Washouts common as Sydney carnival goes back a week

While Rosehill's major Longines Golden Slipper meet (the Golden Slipper race being the richest race for two-year-olds in the world at $3.5 million) postponed to this Saturday March 27, the Illawarra Turf Club's Provincial Championship Qualifier was transferred from Kembla Grange to Goulburn last Saturday, only to be postponed again.

Flooding rain has also seen the postponement of last Sunday's Country Championships Wild Card meet at Muswellbrook, with the "Wild Card" race added to its meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

Port Macquarie was off last Friday, while Trangie races received a second chance been transferred to Gilgandra last Saturday.

Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club determined that all meetings that form the Sydney Autumn Carnival will be run seven days later than originally scheduled; Golden Slipper races March 27, Tancred Stakes Day at Rosehill on Saturday April 3, and then Randwick for the next three Saturdays - The Star Championships Day 1 (including the Newhaven Park Country Championships Final) 10, The Championships Day 2 (including Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Polytrack Provincial Championships Final) 17, and the Schweppes All Aged Stakes Day moved to Saturday 24.

Many country enthusiasts - including myself, will have to wait a bit longer to view the newly created bronze statue of our great champion Winx at Rosehill in a garden centre near the entrance.

With her jockey Hugh Bowman in the saddle, the statue was created by renowned sculptor Tanya Bartlett, and weighs more than 600 kilograms which was Winx's actual racing weight.

Winx won her final 33 races in a row including her final race at Randwick in front of a sold-out crowd, capturing the attention of millions of fans around the world.

The grand statue is a permanent tribute to the legendary Thoroughbred.

Let's hope the weather becomes kinder with flood-waters receding for life to return to some normality.

WHILE the State's Newhaven Park Country Championships Qualifying races are advancing towards the Final at Randwick next week, the Boorowa district property's connections focus would have switched to Victoria seeing He's Xceptional win his juvenile maiden race at Cranbourne.

Having his second start for his local conditioners Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, He's Xceptional became for the first two-year-old winner for the Newhaven Park based young sire, Xtravagant.

Bred by Seymour Bloodstock, Victoria, He's Xceptional joins a massive list of winners sold at the Classic Yearling Sale - Inglis' summer edition auction, where the gelding sold via Newhaven Park for $40,000, almost four times his sire's service fee.

Produced from the triple winning Sebring mare She's A Danica, He's Xtravagant was represented with a full-brother at this month's Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, the colt also selling from Newhaven Park for $150,000.

Champion New Zealand three-year-old colt - loving the sprint/mile distance, Xtravagant is the only sire son in Australia by outstanding GB bred sire Pentire, sire of sprinters, milers and stayers including 43 stakes winners of over 100 stakes wins. He represents a rare sireline being by Northern Dancer champion sire Be My Guest.

RARELY do you see a stud possessing four horses in the top 10 first season sires' list, as Newgate Farm currently has - the home-base for first crop two-year-old sires Capitalist, Extreme Choice, Flying Artie and Winning Rupert.

Three of these young sires each have a prominent track representative with connections of Newgate already buying into these major two-year-old gallopers to secure the horse for future stud use at its Aberdeen base at the completion of their racing days.

By Written Tycoon, Golden Slipper winner Capitalist is now represented with the Newgate part-owned Profiteer, Extreme Choice - with Stay Inside, and Flying Artie - with Artorius, winner of Victoria's premier juvenile event the MRC Blue Diamond Stakes-G1 at Caulfield last month.