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FWC Finals on Sport Nation guideWhat is the best race in Australia run outside of Melbourne and Sydney?
Connor Scanlon • July 16th, 2026 5:13 pm
There are 15 Group 1s run outside of Melbourne and Sydney each year, but which one is the best?
After analysing each of those races, RSN’s expert form analyst Trav Noonan declared a race which isn’t a Group 1 as the top race in Australia, excluding Melbourne and Sydney.
And that race is none other than the $5 million Quokka, which is run at Ascot Racecourse in Western Australia.
“There's a few Group 1s that are under pressure, notably the Railway Stakes from the Asian Pattern Committee, and I was thinking where does the Railway sit when you take out Sydney and Melbourne?” Trav started on RSN’s Correct Weight.
“It's possibly in the top 10 races of those 15 Group 1s, but I think there's one race that you have to throw in there, and that's the Quokka.
“Not a Group 1 race but it has been an instant success for racing in Western Australia.
“I think the discussion right now in the top race outside of Melbourne and Sydney is between the Quokka and the Stradbroke Handicap.
“I'm going to go with the Quokka, I think it's done a great job in recent time.”
Trav’s brother Nick agreed that the Quokka and Stradbroke top the rest but had to side with the $3 million handicap run at Eagle Farm in Queensland.
“I'd probably have to agree, but I think I'd lean towards the Stradbroke which is just the purist in me,” admitted Nick.
“But the Quokka’s really reached some big heights in it's early stages.
“The Q22 would probably have to be somewhere in there, based off the fields we've seen the last three years.
“But I'm going with the Stradbroke.”
Below is the full list of Group 1s outside of Melbourne and Sydney:
Queensland (8)Stradbroke HandicapDoomben CupKingsford-Smith CupJJ AtkinsQueensland OaksTattersall’s TiaraQueensland DerbyDoomben 10,000
South Australia (4)The GoodwoodSouth Australian DerbyAustralasian OaksRobert Sangster Stakes
Western Australia (3)Railway StakesWinterbottom StakesNortherly Classic
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