The pulling power of Arcadia Queen (Pierro) has been emphasised with the Western Australian mare topping The All-Star Mile poll.
After a record 147,830 validated votes were received, the multiple Group 1 winner proved her popularity with 15,105 members of the public giving her the tick of approval to place the Grant and Alana-Williams trained 5-year-old at the head of the field.
Behemoth (All Too Hard) gained 14,699 votes to be second and followed by Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) on 14,503 while Mr Quickie (Shamus Award) gained the 10th and final voter spot with 6168.
By far the biggest move up the leaderboard during the blackout period, which commenced at 10pm (AEDT) last Friday, was made by Still A Star (Toronado {Ire}). She jumped from 10th place to fourth with 9954 votes thanks chiefly to a tireless campaign in her home state of Tasmania by part-owner Monica Ryan, whose father Bill trains the 4-year old.
“We are absolutely delighted with the record voting numbers for The All-Star Mile 2021. People from all walks of life, from casual sports fans to hardened racing enthusiasts, have really embraced the race,” said Greg Carpenter, Racing Victoria’s Executive General Manager – Racing. “It is also very satisfying to see horses from every state of Australia and New Zealand represented in the top 10 this year.
“People from all walks of life, from casual sports fans to hardened racing enthusiasts, have really embraced the race.” - Greg Carpenter
“It seems that the public’s voting habits are changing, with many people now waiting until the final weekend of voting to make their selections and give both themselves and their chosen horse the best possible chance of winning at The Valley in three weeks’ time.
“We expected the likes of Arcadia Queen, Behemoth, Probabeel, Russian Camelot, Sir Dragonet and even The Harrovian to prove popular with the voting public, but what we perhaps didn’t anticipate was that the story of Still A Star would gain such traction in Tasmania and that Adelaide’s proud Italian community would rally around Regalo Di Gaetano in such great numbers.
“We are absolutely delighted that they will take their place in the race alongside the six Group 1 winners committed so far.
“We look forward to completing the field with some very strong wildcard runners in the coming weeks, with the first one due to be handed to the winner of the G1 Futurity S.”
The 2020 All-Star Mile winner, Regal Power
Should either Arcadia Queen, Behemoth, Probabeel or Mr Quickie win the Futurity, the wildcard panel will then have four choices at their discretion with the other wildcard offered to connections of the winner of the G2 Blamey S.
The top 10 vote-getters in The All-Star Mile 2021 is: Arcadia Queen 15,105 votes; Behemoth 14,699; Probabeel 14,503 votes; Still A Star 9954 votes; Greysful Glamour (Stratum) 9821 votes; Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) 8460; Regalo Di Gaetano (Supreme Class) 8168; The Harrovian (Fastnet Rock) 7535; Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) 6335 and Mr Quickie 6168.
