Cup conversation starts with Andrew Ramsden

The Andrew Ramsden, previously known as the Duke of Norfolk, has been run since 1964 and a few years ago had found itself battling for relevance, staged at Flemington over 3200 metres in May.

But a decision by the VRC last year to reduce the distance to 2800 metres, restrict it to three, four and 5-year-olds and make it a qualifying race for the Melbourne Cup has suddenly made it a legitimate target for rising star stayers in their way the spring glory.

Last year's edition featured a memorable battle between two emerging stars in Steel Prince (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Surprise Baby (NZ) (Shocking), with the former prevailing by the smallest possible margin, prompting epic celebrations by his owners, who carried jockey Damien Oliver from the mounting yard on their shoulders.

Both Steel Prince and Surprise Baby, who would later qualify for the Melbourne Cup by winning the G3 Bart Cummings, would contest the $8 million race in November with Surprise Baby running fifth, beaten less than a length, and Steel Prince ninth, beaten just over 2l.

VRC's Executive General Manager - Racing Leigh Jordon, said the buzz ahead of last year's Andrew Ramsden was palpable and he feels the changes made to the race have reframed how people engage with the Melbourne Cup.

"It was quite interesting, we were talking about a race meeting in May and in the lead-up you could really feel it in the mounting yard. It was terrific," he told TDN AusNZ.

"For us, this is where the conversation starts about the Cup and I think our job will be to highlight that over the coming months. It gives us a chance to really start profiling the Cup a lot earlier and get people talking about it."

Standard stacks up

The difference for the race this year is of course that there will be no crowds at Flemington, preventing a repeat of the extraordinary post-race scenes of 12 months ago, and while Jordon can not script as thrilling a race, he does think the standard of the field lives up to what we saw last year.

"I think the quality of this year is pretty much in line with last year. We had Surprise Baby last year who had won the Adelaide Cup and we have King Of Leogrance coming into the race this year with the same form. We’ve got real up-and-comers like Too Close The Sun and Paul Preusker's horse, Dark Alley, and a few others," he said.

"The change in conditions have made it a much more interesting race. We have up-and-coming stayers, young horses who are on their way up. Has COVID-19 had an impact on the race? Probably not. There might have been an extra interstate horse in the race, but I think it's pretty well in line with last year."

One of the aims of both Racing Victoria and the VRC is to help re-invigorate the staying breed in Australia, and there have been a raft of initiatives to support this and encourage more investment in breeding and racing stayers.

Saturday's race gives a good sign of that, with seven of the 12 horses bred in Australia, while there is one from New Zealand.

"It's really good to see that coming through. The race is doing the right thing and while we won't have owners there on Saturday, there will be a buzz around the race again. It's already happening this week with a lot of media coverage," Jordon said.

"You suddenly realise how big the Melbourne Cup is, that if you've got a race where you win and you’re in, that in itself shows how big the Cup is."

'The race that starts a nation'

The VRC feels that much like when Phar Lap (NZ) (Night Raid {GB}) won the race in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression, the 2020 Melbourne Cup can have a key role to play in lifting spirits in a year which has been so impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think the Melbourne Cup is such a historic event, and it's the 159th running. It’s got all the history and the vibe and I think in this special year, we will be calling it 'The People's Cup'," Jordon said.

"It’s renowned as the race that stops the nation but we’d love it to be the race that starts the nation, and kickstarts things. I think people will be really looking forward to the Cup and celebrating the history of the race and what it means to the Australian public. This will give us a chance to showcase what the Melbourne Cup means to the public."

'The People's Cup' could take on a whole new meaning in 2020, with the possibility that it could be an all-Australian event dependent on quarantine restrictions in the wake of COVID-19.

While Jordon said the VRC is working hard to be ready to host its usual array of international stars, he doesn’t feel an all-local Cup would be a bad thing, especially with the quality of the local staying ranks.

"This year we have got Russian Camelot, King Of Leogrance, Master Of Wine and those horses. I reckon the Australian stayers have really stepped up. You could see it turning a bit last year. I don’t think it would necessarily be a bad thing if the internationals couldn't make it."

But Jordon said that he believed if restrictions continued to be eased, then there would be no reason not to expect the usual influx from overseas ahead of November's race.

"There is work going on, we are in May, and they come in September, so there is plenty of time and a lot of water needs to go under the bridge before then," he said.

"I've been in contact with a lot of the trainers who have been here over the years in the past few weeks. A lot of them have been saying, if we can come for the carnival, we will be out there. It's just a matter of the logistics, and there is bit of a wait and see on that. If things keep opening up and changing, you’d hope we would be able to get things in place."

Spectators a chance for Cup Carnival

Jordon also confirmed that the VRC was working towards plans which could see Flemington host spectators at its iconic Melbourne Cup Carnival, depending on public health advice from the Victorian State Government.

"Depending on the numbers that may be allowed, we are modelling to look at how can we facilitate that. It depends on how we can get people on course and how we service them when they are on course, and how we exit," he said.

"All that work is happening at the moment. The industry has been excellent, Racing Victoria has done a great job getting us all to jump into action and make sure the sport goes ahead."

Like a lot of other people in the industry, Jordon sees a great opportunity for racing in this time of crisis and he hopes the off-season buzz created by Saturday's Andrew Ramsden S. can play a role in that.

"At the moment, racing is in the spotlight and I know the other sports will start up, but this gives us a good opportunity to showcase the sport. Eyes on the sport are increasing, all the ratings and wagering is showing us that," he said.

"Our challenge now is to keep those eyeballs and people interested in the sport. We’ve got a role to play through this off season of making sure we profile the Cup and maybe some other feature races."