Sghirripa was a dominant winner of the 2024 Standish Handicap. (Brett Holburt/Racing Photos)

Rating the Standish Handicap winner

7 January 2025 • Written by Brad Bishop – Racing And Sports

Sghirripa’s 2024 Standish Handicap (1200m) win won’t go down as the most memorable race at Flemington for the year, but it was significant for one of the Victoria Racing Club’s signature events.

For a long time, the Standish Handicap’s status bordered on iconic, largely due to its placement on New Year’s Day as Victoria’s first Black Type event of the new year.

But the VRC made a bold move to shift the 1200-metre Group 3 in 2022 with the Kensington Stakes, a Listed event over 1400m, replacing it on New Year’s Day and the Standish moving back around two weeks.

The Shane and Cassie Oxlade-trained Sghirripa become the race’s highest-rating winner in more than a decade when he romped home by three lengths on January 13.

The son of Lonhro posted a Timeform figure of 115, which was the largest number registered in a Standish Handicap since Adamantium went 116 to win the 2013 edition.

Below is a look at the highest-rating performances in the past 20 years.

118 – CATAPULTED (2012)

Catapulted set a high mark of 118 when he won the 2012 Standish Handicap. (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

The Mark Kavanagh-trained gelding cruised home by three lengths in fast time when he won the 2012 edition in 1:07.66, which is just half-a-second outside Iglesia’s famous track record in the 2000 Standish.

116 – ADAMANTIUM (2013)

The presence of Catapulted no doubt contributed to the Danny O’Brien-trained sprinter’s high rating with Adamantium holding a 2.5-length margin on the line after winning in 1:08.21.

115 – SGHIRRIPA (2024)

Scored by three lengths in a time of 1:09.07.

113 – AHDASHIM (2011)

Gerald Ryan’s Elusive City gelding clocked 1:09.16 when he sped to a 1.25-length win over Flemington specialist Chasm, who had placed in the Group 1 Cantala Stakes at his previous start.

113 – SUPER IMPRESSIVE (2003)

The Lee Freedman-trained gelding’s second win in the race, which followed victory in 2003, came at his final racetrack appearance. Under 58kg, he got home narrowly from Blessum.

112 – LORD OF THE SKY (2018)

Lord of the Sky and Damien Oliver hold off the challenge of Flippant and Mark Zahra to win the 2018 Standish Handicap. (Reg Ryan/Racing Photos)

Lord Of The Sky’s most famous start came in a Group 1 T J Smith Stakes, when he almost upset Chautauqua, but one of his biggest wins came in the 2018, which was the last of his seven victories. With Damien Oliver aboard, and carrying 59kg, he got home narrowly from classy mare Flippant in 1:08.98.

Such was the impression Sghirripa made that he started $7.50 equal second favourite in the Oakleigh Plate at his next start and while he had to settle for seventh after a slow start and revived the race as a springboard to the late-summer/autumn Group 1 sprints.

The Standish enjoyed a stellar 12-year-old stretch leading into the new millennium when five horses who ended their careers Group 1 winners adorned the honour roll.

True Version, a three-time Group 1 winner as a two-year-old, won the 1986 edition en route to victory in the inaugural edition of the Australian Guineas.

Jolly Old Mac achieved the same double in 1992, Lightning Stakes winner Redelva and Newmarket Handicap winner Grandiose were winners in between, while 1995 Oakleigh Plate champion Khaptingly won the 1997 Standish.