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Hawkesbury can now boast four black type races on its feature Saturday stand-alone program.

This follows the Australian Pattern Committee’s decision to lift the Hawkesbury XXXX Gold Rush (1100m) to Listed race status.

Hawkesbury already has a trio of Group 3 events – the Livamol Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m), Blacktown Workers Club Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) and Godolphin Crown (1300m), the latter for fillies and mares.

Hawkesbury Race Club chief executive Greg Rudolph made the application to have the XXXX Gold Rush upgraded following his first running of the well established and popular stand-alone fixture on April 29, and is understandably delighted with the APC’s decision.

“The XXXX Gold Rush is deserving of black type status, and no doubt the quality of sprinters it attracts will continue to get better as a result of this decision,” Rudolph said.

“The upgrade also lifts the status of our stand-alone race meeting and a stronger field for next year’s race will generate greater wagering turnover overall.”

The Hawkesbury XXXX Gold Rush carries a purse of $125,000 and was won this year by talented Newcastle mare Felines (now retired to stud), who clinched the ninth victory of her career.

Her stablemate Clearly Innocent returned to racing that day and subsequently won the Group 1 Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm and also was one of the 12 sprinters who contested the inaugural $10m The Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on October 14.

Next year’s Hawkesbury stand-alone meeting will be run on April 28.