Beyond G1 handicaps the view is very clouded -- many black-type races run in Melbourne simply do not warrant that status -- inflated-field cluttering with 10th-place hopefuls wrecks those races.
This is starting to get some attention.
Last weekend at Sandown there were these races:
Group 3 Sandown Cup $160,000
Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes $160,000
Group 2 Sandown Guineas $250,000
Group 3 Summoned Stakes $160,000
Group 3 Eclipse Stakes $160,000
In the upcoming Brisbane Summer Carnival we will have
Listed Nudgee Stakes $200,000
Listed Gold Edition Plate $200,000
Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes $250,000
Group 3 BJ McLachlan Stakes $250,000
Group 3 Vo Rogue Plate $300,000
The Pattern Committee seems to be biased against Queensland and pro Victorian in some of it's decisions.