approached us about having the Q22 as a win and you’re in race for the Caulfield Cup, and we were more than happy to do so,” MRC chief executive Josh Blanksby told Racenet.
“Without A Fight won the Q22 last year and then won the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, so there is a nice connection there.
“The Q22 is well placed in the racing calendar and Racing Queensland and the Brisbane Racing Club have acknowledged they are pretty keen for winter carnival races to be the springboard into big spring races in Melbourne.
“We are more than excited for the winner of the Q22 to guarantee its start in the Caulfield Cup.”
Once known as the PJ O’Shea Stakes, the race was relaunched with a name change and a significant prizemoney boost in 2021.
It is run on Stradbroke Handicap day at Eagle Farm, Queensland’s most prestigious day of racing which will be staged this year on June 15.
The MRC and the BRC share a reciprocal rights deal for members and BRC chairman Neville Bell said now having the Q22 as a golden ticket race for the Caulfield Cup was fabulous for Brisbane racing.
“We are over the moon with this announcement,” Bell said.
“The Q22 is a relatively new race run on Stradbroke Day and offers $1.2m prizemoney, last year’s winner Without a Fight went on to win the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double.
“It is incredible to watch the progression of these elite racehorses each year who win major races during Stradbroke season, before excelling in Group 1 events during the spring and autumn carnivals.”
Last year, Without A Fight was sent out at $9 in the Lord Mayor’s Cup at Eagle Farm and won effortlessly before repeating the dose when a dominant favourite in the Q22.