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Can The BMW Bounce Back?

Hugh Bowman riding Preferment. Photo: Getty Images

The BMW was once one of the highlights of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival, but it is fair to say that the race has become an afterthought in recent years.

The BMW honour roll is littered with some of the biggest names in the history of Australian racing and in the 1990s and early 2000s it produced some of the most exciting races in recent memory.

Octagonal backed up his Cox Plate victory with a thrilling win over Count Chivas and Saintly in the 1996 edition of the race before he returned the following year to claim a narrow victory over Arkady, while Might And Power asserted his dominance when he romped home in 1998.

Tie The Knot was the best stayer in Sydney at the end of the 1990s and he cemented his legacy with back-to-back wins in 1999 and 2000 before he was upstaged as a short-priced favourite by Curata Storm in 2001.

When you think of the 2003 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival you think of The BMW when Freemason upstaged Northerly in an absolute boilover and most racing lovers will tell you that the epic battle between Makybe Diva and Grand Armee in the 2005 edition of the event was the best race of the year.

Sadly, The BMW no longer draws the best stayers that we have to offer and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes has taken over the mantle as Sydney’s premier weight-for-age event following the massive injection of prize money.

The BMW has been moved away from Golden Slipper Day and is now treated as the afterthought between the Golden Slipper and the opening day of The Championships, but in saying that there is the chance that the 2016 BMW could be one of the strongest in recent memory.

Preferment is currently on top of the 2016 BMW betting market, but Chris Waller is yet to confirm whether the Australian Cup winner will contest the race and there is a chance that he could instead run in the Neville Sellwood Stakes.

Hopefully Waller elects to send Preferment to The BMW as it would greatly increase the quality of the race and give the son of Zabeel an excellent opportunity to claim a fourth win at Group 1 level.

Our Ivanhowe has always looked like the ideal type of horse for The BMW and he will be well supported in the lead-up to the race.

The imported stayer finished a gallant third in the Caulfield Cup over 2400 metres in the spring, he was far from disgraced in the Australian Cup and he will be suited by what is likely to be a soft Rosehill Gardens track.

Mongolian Khan is set to back up in The BMW after he ran in the Ranvet Stakes on Saturday and if he returns to his best he will add plenty of quality to the race, while Geelong Cup winner Almoonqith, Melbourne Cup placegetter Who Shot Thebarman and potentially English Derby placegetter Storm The Stars will add plenty of depth to what could end up being a very exciting betting race.