The Championships Day 1 Preview

Atmosphere in the players' dressing room before the big event tells everything. Whether it be football, cricket, or any other team sport, interaction between those involved is usually an indication of what to expect when the game begins and the crowd roars. Racing is no different.

Friday at Osborne Park, Godolphin's state-of-the-art training centre at Agnes Banks, on the Hawkesbury River, an hour's drive north-west of Sydney, was a time for final preparation. The countdown is under way for arguably one of the most crucial race meetings of the season for the stable.

The mood is calm, riders and their horses relaxed. Godolphin trainer John O'Shea is straight to the point: "There's nothing more we can do now. They are ready to run."

Indeed, they are. Rippling fit, muscled up, coats glistening in the early morning sun. Led by the brilliant Exosphere in the G1 Darley T J Smith Stakes, plus talented Bow Creek in the G1 Doncaster Mile, the 'Royal Blues' are ready to roll forward.

Saturday marks day 1 of The Championships at Royal Randwick, Sydney, Australia -- day 2 comes a week later, on April 9 -- a repackaged traditional fixture that features the best of the best in the Antipodean Autumn.

"These are the two most important days in the calendar," O'Shea points out. "It's our Grand Final, twice over. It is the pinnacle," he stresses.

"Horses are more mature in the Autumn, and they come here having enjoyed the warmth of summer. It is far better for them than in Spring when they come at it off the back of winter. They have worked and trained well for this," he adds.

Godolphin have never before had such a strong line-up for this meeting. Even taking into account the 200mm (8 inches) of rain recorded the previous week in Sydney, the going is expected to be a 'Dead 5,' which outside Australia translates as the easy side of Good.

Exosphere is the stable's flagship runner. Despite having been beaten at his last two starts -- both on Flemington's straight course -- the Lonhro three-year-old comes to the G1 T J Smith in peak form, ready to make a return to the winner's enclosure.

"I'm happy with him," O'Shea says conservatively. One senses the trainer has put the brakes on any detailed discussion of confidence levels -- he will let Exosphere do the talking for him.

Drawn gate 4, the colt should be well-positioned on the pace to the home turn, where James McDonald can be expected to ask the ultimate question. Chautauqua, last year's winner of this race, is again set to run well, having won the G1 Lightning Stakes before a third in the G1 Newmarket Handicap.

The brilliant mare Winx will be attempting her ninth win on the trot when lining up in the Doncaster Mile, but this is a typically competitive running of the G1 race. Kermadec, who took last year's Doncaster, can again run well, as too can New Zealand miler Turn Me Loose, a son of Darley's Iffraaj.

But Godolphin's Bow Creek may be suited by the hectic G1 Doncaster Mile pace and leave behind him his 8th in the G1 Australian Cup, in which a slow pace more than a wide barrier proved a stumbling block. He looks particularly well in himself at present and could surprise.

The Godolphin duo, Tally and Etymology, are both expected to run their race in the G1 Australian Derby, but Tarzino, the G1 Victoria Derby winner, heads the market, ahead of G1 VRC Oaks winner Jameka.

Astern gets his chance to return to winning form in the opening G3 Widden Kindergarten Stakes, though Winx's half-brother El Divino will provide strong opposition, and later, Telperion is another Godolphin runner with an excellent winning chance, in the G1 Inglis Sires'.

This is an important day for Godolphin in a fascinating week of racing in Australia.