Canterbury Stakes

The Canterbury Stakes is a Group 1 race over 1300m for open age sprinters at Randwick conducted by the Australian Turf Club.

It was first run in 1929 and won by Amounis. The Canterbury Stakes is run under Weight For Age conditions.

The race was mainly run at Canterbury bar stints at Rosehill (1997-99, 2004-07, 2009-13) and then from Randwick from 2014 onwards.

The Canterbury Stakes became a Group 1 in 2013.

In 1992 Schillaci lost the race on protest to Alishan.

Gai Waterhouse trained the winner seven times but won it four times in five runnings from 2011.

The last non-NSW trained winner of the race before The Bostonian in 2020 was another kiwi Al Akbar in 1994. Artorius joined that list in 2023.

Every winner in the last decade had won a G1 bar for Holler, Mizzy and Lady Laguna.

Mares have had a field day in this winning 8 of the last 15 renewals.

It's been a sensational race for favoured runners with 10-1 the biggest price since 2003 (bar Mizzy who was 70-1 after gaining the race on a swab.

Has been a race where previous good performers in the Golden Slipper have gone on to run well here but Pierro and Dance Hero are the only two recently to do the double.

Savatiano was disqualified as the winner of the 2021 Canterbury Stakes a year after the race. Hugh Bowman, who rode her that day, was reduced in his G1 tally to 99 but then got back to the 100 in the very same race on Forbidden Love in 2022.

Zac Purton came home from Hong Kong for a quick mission and won a G1 double including Artorius in 2023.

The 2024 Canterbury Stakes was worth $750,000 in prizemoney.

Multiple winners of the Canterbury Stakes include Holdfast, San Domenico, Sky High, At Sea and More Joyous while other notables include Chatham, Shannon, Baguette, Manikato, Emancipation, Sir Dapper, Placid Ark, Dance Hero, Pierro, Happy Clapper, Trapeze Artist and Artorius.

The 2024 Canterbury Stakes was won by Lady Laguna from Think About It and Espiona.