A total of 83 eligible horses, including the reigning Cox Plate winner and Caulfield Cup heroine, have been nominated for the third edition of the $5 million All-Star Mile.
Late entrants for the 2021 running of the world’s richest mile race included Chris Waller’s Caulfield Cup winner Verry Elleegant and the Cox Plate winner the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Sir Dragonet..
There are 23 Group 1 winners in the nominations list for the $5 million event which will be run at The Valley on March 13.
The first two winners of The All-Star Mile, Tasmanian Mystic Journey Western Australian Regal Power have been nominated.
Other top class gallopers nominated include Russian Camelot, Melody Belle, Probabeel, Aegon and Arcadia Queen.
Queensland cult hero The Harrovian, the winner of 11 straight races, has also been nominated.
“The quality and diversity of nominations for The All-Star Mile 2021 has again exceeded our expectations, with 45 stables from right across Australia and New Zealand all vying to win the marquee race of Victoria’s autumn carnival,” said Greg Carpenter, Racing Victoria’s (RV) Executive General Manager – Racing.
“It is exciting to see so many up-and-coming horses in the entry list and it will be fascinating to see how the voting period plays out when it officially opens on Friday, 22 January.
“Just as importantly, with every $500 nomination fee going to The All-Star Mile’s official charity a total of $41,500 will be donated to the Good Friday Appeal, which raises money for Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital.”
Victorian trainers inevitably make up the bulk of The All-Star Mile nominations, with 43 entrants from the state.
The voting period begins on January 22.
The top 10 vote-getters will be unveiled by RV on or before Friday, 19 February 2021, with the field of 15 supplemented by five wildcard runners which will be determined through a combination of two ‘win and you’re in races’ and The All-Star Mile wildcard panel.