Aurie's Star Handicap - Around the bend?

The Aurie’s Star honours one of the most popular racehorses of the late 1930s. Little Aurie’s Star won 28 of his 89 starts, including the VRC Newmarket Handicap, Caulfield’s Oakleigh Plate twice, and Adelaide’s Goodwood Handicap.

Most importantly, in 1940, at the age of eight, he set a track record for the six furlongs at Flemington that was never bettered before racing shifted to metric measures in 1972. For years, people marvelled at the longevity of that record. Aurie’s Star became synonymous with the Straight Six. So, a race in his name just had to be a 1200 metre Straight Six sprint.  

But every rule of racing has its exceptions. Twice in its half-century history, the Aurie’s Star Handicap has been run not down the straight, but around the bend. The most recent occasion was in 2007, when Monet Rules defeated All American and El Segundo. That race was run over 1200 metres at Moonee Valley, shortly before the Flemington track reopened after its ten-month reconstruction.  

The earlier exception was in August 1975, exactly fifty years ago. On that occasion, and on that occasion only, the Aurie’s Star was held over 1000 metres. The simple explanation was another track reconstruction at Flemington, but at that time, it affected only the first half of the Straight Six distance.  

The earlier exception was in August 1975, exactly fifty years ago. On that occasion, the Aurie’s Star was held over 1000 metres around the turn. The simple explanation was another track reconstruction at Flemington, but at that time, it affected only the first half of the Straight Six distance.  

Jockeys and trainers had long been complaining, reasonably or otherwise, that there was a bias on the Straight Six track, favouring the horses racing on the grandstand side. When Coolalinga, Tauto and Prize Lad on the outside defeated Toltrice and Tontonan on the inside rail in the 1974 Newmarket, champion jockey Roy Higgins asserted that the inside running was five lengths slower than the outside section.  

The VRC subsequently agreed to regrade, redrain and returf the first half of the Straight Six. This section became unavailable for racing after the 1975 Newmarket (won by filly Cap d’Antibes) until the start of spring racing in September. No 1200 metre races were run at Flemington during that period; the ‘six furlong’ start on the course proper being on a continuing turn. But 1000 metre races were deemed possible. So, for that portion of the racing year, several races over this distance were run. The last of them was the Aurie’s Star Handicap of 1975.