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Is the Grand Final dead in racing?
Connor Scanlon • November 16th, 2025 5:07 pm
There is a growing debate in the racing community that the traditional Group 1 Grand Final races which trainers would set for horses don’t exist in modern racing anymore.
And why is that?
Because trainers have become so advanced that they’re able to keep their horses in peak fitness for longer.
“As racing lovers, we talk about the Grand Final and how many times in recent memory have we spoken about the ‘Grand Final?’” Cam Luke asked on SENTrack & RSN’s Get On.
“The Grand Final for Ceolwulf might have been the King Charles, then he pops up and wins (the Champions Mile) two weeks later.
“The Grand Final for Via Sistina was probably the Cox Plate, (then he won the Champions Stakes).
“You look at Pride Of Jenni, no one could tell us what her Grand Final was.
“This is a credit to the men and women who train these horses.
“A Melbourne Cup is a little bit different, if you are trying to get a horse to peak for two miles, but when it comes to the Grand Final, these trainers just have a greater grip on their horse’s these days, where they can get more out of them.
“To be considered a really, really good horse, you need to be able to win more than just one of these Group 1races, and the best horses do that.
“We only use the words ‘Grand Final’ because us as horse racing lovers assume it is it.
“We see horses pop up and go bang again.”
Trav Noonan also had a similar view to Cam Luke’s synopsis, agreeing that modern trainers always have their horses in elite condition.
“We are seeing with trainers in the modern day, they’re able to keep these horses up for a lot longer,” Trav said.
“I think sometimes as well we get carried away because they are Group 1 horses that they can’t have five or six runs in a preparation,” Trav said.
“You talk to any trainer, and the Group 1 horse is easier to train then the Benchmark 90 horse, I can tell you that now.”
