The top 10 horses elected into the All-Star Mile have been announced, with six Group 1 winners already into the field for the $5 million race to be held at Caulfield on March 14
A total of 135,097 votes were received this year, a slight drop from the first year of the concept, with David Vandyke's boom 3-year-old Alligator Blood (All Too Hard), topping the tally with 18,052 votes.
Champion New Zealand mare Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) finished second with 11,898, clear of G1 Epsom H. and Golden Eagle winner Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), who got 10,731.
NZ darling Melody Belle (NZ) was second in the voting tally
The Greg Eurell-trained Star Missile (Smart Missile) benefitted from a strong campaign from its ownership base to finish fourth, while South Australian Dalasan (Dalakhani {Ire}) got the required boost from a few key voices in the Adelaide media to also get over 10,000 votes and finish fifth.
Catalyst (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) was the second Kiwi horse into the field, with votes opened up to New Zealand for the first time in 2020, while G1 Queensland Derby winner Mr Quickie (Shamus Award) is confirmed to tackle the race first up and a strong campaign got 2018 G1 VRC Oaks winner Aristia (Lonhro) in the field.
The top ten is made up by promising 3-year-old Heart Of Puissance (Puissance De Lune {Ire}) and G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth (Dundeel {NZ}).
The unlucky one to just miss out in 11th place was Gold Fields (Churchill Downs) but hope is not lost for those who failed to figure in the top ten with this Saturday's G1 Futurity S., a win-and-you're-in race for the All-Star Mile along with the G1 Blamey S., at Flemington next weekend.
In all there are five wildcards for the race which will be announced on Monday March 2.
Racing Victoria’s EGM - Racing, Greg Carpenter said the variety and quality of horses in the top ten was pleasing.
“Based on feedback from fans we changed the conditions of The All-Star Mile from year one and we’ve seen the quality of the top 10 evolve with the number of Group 1 winners increasing from four to six and the average rating for older horses lift from 98 to 105,” Carpenter said.
"We’ve seen the quality of the top 10 evolve with the number of Group 1 winners increasing from four to six." - Greg Carpenter
“Given the cult following Alligator Blood has developed through his performances on the racetrack, it was no surprise to see him finish on top but what we perhaps didn’t expect to see was just how popular he has become, with more than 6,600 votes separating him from Melody Belle in second place.
Alligator Blood has developed a cult following of late
“I’m particularly excited to see two Kiwi horses in the top 10, and Catalyst’s incredible duel with Alligator Blood last Saturday has laid the foundations for their future battles in both the Australian Guineas and The All-Star Mile.
“With five wildcards set to join and further strengthen what is already a very strong field, we’re expecting a final line-up worthy of the race’s status as the world’s richest mile.”
