Much ado about The Quokka

Cover image courtesy of Western Racepix

On Saturday, Ascot Racecourse is expecting one of its biggest, most enthusiastic race-going crowds. In the late afternoon, 14 horses will line up for the inaugural running of the $4 million The Quokka, Western Australia’s richest feature.

The publicity machine has been running hot all week, with even the world’s media tuning in to the race named after a ‘cuddly little animal’. The Quokka is worth more than the English Derby and almost as much as the Kentucky Derby, and it’s considerably more well-off than this Saturday’s G1 All Aged S. at Randwick.

But that’s not a new thing for these popular innovation features. When The Everest emerged in 2017 it was to the tune of $10 million, and The Pegasus, the pioneer of them all, debuted with a US$12 million (AU$17.9 million) purse.

These days, the Golden Eagle, The All-Star Mile and The Five Diamonds are among the Australian innovation race representatives that carry dizzy prizemoney and plenty of fare, and The Quokka has simply jumped on the bandwagon.

However, The Everest, The Pegasus and The Quokka, along with The Archer in central Queensland, are slot races in addition to innovation concepts, and each comes with its own catchy title.

Whether these jaunty names are part of the success of the slot-race concept isn’t an exact science, but it’s likely that they do. They’re easy to remember and relatable to a younger, less purist racing audience, even if they’re a little bit divisive.

“In some corners, people have asked why we haven’t identified with something more traditional I guess, more a nod to the past,” said Digby Beacham, co-host of The Sports Daily radio program on Perth’s Tabradio. Tabradio falls under the banner of Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA).

“Those that made the decision behind The Quokka were looking at something a bit light-hearted, something that was a bit of fun, and that’s what they’ve had with it. We’ve had a giant-sized quokka roaming around at Ascot the last few Saturdays, so we’re trying not to take ourselves too seriously out here.”

The Quokka is named after a small Rottnest Island marsupial that is native to Western Australia. A few years ago, Roger Federer broadcast the animal around the world with a famous selfie, and the cute, quirky nature of the quokka has been a marketer’s dream.

“It’s an unashamedly Western Australian concept,” Beacham said. “It’s been a bit of fun and, if there’s been any criticism of it, what’s not in dispute is that it’s attracted a high-class field. I might be biased, but I think it’s the best race in Australia on the weekend.”

Like many of the innovation races since 2017, the naming of The Quokka has drawn some local criticism. Some believe a race of this calibre should have better branding than a furry animal, and that the comedy of the name is disrespectful to the western racing product.

However, The Everest had its share of criticism when it debuted in Sydney seven years ago, and The Quokka is hitting its promotional targets and, probably, a younger race-going audience. Without much argument, it's here to stay.

“I’d be surprised if it weren’t,” Beacham said. “There are a few little teething problems. The barrier draw wasn’t great and there are a few disgruntled parties, and I get that. We were all expecting that to be the case after what occurred at Ascot on Tuesday morning.

“But there’s a commitment here internally that this is something that can be really grown here in Western Australia.”

No news is bad news

The barrier draw for the inaugural The Quokka occurred on Tuesday morning local time. It was dramatic, with the first five horses drawn before a mis-identification between Queenslander Uncommon James (Cable Bay {Ire}) and local horse Massimo (Sessions).

The fumble meant that RWWA had to redraw all barriers drawn after the initial five, and it was an embarrassing exercise that resulted in plenty of nationwide criticism and a lot of local discontent.

Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}), arguably the smartest filly in the country, went from barrier nine suddenly to barrier 14, the widest of the 14-horse field. Peter Walsh, her owner, threatened to withdraw his filly from the field altogether, which would have enormous consequences for the race’s pulling power.

Over 1200 metres at Ascot, Amelia's Jewel could be all at sea to win on Saturday, and on Wednesday morning, the airwaves were alight in Perth about whether she will run and whether she can still win.

“It’s not mission impossible for her,” Beacham said. “It’s not ideal, don’t get me wrong. Barrier nine in the original draw was perfect, and with barrier 14 she’ll have to go back.

“What we have seen on countless occasions at Ascot though, and in big races such as this, is high speed and high pressure, therefore horses blending in three and four deep with cover late, those dashing home late, they’re the horses that can be hard to beat with a paralysing turn of foot.

“It happened in the Winterbottom last year and it wouldn’t be a shock if Amelia’s Jewel did it too. Admittedly, this is her toughest test to date, but her win in the Roma Cup recently was ridiculous. The data says she thrives on high-pressure races and she’ll start favourite, and deservedly so.”

The barrier draw drama lit up valuable chatter about The Quokka, something along the lines of ‘no news is bad news’. People from east to west were talking about the race, even if some of it wasn’t flattering.

From the get-go, this race was designed to attract interstate interest, which is exactly what it has done. Six of the 14 horses are from the east coast, from stables in Sydney, Brisbane and Ballarat.

“There was a school of thought from RWWA here that the race needed east coast representation,” Beacham said. “Everyone here, along with everyone at Perth Racing, was of the view that interstate interest was critical.

“Godolphin, which has a strong link to supporting carnivals, had sent the likes of Kementari and Paulele here before, so there was a keen interest in that angle, and (slot holder) SEN was able to get Kementari.”

The six interstate horses are Kementari (Lonhro), Uncommon James for the O’Dea-Hoysted stable, Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) from Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and Bjorn Baker’s pair of Overpass (Vancouver) and Shades Of Rose (Rubick).

They’ve added chunk to a field that already has its star in Amelia’s Jewel, along with good locals like Hot Zed (Red Hot Choice), Western Knight (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}) and the perennial Red Can Man (Gingerbread Man).

Gallery: Some of the local runners for The Quokka, images courtesy of Western Racepix

“We’re getting high-class horses and high-class stables coming here for this race, and that’s a terrific thing,” Beacham said. “It adds a lot to the race, and with them come the east-coast jockeys too… the Ben Melhams and Damien Olivers.

“It’s a really, really good race as part of a 10-race program that also features the Karrakatta Plate. You only have to go back 12 months to watch Amelia’s Jewel win that.”

Two live chances

Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker is the only east-coaster with two horses in the field. In fact, he’s the only trainer with two horses in the field, and his pair of Overpass and Shades Of Rose has settled in at Simon Miller’s Ascot yard ahead of his arrival on Thursday.

Overpass will race for slot-holder RAM Racing Syndicate, while Shades Of Rose will race for slot-holder Magic Bloodstock Racing.

“One of the important things for the Sydney horses making the trip doable is the direct flight,” Baker said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Often in the past for the Perth carnival, flights have only gone from Melbourne, which has probably restricted us and made it much tougher for Sydney horses.

“So that was the first thing that made this race much more accessible, and then the Magic syndicate touched base in regards to Shades Of Rose, and then RAM Racing touched base about Overpass prior to the TJ Smith.”

With a very wet track, Overpass was a late scratching a fortnight ago from the G1 TJ Smith S. at Randwick, but he’s a good horse first-up, so the Darby Racing gelding was going to suit fresh form into The Quokka.

Baker has had only one horse race in Western Australia before this weekend, and it was many years ago when Cantonese (Redoute’s Choice) was unplaced in the Perth Cup. He said the slot-race concept is here to stay because you can’t argue with its success in Sydney, for example.

“The Everest is one race that we’re very familiar with now and it’s been a huge success in New South Wales,” he said. “There’s no bigger raceday on the calendar and no better atmosphere anywhere, and to be involved with those sorts of races has been great. The Quokka is a big-money race and for me, it’s very exciting to have two live chances.”

Gallery: Bjorn Baker's runners in The Quokka, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Baker was also caught up in the shemozzle of Tuesday’s barrier draw. Overpass slipped from barrier three to barrier eight, but he’s not sure it will affect them too much.

“We’re adamant that we’ll be very positive with Overpass in the race,” the trainer said. “I’m not sure gate eight will make much difference because we’ll still come out and run our own race, and we’ll look to lead with him.”

Gathering momentum

The Quokka is part of a weekend-wide ‘Western Trilogy’ between RWWA’s three codes of thoroughbreds, harness and greyhounds. The other three concept-races are The Sandgroper for the dogs and The Nullabor for the standardbreds.

Each are slot-holder events and worth considerable dollars respectively, but there’s been a delicacy for RWWA in handling each of the three codes without favour or bias. There have also been questions about the timing of the race in the calendar year.

Nevertheless, the Western Trilogy has walked hand-in-hand with so much of what is happening in Western Australia, with the thoroughbred breeding industry, in particular, blossoming and the bloodstock market standing so well on its own two feet.

The state has arguably one of the best bonus schemes of all the principal racing authorities (PRAs) in Westspeed, and the buzz leading into this weekend has been largely welcome.

“The Quokka has really been gathering momentum,” Beacham said. “There were some dramas with the barrier draw and there’s no getting away from that, but we’ve got six east-coast raiders and they get to lock horns with one of the best horses in training in Australia right now in Amelia’s Jewel. It will be a great spectacle.

“This is a concept that is going to get better and better. You’re never at your peak in year one, and New South Wales would attest to that with The Everest. As a slot race, this has got some conditions that I dare say will grow and hopefully flourish.”

There were some key characters in Perth behind the genesis of The Quokka, in particular Mike Fagan and Gareth Hall in its very early days. Just this week, Perth Racing CEO James Oldring paid tribute to Fagan's involvement while admitting the race had every potential to change the face of local racing.

It’s not an opinion shared by everyone in Western Australia and it would be untrue to say that it is, but every start-up starts somewhere, and for The Quokka, it’s this weekend.