The Metropolitan History
The biggest drawcard for stayers during the Sydney Spring Carnival is the Group 1 The Metropolitan which has a rich history and is run at Randwick in October.
Contested under handicap conditions, the race is run over 2400m and carries prizemoney of $750,000.
It attracts stayers who have aspirations of a Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign including the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup.
The Metropolitan gained Group 1 status in 1979 when Earthquake McGoon won the race.
The Metropolitan, also known as the Metrop, is run as part of Super Saturday at Randwick which also sees the running of the Group 1 Epsom Handicap and the Group 1 Flight Stakes.
It has come to be known over the years as a race that is more often than not won by a good handicapper and not necessarily a solid superior horse.
The race was first run in 1863 and won by a horse called Regno. Melbourne Cup winners dating back to this time have won the race including Tim Whiffler (1867) and The Barb (1868) through to Delta (1951) and Macdougal (1959).
More recently, the 1988 winner Natski travelled to Melbourne for the Cup, only to finish second, beaten a head by the big mare Empire Rose.
Caulfield Cup winners have also fared well in The Metropolitan such as Railings in 2005 and Tawqeet the following year.
The Barb holds the record for the biggest weight carried to victory which was 9 stone 10 pound or 61.5 kgs in 1868. The lightest weight to win the race was five stone, six pounds or 34.5kgs which was carried by Bylong in 1866.
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