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The Brisbane 2yo features begin with the Champagne Classic run at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Brazen Beau won it and went on to bigger things. This 2020 Champagne Classic (1200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday shapes as a cracker.

2020 Champagne Classic: Nominations

2020 CHAMPAGNE CLASSIC - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Champagne Classic is a Group 2 race for two-year-olds conducted at Doomben by the Brisbane Racing Club.

The Champagne Classic was introduced in 1982 by the former Brisbane Amateur Turf Club as a feature 1200m race for the juveniles under set weight conditions and has carried numerous sponsor names since its inception.

The Champagne Classic has been run every year at Doomben with the exception of 2013 and 2020 when it was transferred to Eagle Farm.

From 1982-1986 the Champagne Classic was a Listed Race. It was promoted to Group 3 in 1987 and became a Group 2 event in 2006, underlining its rise as a prominent feature of the Brisbane carnival.

The Champagne Classic has been won by two Magic Millions Classic winners – Bold Promise (1991) and Lovely Jubly (2002).

Champagne Classic winners to also win the QTC Sires Produce Stakes at Eagle Farm have been Lovely Jubly (2002), Virage De Fortune (2005), Pressday (2010) and Sizzling (2012).

Champagne Classic winners to win the TJ Smith/JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm have been Lovely Jubly (2002), Pressday (2010) and Sizzling (2012).

Chris Waller has an excellent record in the race with the likes of Zousain, Tangled, Brazen Beau and Pressday.

The Champagne Classic will be run for $175,000 in 2020 – reduced due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Notable winners of the Champagne Classic include Breakfast Creek, Prince Anton, Our Horizon, Bold Promise, Surtee, Chief De Beers, Flavour, Staging, Alpine Express, Lovely Jubly, Shamekha, Virage De Fortune, Gold Edition, Court, Pressday, Sizzling and Brazen Beau.

The 2019 Champagne Classic was won by Dubious from Strasbourg and Czarson.