Flemington Races, Melbourne Races, Newmarket Handicap
The Newmarket Handicap
New Market Handicap Odds
| Name | SportsBet Odds |
| Black Caviar | $1.35 |
| Hay List | $12.00 |
| Star Witness | $15.00 |
| Undeniably | $26.00 |
| Catapulted | $26.00 |
| Eagle Falls | $26.00 |
| Response | $26.00 |
| Ortensia | $31.00 |
| Stirling Grove | $31.00 |
| Decision Time | $31.00 |
The Newmarket Handicap is an Australian sprint race that is rich in tradition. The race was first held in 1874 and the inaugural race was won by Maid of Avenel. Since then, it has become one of the most anticipated racing events at the Flemington Races and one of the highly regarded events during the Flemington Racing Festival on the second weekend of March.
Participating parties at Newmarket Handicap would like to win the race in order to take home the lion’s share of the AUD$1 million prize pool. The top three finishers will also get trophies worth $5,000. However, winning the Newmarket Handicap is tough for it always has a maximum crowd of 24 horses per year and each of those horses has what it takes to win the Newmarket Handicap.
Yet, it is the challenging nature of the Newmarket Handicap which attracts the best sprinters in Australian horse racing. Throughout its history, the race distance of the Newmarket Handicap has changed. When the race was first held, the race distance of the Newmarket Handicap is six furlongs or 1200 metres.
Bet IASbet Super Price on the Newmarket Handicap:
Better Odds than TAB Guaranteed + $200 FREE BET – Click Here
Bet on the Oakleigh Plate with IASbet SuperPrice - Better than the 3 Totes guaranteed
Better Odds than TAB Guaranteed + $200 FREE BET – Click Here
In 1973, it was adjusted to exactly 1200 metres following the introduction of the metric system in Australia and the race was won that year by Bart Cumming’s Century with jockey Roy Higgins on board. In 2002, the Newmarket Handicap saw an exciting finish as the top six horses were separated by just a long head with Rubitano winning the tight race.
One unique feature about the Newmarket Handicap is that there are no turns involved in this race. Rather, this race is held at the Straight Six racecourse at Flemington which means that the Newmarket Handicap is a flat-out sprint race. This is the reason why punters always go with the horses that have proven their speed in other sprint contests.
Since the quality of opposition for the Newmarket Handicap is high, trainers make sure that their thoroughbreds are ready for the sprint race. Thus, they participate in ideal tune-up races such as the 1200-metre William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley, the 1000-metre Lightning Stakes at Flemington and the 1100-metre Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield.
The races give trainers and race horses the feel of the race’s speed and they use it to form a sound strategy for there is no room for mistakes in a race as short as the Newmarket Handicap. In 2000, Miss Pennymoney might have participated in these tune-up races for she recorded the fastest winning time in the Newmarket Handicap at 1 minute 7.6 seconds.
Due to the reconstruction of the Flemington Racecourse in 2007, the race was held at Caulfield and it was the only time when the race was not held at Flemington. Given the high quality of competitors every year and the high number of participating horses, the Newmarket Handicap only has four multiple winners throughout its 137-year history. The first multiple Newmarket Handicap winner is Aspen when he won in 1880 and 1881.
This feat was copied by Gothic by winning in 1927 and 1928 while Correct also did the same in 1960 and 1961. Razor Sharp is the latest race horse to win multiple Newmarket Handicaps when he won back-to-back in 1982 and 1983. In 2010, the race was won by Wanted with jockey Luke Nolen on board. At second place is Eagle Falls with jockey Kerrin McEvoy and at third is Starspangeledbanner with jockey Danny Nikolic. Wanted weighed only 51.5 kilograms in winning the race.
There have also been race horses that have registered multiple runner-up finishes in the Newmarket Handicap. North Head was the race’s runner-up in 1906 and 1907 while Desert Rose also registered back-to-back second place finishes in 1911 and 1912. Dual Choice also had two runner-up finishes in 1971 and 1972 while Always Welcome also placed second in 1978 and 1979.
In the history of the Newmarket Handicap, Bart Cummings is the most successful trainer with eight victories. His victories were courtesy of Crown in 1972, Century in 1973, Cap D’antibes in 1975, Maybe Mahal in 1978, Better Beyond in 1979, Elounda Bay in 1981, Gold Trump in 1990 and Shaftesbury Avenue in 1991.
Next to Cummings is Colin Hayes with four victories courtesy of Desirable in 1977, Red Tempo in 1985, Special in 1987 and Grandiose in 1988. Several trainers that have won the Newmarket Handicap three times and the latest to achieve the feat is Lee Freedman thanks to Shillaci in 1992, Alinghi in 2005 and Miss Andretti in 2007.
Meanwhile, jockey Damien Oliver has won the most Newmarket Handicaps among jockey with three courtesy of Alinghi in 2005, Toledo in 2001 and Shillaci in 1992. No other jockey has won the Newmarket Handicap more than twice and the latest jockey to win the Newmarket Handicap twice is Darren Gauci with Shaftesbury Avenue in 1991 and Red Tempo in 1985.
The 2011 Newmarket Handicap will be held on the 12th of March and the betting odds list show that Black Caviar is the top favourite to win the competition with betting odds of 1.40. Second on the list is Hay List with betting odds of 12.00 while Star Witness has betting odds of 13.00. Catapulted improved in the betting odds with 19.00 while Undeniably and Whitefriars both have betting odds of 21.00.
Ortensia has betting odds of 26.00 while First Command, We’re Gonna Rock and Reward for Effort has betting odds of 31.00. Meanwhile, the following race horses have 2011 Newmarket Handicap betting odds of 41.00: Beaded, Decision Time, Grand Duels, Set for Fame, Crystal Lily, Eagle Falls, Hinchinbrook and Sterling Glove.
On the other hand, here are the following 2011 Newmarket Handicap hopefuls which have betting odds of 51.00: Ahdashim, Avenue, Shellscrape, Sister Madly and Varenna Miss. Meanwhile, these thoroughbreds have betting odds of 61.00: Chasm, Doubtful Jack, King Pulse, Shrapnel and Smokin’ Joey. Master Harry, Response and Quick Peek have identical betting odds of 81.00.
These thoroughbreds have 2011 Newmarket Handicap betting odds of 101.00: Bigelow, Jerezana, Keano, Marquardt and Panipique. Paprika and Potions have betting odds of 151.00 while Voile Rouge was given betting odds of 201.00. Rounding the bottom of the list with betting odds of 301.00 are Snaparazzi and So Anyway.
Bookmaker.com.au Bonus Bet
The 2012 Melbourne Cup Guide
Luxbet Racing Specials
