The Big Dance: Everything You Need To Know About Randwick’s Newest Group 1 Race
An intriguing new race named The Big Dance will make its debut at Randwick in Sydney on Tuesday.
This $2 million feature will be held 40 minutes prior to the Melbourne Cup, and it has attracted some of the world’s leading jockeys and trainers. Read on to learn more about The Big Dance, why it was created, the features of the race, the qualification process, the field and our top tips.
When is The Big Dance?
The Big Dance takes place at 14:20 AEDT on Tuesday. That could divert attention away from the build-up to the Melbourne Cup, which takes place at 15:00 AEDT at Flemington. The Victoria Racing Club accused Racing NSW of “ambush marketing” by scheduling a major race on Melbourne Cup Day.
Where is The Big Dance Held?
The Big Dance will take place at Royal Randwick in Sydney. This will be the inaugural running of the race, and it is due to take place each year on the first Tuesday in November.
Why was The Big Dance Created?
The Big Dance is essentially designed to steal some of Victoria’s thunder on Melbourne Cup Day. Racing NSW has displayed a great deal of ambition in its bid to shift the centre of Australian racing from Melbourne to Sydney in recent years. For example, it has scheduled The Everest, the country’s richest race, on Caulfield Cup Day.
The $10 million Golden Eagle, the second richest race of the year, now takes place on Victoria Derby Day, while The Invitation and the Spring Champion Stakes are held on Cox Plate Day. Many expected the second Tuesday in November to remain sacrosanct, but those assumptions came crashing down when Racing NSW announced The Big Dance.
“This is not designed to detract from the Melbourne Cup,” insisted Racing NSW administrator Peter V’Landys. “It gives punters another good product to bet on, similar to The Everest and the Caulfield Cup. We’re not taking any gloss off the Melbourne Cup. This is to complement the race. It’s positive for the industry in NSW. It’s the best state we’ve ever been in.”
What are the Features of the Race?
The Big Dance is a quality handicap race run over 1600m on the right-handed turf track at Randwick. It is open to three-year-olds and upwards, featuring runners that either won or finished second in various NSW Country Cup races, such as the Scone Cup and the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup, over the past year.
How Do Runners Qualify for The Big Dance?
The Big Dance is restricted to horses aged three and older that have competed in one of the 25 selected NSW Country Cups over the past year. The field was drawn from the winners and runners-up of those races. Racing NSW then used the benchmark rating at the time of the final acceptances to rank the horses in order and determine the final field.
These are the 25 elected NSW Country Cup races that led to qualification for The Big Dance 2022:
| Race | Distance | Venue | Date | Club |
| Goulburn Cup | 1400m | Goulburn | 31-Oct-21 | Goulburn & District Racing Club |
| Snake Gully Cup | 1400m | Gundagai | 12-Nov-21 | Gundagai-Adelong Race Club |
| Taree Cup | 2000m | Taree | 21-Nov-21 | Manning Valley Race Club |
| Mudgee Cup | 1600m | Mudgee | 03-Dec-21 | Mudgee Race Club |
| Nowra Cup | 1600m | Nowra | 05-Dec-21 | Shoalhaven City Turf Club |
| Armidale Cup | 1600m | Tamworth | 12-Dec-21 | Armidale Jockey Club |
| Moruya Cup | 1425m | Moruya | 03-Jan-22 | Moruya Jockey Club Inc |
| Ballina Cup | 1590m | Ballina | 14-Jan-22 | Ballina Jockey Club |
| Bega Cup | 1600m | Sapphire Coast | 30-Jan-22 | Sapphire Coast Turf Club |
| Albury Gold Cup | 2000m | Albury | 25-Mar-22 | Albury Racing Club |
| Muswellbrook Gold Cup | 1450m | Muswellbrook | 01-Apr-22 | Muswellbrook Race Club |
| Orange Gold Cup | 2100m | Orange | 08-Apr-22 | Racing Orange Ltd |
| Tamworth Cup | 1400m | Tamworth | 22-Apr-22 | Tamworth Jockey Club |
| Wagga Wagga Gold Cup | 2000m | Wagga | 06-May-22 | Murrumbidgee Turf Club |
| Scone Cup | 1600m | Scone | 13-May-22 | Scone Race Club |
| Wellington Cup | 1700m | Wellington | 29-May-22 | Wellington Race Club |
| South Grafton Cup | 1600m | Grafton | 10-Jul-22 | Clarence River Jockey Club |
| Forbes Cup | 1600m | Forbes | 31-Jul-22 | Forbes Jockey Club |
| Coffs Harbour Cup | 1600m | Coffs Harbour | 04-Aug-22 | Coffs Harbour Racing Club |
| Murwillumbah Cup | 1550m | Murwillumbah | 19-Aug-22 | Tweed River Jockey Club |
| Dubbo Gold Cup | 1600m | Dubbo | 11-Sep-22 | City of Dubbo Turf Club |
| Lismore Cup | 2100m | Lismore | 22-Sep-22 | Lismore Turf Club |
| Bathurst Cup | 1800m | Bathurst | 25-Sep-22 | Bathurst Turf Club |
| Port Macquarie Cup | 2000m | Port Macquarie | 07-Oct-22 | Port Macquarie Race Club |
| Big Dance Wild Card | 1600m | Randwick | 08-Oct-22 | Australian Turf Club |
| Coonamble Cup | 1600m | Coonamble | 09-Oct-22 | Coonamble Jockey Club |
| Goulburn Cup | 1400m | Goulburn | 31-Oct-21 | Goulburn & District Racing Club |
The Big Dance Field
Contenders for The Big Dance 2022 are listed in descending order based on their handicap rating at the time of final acceptances.
| Number | Runner | Trainer | Rider | Barrier | Weight | Rating |
| 1 | Bandersnatch | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Brenton Avdulla | 22 | 61kg | 104 |
| 2 | Surf Dancer (Ire) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Regan Bayliss | 5 | 61kg | 104 |
| 3 | Rustic Steel | Kris Lees | Nash Rawiller | 7 | 59kg | 100 |
| 4 | Charmmebaby (NZ) | Bob Milligan | Kyle Wilson-Taylor | 13 | 57kg | 100 |
| 5 | Hosier (Ire) | Kris Lees | Frankie Dettori | 20 | 57kg | 96 |
| 6 | Aleas (GB) | Chris Waller | James Orman | 4 | 56.5kg | 95 |
| 7 | Sibaaq (GB) | Annabel Neasham | Chad Schofield | 2 | 56.5kg | 95 |
| 8 | Quality Time (Ger) | Chris Waller | William Pike | 9 | 54kg | 90 |
| 9 | Cognac (Ire) | Richard & Will Freedman | Keagan Latham | 15 | 54kg | 77 |
| 10 | Ready to Humble | Nick Olive | Jeff Penza | 1 | 54kg | 67 |
| 11 | Kedah (NZ) | Kris Lees | Dylan Gibbons | 23 | 53kg | 75 |
| 12 | Cisco Bay | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Tyler Schiller | 12 | 52.5kg | 87 |
| 13 | Wicklow (Ire) | Chris Waller | Jay Ford | 24 | 52kg | 85 |
| 14 | Casino Kid | Jan Bowen | Grant Buckley | 6 | 52kg | 82 |
| 15 | Impasse | Matthew Dunn | Kathy O’Hara | 18 | 52kg | 82 |
| 16 | Regal Stage | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Alysha Collett | 10 | 52kg | 82 |
| 17 | Al Mah Haha | Tash Burleigh | Ms Ellen Hennessy | 17 | 52kg | 80 |
| 18 | Caesars Palace | Anthony Cummings | Reece Jones | 14 | 52kg | 78 |
| 19 | One Aye | Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones | Quayde Krogh | 3 | 52kg | 73 |
| 20 | Spanish Point (GB) | Kris Lees | Andrew Adkins | 8 | 52kg | 72 |
| 21e | Shameonus | Bjorn Baker | Zac Lloyd | 11 | 52kg | 66 |
| 22e | Beckford | Troy O’Neile | Serg Lisnyy | 21 | 52kg | 64 |
| 23e | Not Negotiating | Peter W Stanley | Ashleigh Stanley | 19 | 52kg | 61 |
| 24e | She’s All in | Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones | Ellen Hennessy | 16 | 52kg | 56 |
The Big Dance Leading Contenders
Bandersnatch
The Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes-trained gelding has four wins, two runner-up finishes and three third-place finishes from 17 starts during his career. His best performances have come at Randwick: he won the Listed Fujitsu General Carrington Stakes here in January 2021 and the Listed Winter Stakes at Randwick six months later.
Both of those races took place over 1400m. The six-year-old has only been tested over 1600m once, when he ran eighth of 16 in the Group 2 Villiers Stakes at Randwick back in December last year. He has run twice this spring, placing on both occasions. Bandersnatch was third in the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes – finishing just 1¼ lengths behind I Wish I Win, who is among the favourites for the Golden Eagle – and he then finished second in the Group 3 Moonga Stakes at Caulfield, a shoulder behind Aegon, so he commands respect.
Surf Dancer
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Surf Dancer qualified for this race by virtue of winning the South Grafton Cup in July. The Irish-bred import, who enjoyed success in England before joining the Waterhouse and Bott yard, earned his best victory to date when taking out the Group 2 Shannon Stakes at Rosehill last month. He relished the Soft (7) track that day. Randwick is currently rated Good (4), but rain is forecast in Sydney on Monday and Tuesday, so he could thrive if the ground softens.
Rustic Steel
Rustic Steel is also proven on softer tracks, so he is another that could enjoy conditions if the ground loses its sting. The five-year-old gelding surged to victory in the Scone Cup earlier this year, making him a leading contender for The Big Dance.
Charmmebaby
Charmmebaby put in a strong performance to finish eighth of 16 in the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara at Eagle Farm in the winter. The six-year-old Kiwi mare was last seen finishing seventh of seven in the 1400m Birdon Group Sprint at Port Macquarie, but she should enjoy the longer distance in The Big Dance.
Hosier
The Kris Lees-trained five-year-old qualified for The Big Dance by saluting in the Coffs Harbour Cup. He has secured two consecutive wins at Randwick, including an impressive victory in the 1600m Schweppes Handicap four weeks ago.
The Big Dance Prize Money
Racing NSW stumped up $2 million for this new feature, making it one of the most lucrative races of the year. The winner will earn more than half of the prize pool, and the rest will be awarded on a descending scale.
The Big Dance Tips
Hosier has all the necessary attributes to win this race. He is proven on the course and over the distance, and he has won on soft ground. Frankie Dettori, the famous Italian jockey who plies his trade in England, will skip the Melbourne Cup and ride Hosier in this race, and he should deliver a composed performance, giving the five-year-old gelding a strong chance of success.
