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In 2007 the world's best milers will pursue the largest prize-money in world racing in the Asian Mile Challenge (AMC).
The third edition of the AMC offers approximately US$12.5 million in stakes and bonuses for four of the greatest mile races in the world.
Beginning in March in Australia, the series will travel to Dubai and Hong Kong before its finale in Tokyo in June.
The AMC is the perfect showcase for the Asian Racing Federation, pitting the best against the best at the classic distance of a mile and staged at some of the most famous racetracks on the planet.
The Races
|
Track |
Distance |
Date |
Prize Money |
US$ equivalent |
The Power Pays Futurity Stakes |
Caulfield (AUS) |
1600m |
3 March 2007 |
A$700,000 |
$532,000 |
The Dubai Duty Free |
Nad Al Sheba (UAE) |
1777m |
31 March 2007 |
US$5,000,000 |
$5,000,000 |
The Champions Mile |
Sha Tin (HK) |
1600m |
29 April 2007 |
HK$8,000,000 |
$1,031,000 |
The Yasuda Kinen |
Fuchu (Japan) |
1600m |
3 June 2007 |
JPY213,000,000 |
$1,899,000 |
Bonus Structure
Fantastic bonuses are available for horses with multiple wins in the 2007 Asian Mile Challenge. The bonuses consist of a set pool for each category; bonuses do not accumulate between pools.
Four AMC wins: US$4,000,000
Three AMC wins: US$2,000,000 (to be shared in the event that two horses each win three races, including dead heats)
Two AMC wins: US$1,000,000 (to be shared in the event that two or more horses each win or share two races in dead heats)
NB: The AMC Committee reserves the right to determine the distribution of bonuses in case of any dead-heat resulting in more than one winner of a Challenge race. Leg 1
The Power Pays Futurity Stakes (Gr.1-1600m)
Caulfield, Melbourne, Australia
Saturday, 3 March 2007
AUD$700,000 (approx. US$532,000)
Steeped in history and featuring some of the greatest icons of Southern Hemisphere racing since its inception in 1898, the Futurity Stakes was contested over 1400m save for a one-off increase to 1800m in 1979.
The race distance upped to a mile upon joining the Asian Mile Challenge in 2006 and received tremendous support from Australia's racing community. Race fans were rewarded with a thrilling finish as the ageless Fields Of Omagh edged out a narrow win from three-year-old Red Dazzler and lowered the track record for Caulfield's 1600m to 1 minute 34.28 seconds.
Leg 2
The Dubai Duty Free (Gr.1-1777m)
Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE
Saturday, 31 March 2007
US$5 million
Along with the Dubai Sheema Classic on the same stellar programme, at US$5 million the Dubai Duty Free has the honour of being the richest turf race in the world.
The 'Duty Free' began as a dirt race over 2000m and later switched to the turf to run over 1800m before settling at the present distance of 1777 in the millennium year.
In the eyes of many, the 2006 Dubai Duty Free was the strongest race on Dubai World Cup night - the richest meeting in the world – with 13 individual Group 1 winners taking part. David Junior proved emphatically that his win against older horses in the 2005 Champion Stakes at Newmarket was not a one-off with a decisive three-and-a-half lengths victory.
Leg 3
The Champions Mile (Gr.1-1600m)
Sha Tin, Hong Kong
Sunday, 29 April 2007
HK$8 million (approx. US$1.031 million)
The Champions Mile was first run as a domestic Group 1 in 2001 and was opened to international competition in 2005 when the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Japan Racing Association joined forces to create the Asian Mile Challenge. Since then, the race has lured top class competition from Australia, Great Britain (including multiple Classic winner, Attraction), Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
Bullish Luck won the Champions Mile in 2005 and 2006 with the former the more famous victory as he denied Silent Witness, the darling of Hong Kong racing, a record 18th straight success. It looked for one moment that the World Champion Sprinter had the field tamed before Bullish Luck - also trained by Tony Cruz - drove late and fast to oust the public's favourite on the line under Gerald Mosse.
With Brett Prebble in the saddle in 2006, success was a little more straightforward for Bullish Luck as he scored by one and a half lengths. He was later voted Hong Kong's Horse of the Year.
Leg 4
The Yasuda Kinen (Gr.1-1600m)
Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
Sunday, 3 June 2007
JPY 213m (approx. US$1.899m)
The Yasuda Kinen is the most prestigious mile race in Japan. It began in 1951 as the Yasuda Sho to honour the founding chairman of the Japan Racing Association, Mr. Izaemon Yasuda, who was instrumental in introducing betting in Japan as well as some of the major races such as the Japanese Derby. The race was renamed in 1958 after the passing of Mr Yasuda – 'Kinen' means memorial in Japanese.
In a famous victory for Hong Kong, Bullish Luck ran out a resounding victor of the 2006 Yasuda Kinen by two-and-a-half lengths to earn a US$1m bonus as the winner of two Challenge legs on top of the US$1.6 million earned in three out of the four legs in the series – earlier he had run fifth in the Dubai Duty Free and won the Champions Mile. Indeed, these riches were precisely what the Bullish Luck camp deservedly earned having fearlessly campaigned their splendid miler in five of the six legs in the AMC series in 2005 and 2006.
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Power Pays Futurity
Stakes
