Northerly he's got all the hallmarks of a champion." Sunline, a champion New Zealand mare, had won the Cox Plate for two years running, and the spring clash with Northerly was now widely anticipated. Northerly was spelled for the winter, and started his campaign in Perth, where he won first-up and was defeated second-up with 62 kilograms. He then travelled to Melbourne, where he met Sunline for the first time in the John F Feehan Stakes in mid-September. This time, Damien Oliver took the ride, as Greg Childs was committed to Sunline. The great mare raced clear approaching the home turn,
Northerly Island tore up the runways at Meigs Field in the middle of the night, in 2003, purportedly in the name of homeland security. Plans followed to convert the area into green space and expand upon the neighboring Museum Campus. In 2005, an outdoor concert venue opened on the northern part of Northerly Island. Originally named Charter One Pavilion, it was expanded in 2013 and renamed to FirstMerit Bank Pavilion, and as of January 2017 it is named Huntington Bank Pavilion. In December 2010, the Chicago Parks District unveiled its framework plan for Northerly Island, to be completed over the next 20–30