Emancipation Stakes

Winners and Past Results for the Emancipation Stakes

The popular Group 2 event held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney is the Emancipation Stakes hosted by the Australian Turf Club. 

The race is held over a distance of 1600 metres. The Emancipation Stakes event is held annually at the end of the April on the final day of the Sydney autumn racing carnival.

The race is for fillies and mares 3 years old and over and run under set weight plus penalty conditions. The tidy purse of $175,000 awaits the winner. The 2011 Emancipation Stakes event was won by Sworn To Secrecy followed up by Skyerush and Shannara. Horses may make their way to the Emancipation Stakes from the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Classic and Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes held at Rosehill Racecourse during the carnival.

Over the years, the race has witnessed above average gallopers that find the set weight and penalty conditions to their advantage.

As the Emancipation Stakes is only for the fillies and mares, this gives an extra bit of advantage to the judged milers to showcase their best talent and in having a best chance at winning. Other popular and important events which occur on the same day as the Emancipation Stakes is the All Aged Stakes, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Champagne Stakes, which all add to the importance of the race program.

The Emancipation Stakes event was named after the honour of the former champion mare Emancipation. At the age of three, she had thirteen starts and won a whopping ten of them. Although Emancipation was not raced as a two year old, surprisingly at the age of four she performed well with nine wins from just fifteen starts. In 1983/84, Emancipation was awarded with the most prestigious award, the Australian Horse of the Year Award.

Till 1996, the Emancipation Stakes was a Listed Race. Between 1996 and 1998, the Emancipation Stakes was moved to Group 3 event, and finally in 1999 it became a Group 2 race. Some of the recent winners of the Emancipation Stakes event are Sworn To Secrecy in 2011, followed by Sacred Choice in 2010 and Amberino in 2009.

2013 Emancipation Stakes

Skyerush, looking to make it back-to-back wins in this event, got away well, and the favourite found a good spot just in behind the pacesetters, which included Floria and Cathay Lady. Things didn't go quite as smoothly for Skyerush as they began the run home, with the seven-year-old mare getting trapped between runners and with just 150 metres to go, she appeared to have little chance. However, jockey Blake Shinn didn't panic and when a gap finally opened up, he pushed Skyerush through it and the consistent mare did the rest, showing plenty of power to get clear and win comfortably in the end over Floria and Cathay Lady.

2013 Emancipation Stakes result

1. Skyerush
2. Floria
3. Cathay Lady

Then came:

4. Plucky Belle
5. Xanadu
6. Cannery Row
7. Raspberries
8. Shannara
9. Say No More
10. Scorpio Queen
11. Shamardani