Sydney carnival lead-up loses WFA status

The Missile Stakes, won in 2019 by Alizee (left), will be contested under a different weight scale.

A new-season race that has been a traditional spring starting point for many of Sydney’s best sprinters will figure in a switch of handicapping conditions.

The Missile Stakes, a Group Two sprint over 1200m, will be run as a set-weights with penalties event for the first time this year.

Since becoming part of the Sydney racing calendar in 1978, the Missile Stakes had been decided at weight-for-age, an elite scale of handicapping used around the world.

Sometimes held in late July but mostly run in August, the first month of the Australian racing season, the Missile has forged a reputation as a sneak preview for the spring’s major races.

Its honour roll is littered with famous names including two-time winner Campaign King, the weight-for-age star Lonhro and two-year-old triple crown winner Dance Hero.

Recent winners have been Pierata in 2018 and the Godolphin mare Alizee in 2019.

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The Missile hasn’t been without its controversy and the 1984 edition will go down as an infamous day in Sydney racing.

A bank of barrier stalls became bogged in muddy ground at Rosehill which caused officials to use a flag-start.

The race was won by the 200-1 bolter Plus Vite, a horse trained by Bart Cummings who was having its first start in a race.

The win triggered one of the loudest and most sustained demonstrations seen on a Sydney racetrack in many years.

Under the conditions of this year’s race, horses who are four years and older will carry a 3kg penalty for winning a Group One race.

The Missile Stakes will be run at Rosehill on August 8.