\nTrained at Cranbourne by Robbie Griffiths, Mr Money Bags is part-owned by Darren and Liz Dance (Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock), just outside Ballan, and the 4-year old is a feature winner over the Flemington mile.
\n\u201cHe is a good Flemington horse who can run 1600m – he has won five races with five placings from 20 starts so far,\u201d Dance said.
\n\u201cWe chose him as he had the right profile for the race and would be popular amongst voters with a catchy name like Mr Money Bags.\u201d
\nDance said the connections are from all over Australia and even before the race is run, have already won.
\n\u201cYes, now the horse is in the top-ten they are guaranteed $90,000, more obviously if he is first past the post.\u201d
\nThe All-Star Mile (1600m) was designed in 2018 for middle distance thoroughbred horses and is a special conditions race. Run in Melbourne\u2019s Autumn Racing Carnival, it has a feature prize pool of $5 million. The race takes its inspiration from Japan\u2019s famous public- selected race, the Arima Kinen.
\nAnd how is the 14-horse field decided for Flemington on Saturday 16 March?
\nIt came back to a populous vote, with 130 horses originally in contention and only last week the top ten were officially announced after voting closed. Mr Money Bags scraped in at number 10 with 5013 votes, after The Autumn Sun did not accept.
\nThe other four horses to take the field were \u2018wild cards\u2019 and include Hartnell, Hawkshot, Mystic Journey and Happy Clapper.
\nAnd how does Darren Dance think Mr Money Bags will go against Happy Clapper, who has run second to the famous mare Winx seven times?
\n\u201cIt just comes back to the barrier draw and luck on the day,\u201d he said.
\nMr Money Bags is a 4-yo gelding and was purchased for just $25,000 from the Adelaide Magic Millions in 2015.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/themooraboolnews.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/website-9-300x200.jpg\")
(Brett Holburt\/Racing Photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Helen Tatchell Mr Money Bags is aptly named for the up-coming $5 million race, The All-Star Mile, and has a local connection in Moorabool. Trained at Cranbourne by Robbie Griffiths, Mr Money Bags is part-owned by Darren and Liz Dance (Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock), just outside Ballan, and the 4-year old is a feature winner […]<\/p>\n