The star-studded provisional emergency list comes on the back of the announcement of the All-Star Mile top 10 last week which heralded the first 10 horses into the world’s richest mile at Flemington on Saturday, 19 March.
Following yesterday’s acceptance stage, the connections of a further 38 All-Star Mile nominated horses have stated their intention to remain in contention for a place as an emergency for the $5 million race.
The provisional emergency list is drawn from these acceptors and is ranked in order from highest to lowest amount of prizemoney earned – excluding bonuses – in races from 1200m to 2050m (inclusive) since 1 February 2021. It will continue to be updated through until final acceptances on Tuesday, 15 March 2022.
A quartet of high-class mares – one trained in Victoria and three in New South Wales – currently fill the first four positions with last start Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) winner Tofane (Mike Moroney) the first provisional emergency with eligible earnings of $2,082,250.
New South Wales mare Icebath (Brad Widdup) who has finished second in two Group 1 miles over the past year – the Kennedy Cantala and Doncaster – is currently the second provisional emergency, with Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) winner Colette (James Cummings) filling third place.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott currently have the fourth and sixth provisional emergencies in Vangelic and three-year-old Converge respectively. The former was placed in the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) and Golden Eagle (1500m) in 2021, while the latter won the Group 1 J.J. Atkins Stakes over a mile.
Splitting the Waterhouse-Bott pair is three-year-old colt Captivant (Peter and Paul Snowden) whose past 12 months have included victory in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) and a narrow second placing in the Caulfield Guineas (1600m).
Rounding out the first 10 horses on the initial provisional emergency list are Sierra Sue (Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, 7th), 2021 All-Star Mile fourth placegetter Lunar Fox (Paul Preusker, 8th), Hungry Heart (Chris Waller, 9th) and dual All-Star Mile runner Streets of Avalon (Shane Nichols, 10th).
The four highest-ranked provisional emergencies at the final acceptance deadline of 10am (AEDT) on 15 March will be declared the official emergencies. They will not be assigned a barrier but, should they gain a start in the race, will assume the gate of the horse they replaced.
Should any of the top 10 vote-getters or the five yet-to-be-named wildcards withdraw from The All-Star Mile 2022 between today (22 February) and the final acceptance deadline (15 March), the first provisional emergency at the time of their withdrawal will take their place in the field.
The list of provisional emergencies will be updated regularly between now and 15 March if a horse either secures one of the five All-Star Mile wildcards, wins additional prizemoney, or is withdrawn by its connections.
The winners of this Saturday’s (26 February) Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and the Group 2 TAB Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, 5 March will each be offered a wildcard.
A further three wildcards, chosen by a panel of RV and Victoria Racing Club (VRC) racing officials, will be announced on or before Tuesday, 8 March, noting that any horse is eligible for an All-Star Mile wildcard, irrespective of whether or not they were amongst the original nominations.
Should any of the 15 starters be withdrawn between final acceptances on 15 March and the scratching deadline of 7.30am (AEDT) on Seppelt Wines All-Star Mile Raceday, the traditional Rules of Racing will apply.
The Seppelt Wines All-Star Mile 2022 provisional emergencies list, as at 22 February 2022, is as follows:
Provisional Emergency |
Horse |
Trainer |
Eligible Prizemoney since 1 February 2021 |
1 |
Tofane (NZ) |
Michael Moroney |
$2,082,250 |
2 |
Icebath (NZ) |
Brad Widdup |
$2,031,100 |
3 |
Colette |
James Cummings |
$1,246,725 |
4 |
Vangelic |
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott |
$1,187,000 |
5 |
Captivant |
Peter & Paul Snowden |
$1,002,950 |
6 |
Converge |
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott |
$933,700 |
7 |
Sierra Sue (NZ) |
Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young |
$896,200 |
8 |
Lunar Fox |
Paul Preusker |
$840,000 |
9 |
Hungry Heart |
Chris Waller |
$614,475 |
10 |
Streets of Avalon |
Shane Nichols |
$611,050 |
The 10 horses who have already secured a start in the Seppelt Wines All-Star Mile 2022 are as follows:
- Verry Elleegant (NSW) (Trainer - Chris Waller)
- I’m Thunderstruck (VIC) (Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr)
- Zaaki (NSW) (Annabel Neasham)
- Regalo Di Gaetano (SA) (Richard and Chantelle Jolly)
- Mr Brightside (VIC) (Ben and JD Hayes)
- Espiona (NSW) (Chris Waller)
- Elephant (NZ) (David and Emma-Lee Browne)
- Lighthouse (VIC) (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
- King Magnus (VIC) (Robbie Griffiths and Matt de Kock)
- Cascadian (NSW) (James Cummings)
Image caption: Colette winning at Flemington (Credit: Getty Images)