Chautauqua produced a stunning finish the T.J.Smith on April 1 against the most savage bias of the Sydney autumn even overshadowing the champion Winx, as good as ever in the Queen Elizabeth a week later.

It emphasised the difference between a champion and a great horse. Winx maintains a standard of excellence while Chautauqua needs a build-up to what made his effort one of the best ever over the Randwick 1200 metres.

Obviously Sydney racing is really on the boil while Melbourne is lukewarm, a point emphasised by former trainer Peter Moody, currently getting strong reviews for his equine insights on Channel 7.

Moody called on Victoria to seek out Peter V'landys as a leadership option down there.

"RVL need to offer Peter V'landys whatever it takes to get him running racing in Victoria. Only chance to stay competitive," Moody tweeted and later elaborated on G1X.com.au.

"Something needs to happen, we are being left behind here. Some form of leadership would be something, at the moment we have nothing and now the jewel in the crown - the spring carnival, is under attack," Moody said, with V'Landy's Everest meeting striking a nerve.

"I've learned a lot about Sydney racing in the past few weeks at the sales and at the track, the confidence is amazing and it all comes from leadership, it's why international investors are getting into the game and that's new money and its heading to New South Wales," he said.

"I've never heard of whoever is in charge at RV right now ???"

Old-time standards, based around the horses and those that make and ride them, more than the modern-day pizazz, has made recent Royal Randwick racing so good.

About 60,700 attended on the three days with a good chance of getting many back due to fewer complaints from newcomers, who don't realise how good the viewing was before the current grandstand and Theatre of Horse was introduced.

Of course prizemoney was poured into The Championships to lure representation from abroad. Apart from a couple of British jumper's flat stayers to go around in the rerun Sydney Cup next Saturday it has been invader-free.

The New Zealand influence was again strong, and the stable mix of success, rather than the domination of the major outfits, was another encouraging feature.

Over the first two Randwick days 19 races had been chopped up by 16 stables, and on Saturday nine events went to nine trainers on wet ground that again produced fast lanes. Blame the weather not the Australian Turf Club.

No doubt the freeway-style synthetic surface will produce faster conditions on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, racing on a better circuit than the road racing by horses at Il Palio, Sienna in Italy, around twists and turns with the jockey's having more in common with Afghan camel riders than Frankie Dettori.

The Melbourne Racing Club is hoping its under-siege Caulfield Stakes can be worth $1 million this spring.

V'landys is the dominant CEO at Racing New South Wales and has launched an overt attack on the Melbourne spring carnival, not just with the $10 million Everest on Caulfield Guineas day - October 14 - but also trying to steal superstar Winx for a revamped/upgraded Craven Plate on The Everest undercard.

"Discussions on having the Craven Plate moved to October are all things we are looking at," V'landys, said.

Moody has just returned from the Sydney yearling, weanling and broodmares sales where prices have been defying economic trends.

"I'd like to know how many of the yearlings will end up with Victorian trainers. The buoyancy up there in their racing is amazing and down here we are in limbo, what are we waiting for,' he said.

"Winx is the biggest thing in Australian racing but I am sure if the Craven Plate was run for good money in Sydney two weeks out from the Cox Plate it would be easier for Chris [Waller] to stay there."