Morphettville Racecourse is the main venue for metropolitan horse racing in South Australia and home to their major race, The Goodwood.
Approximately 9km from the Adelaide CBD, Morphettville Racecourse is only a 15-minute drive which makes it easily accessible to the people of Adelaide.
Morphettville’s track dimensions are as follows:
* Circumference: 2307m
* Home Straight: 340m
* Direction: anti-clockwise
The Goodwood is the premier race in South Australia each year with the 1200m sprint race run at set weights plus penalties. It is open to horses three-years-old and upwards, with a capacity field of 20 runners.
With $1 million in prize money up for grabs, The Goodwood can attract star horses. The biggest star of them all won the 2012 when unbeaten champion mare Black Caviar started a $1.05 favourite and defeated We’re Gonna Rock by 1.3 lengths. Jockey Luke Nolen didn’t move on the Peter Moody-trained Black Caviar as she cruised to the line to record her 21st consecutive win. She would finish with a perfect career record of 25 victories.
Takeover Target would win The Goodwood in 2009 after starting $1.40 in the field of 12 runners. The champion sprinter would also win overseas in England, Japan and Singapore.
Other Group 1 features held at Morphettville are the Australasian Oaks over 2000m for three-year-old fillies, the Robert Sangster Stakes over 1200m for fillies and mares and the South Australian Derby over 2500m for three-year-olds. They are all currently run in the month of May as part of the Adelaide Autumn Racing Carnival.
Although it doesn’t boast Group 1 status, the $400,000 Adelaide Cup (3200m) is one of the best races held in South Australia each year. A gruelling two-mile staying test that is run at Group 2 level, the Adelaide Cup is a race that many trainers aim to capture. There is always a big representation of interstate horses trying to win the Adelaide Cup.
A little bit of history; versatile race horse Malua won the Adelaide Cup back in 1884. It would be a big year for Malua who would also win the Newmarket Handicap, Melbourne Stakes, Oakleigh Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year. He would win races between 1100m and 5200m, with the Australian Racing Hall of Fame thoroughbred winning the Grand National Hurdle in 1889.
Other famous Adelaide Cup winners include Rain Lover, Hyperno, Lord Reims and Subzero.
