Morgan, I do most definitely appreciate where you are coming from with regard to whether the Sale Cup will attract the quality of nomination that you and I think a Group One should attract but I think the race will in any case satisfy the primary criteria for a Group One. The following extract is taken from the AGRA site: "Group 1 status shall apply to those races which carry a minimum prizemoney of $50,000 cash to the winner and have been conducted for at least 6 years or are 'protected status' or 'special status' Group 1 events".
A major problem for any club initiating a new or upgraded race is the fullness of the Australian calendar with regard to Group and other feature races. Overall this is good (no doubt about it) but not for a club that is trying to promote a new/upgraded race. Shanew told us recently that Fallen Zorro was in Perth doing very well in deed when the $30,000 to the winner Sale Cup was being run and good on him and the other connections and of course the WA fans but I would have loved to have seen Fallen Zorro at Sale. The time of the year and relative isolation maybe don't help either. Anyway, I say "bring on the Group One Sale Cup", one which in 2008 might have, in other circumstances (very different circumstances) had a Final field like: Vintage Octane, Fallen Zorro, Chinatown Lad, Mantra Lad, Sky Hazzard, Gunnadoo Magic, Lilley Criminal and of course Salegreys Iscool and I would have liked the track to have been in an order conducive to fast times as I reckon the track record and even that 37.0 barrier could have been in distinct danger. All of this was absolutely impossible in 2008 but maybe in 2009 there might be a not too dissimilar Final field in terms of quality.