(Rod Gallegos is a senior commentator with Sky Racing and Sky Sports Radio.)

Wretched weather aside, the Sydney Carnival still proved to be a success. But there still was plenty to be learned, particularly on the final day for the Sydney Cup and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

What do the results say about the Australian-bred horses, currently dominated by sprinters? The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was won impressively by My Kingdom of Fife, previously owned (rather appropriately) by Queen Elizabeth II, and the Sydney Cup was claimed with authority by the Irish-bred Stand to Gain, a gelding who until 2010 was racing in France.

Fortunately, the Sydney Cup still is a 3200-metre test - unlike the Brisbane and Perth Cups which have both been reduced to 2400 metres. And it retains Group One status.

But is $500,000 gross prizemoney sufficient for a race of the Sydney Cup's stature?

Additionally, there just doesn't seem to be enough emphasis on staying races throughout Australia to provide the perfect preparation platform for stayers. A rather strange attitude when you consider the Melbourne Cup is, and always will be, the signature thoroughbred race in this country.

However, the bottom line is that the breeders, generally, put most of their efforts into producing speed horses. Therefore, the reputation of Australian racing will be in dire straits unless the production line here provides a reasonable number of horses able to race further than the metric mile.

Surely, from the spectacle point of view, distance races are a more absorbing subject than the 'wham-bam, thank you ma'am' six-furlong scampers.

Apart from the obvious tests of stamina, races in the mile-and-a-half and two-mile categories are a taxing test of riding tactics and overall skill of the jockeys.

***** 

THE long-term influence on Sydney racing of trainer Peter Snowden and his Darley-backed team cannot be understated.

Snowden, a thoroughly likeable and modest man, made a clean sweep of the two-year-old Group One races on Saturday when Helmet won the Champagne Stakes as a follow-up to his success in the Sires Produce. And, of course, the first leg of the Grand Slam for Snowden was outstanding juvenile Sepoy in the Golden Slipper.

With an arsenal of quality horses, Snowden looks destined for a prominent, or even dominant, role in Sydney racing for a long time.

By the same token it cannot be understated that regardless of the potency of his stable there is considerable pressure on the trainer. Fortunately he appears to handle the task with aplomb, affability and amiability.

***** 

DESPITE a rain-soaked Gosford track on Monday, another star may have emerged in the shape of Sincero.

A three-year-old trained at nearby Wyong by Stephen Farley, Sincero boosted his record to seven wins - five in succession - with a scorching run around the field to take out the $250,000 Gosford Guineas.

With a Queensland winter carnival campaign in prospect Sincero may reach even greater heights before the end of the current season.

***** 

HOPEFULLY the wet weather abates before Saturday for the expected big crowd at Hawkesbury for the stand alone meeting.

It has been a success in the past and continues to gain momentum.

Additionally, in a fortnight there will be another stand alone Saturday meeting in the country at Scone. There is every indication that the two day carnival on Friday, May 13, and Saturday, May 14, will be very vibrant, indeed.