Spring is the best time of year when it comes to following horses in Australia, all the best horses from Australasian and some from Europe participate in some of the richest breeds in the world.

There are several weight-for-age group races, such as the Turnbull Stakes, the Caulfield Stakes, the Cox Plate and the McKinnon Stakes. The Cox Plate at Moonee Valley is the biggest of all the weight-for-age spring races and it’s the race the trainers want to win, along with the Melbourne Cup. Many of the other WFA races are used by trainers as races leading up to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, the two main spring handicap races in Australia. So it’s worth not taking all forms at face value because horses improve out of sight when big money is offered. The factor that is the common denominator of most main race winners is that they have either won a previous Group One race or at least previously qualified in a Group One race. Class is an important consideration when finding winners in the race, so what a horse has done in the past is just as important as its recent form.

When evaluating form in weight-for-age events, previous form in similar races is the best guide. Horses that have competed in the Cox Plate will generally do well in their subsequent starts as they find more modest competition to compete against.

The Victorian Derby which takes place on the first day of the Melbourne Cup meeting is the largest three-year race on the Victorian calendar. The horses that raced at the Moonee Valley and Geelong meetings tend to be the ones that win the Derby.

Flemington, Caulfield and Moonee Valley are in Melbourne. There are also some great races in Sydney with the Epsom and Toobrak Handicaps Group one features being run over a mile. in October. The Metropolitan Handicap for those who stay is also a group one event. Some of the horses that contested the main races in Sydney will line up in one of the main races in Melbourne.

The Melbourne Cup carnival is without a doubt the best in Australasia. The trick is for punters to compare the shape of various parts of Australia without mentioning the horses that come from Europe. Horses that have proven to be Group One performers are the ones to watch out for as they are strikingly shaped at these important carnivals.