BPL'S TONY BOURKE examines whether a win at Saturday's Doncaster Mile at Randwick would elevate Typhoon Tracy into the same class as the legendary Sunline.

Is the new Queen Of The Turf, Typhoon Tracy, entitled to be compared with the former champion NZ mare Sunline? It is an interesting question that will be answered in part when she runs in the Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday.

As a four-year-old, Typhoon Tracy is already starting behind scratch because Sunline had already bagged her first Doncaster as a three-year-old.

That was in 1999 and by the time she finished racing four years later, Sunline had added another Doncaster and two Cox Plates to her remarkable record as well as an unprecedented three successive Australian ‘'Champion Racehorse'' awards in 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2000-02.

Sunline was acclaimed one of the best mares of all time but then Makybe Diva came along and trumped her with three Melbourne Cups although she only managed the Champion Racehorse award twice.

So, it is reasonable to suggest that although Typhoon Tracy, with nine wins from 12 starts, including three in a row at group 1 level, is heading in the right direction, she still has a long way to go to join the elite level.

Trainer Peter Moody is convinced that the best is yet to come for Typhoon Tracy, starting with the Doncaster tomorrow.

Typhoon Tracy will carry 56.5kgs, 1kg less than Sunline had when she finished second to Over as a four-year-old in 2000. Sunline had 58kgs when she won her second Doncaster as a six-year-old in 2002.

Moody does not believe the weight or barrier 14 in a capacity field is enough to stop Typhoon Tracy and he is already looking forward to taking on the Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley with her in the spring.

A win for Typhoon Tracy tomorrow will ensure many invitations for her to race overseas but her connections have repeatedly stated they have no interest in taking on the international circuit.

Moody believes there are plenty of opportunities for her from 1400 metres to 2000 metres in Australia at weight-for-age level without having to travel overseas.

Typhoon Tracy, to be ridden by Luke Nolen, is a firm favourite for the Doncaster at around $3 with the Chris Waller-trained stable mates Danleigh and Rangirangdoo considered to be her main dangers.

Like Sunline, who always raced in or near the lead, Typhoon Tracy has shown an ability to make her own luck and she has the speed to take up a forward position in the Doncaster.

Sunline used to be a great crowd pleaser because of her enormous will-to-win and it will be interesting to see if the presence of Typhoon Tracy will help build the crowd at Randwick tomorrow.

With the changes in dates of the Sydney autumn carnival, the Australian Jockey Club no longer has its carnival locked in to Easter.

This year the Sydney Turf Club's Golden Slipper was held on Easter Saturday for the first time but the crowd of 25,000 was down on expectations.

The AJC carnival opened with Derby Day at Randwick last Saturday with another disappointing crowd of 21,000.

At the nearby Sydney Cricket Ground, the hardly highly anticipated match between the Sydney Swans and Richmond attracted 28,000 on Saturday night.

With the Doncaster and the AJC Oaks, which will feature another clash between the exciting fillies Faint Perfume and Valdemoro, the highlights tomorrow, The AJC is hopeful the crowd will be a lot closer to 30,000.

Meanwhile, the first night race meeting run in Tasmania was held at Launceston's newly-named TOTE racing centre on Thursday night.

At this stage, it seems that the Tasmanian meetings next season will correspond with night meetings at Canterbury in Sydney on Thursday nights rather than Friday nights at Moonee Valley.

It would seem to be a better chance to increase betting turnover if Moonee Valley, Canterbury and Launceston raced on the same night but Tabcorp appears to favour spreading them over two nights to balance out its busy night schedules.