The Caulfield Cup Carnival roars to life this Saturday with one of the most underrated, and most thrilling, days of the entire Australian Spring Racing Carnival. Three Group 1 races, one afternoon, and an unofficial battle to crown Australia's best three-year-old. The $3 million Caulfield Guineas, a race that shapes the thoroughbred industry for decades. Its honour roll reads like a hall of fame: Manikato (1978), Lonhro (2001), Whobegotyou (2008), The Autumn Sun (2018) and Anamoe (2021). First run in 1881, it remains one of the most prestigious mile races in the sport. But the Guineas shares the spotlight with two $1 million co-features;

The Group 1 Might and Power Stakes, or Caulfield Stakes, is a weight-for-age contest over 2000m, a showdown for the best horses in the land. And the Group 1 Toorak Handicap is a fiercely competitive mile where the handicapper's pen makes for wide-open betting and heart-stopping finishes. Both races carry an exemption from the ballot into next week's Caulfield Cup for connections who want to back up, so what unfolds on Saturday could shape the Carnival's biggest event. And like the Guineas, both were first run in 1881, meaning Saturday's three Group 1s carry a combined 435 years of elite racing history.

In Sydney, Rosehill hosts its own pair of million dollar plus features with the Group 2 Hill Stakes over 1900m and the Group 3 Alan Brown Stakes over 1400m, to keep the action flowing from Melbourne to Sydney. With the Spring Racing Carnival showing no signs of slowing down, there's something for every racing fan this Saturday.

Video & Photo: SKY International