Futurity Stakes

Winners and Past Results for the Futurity Stakes

One of the prime races held by the Melbourne Racing Club is the Futurity Stakes. Run over a distance of 1400 metres at the Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, the race is held during the autumn carnival in February each year.

The Futurity Stakes is a Group 1 event with no age restrictions held under weight for age conditions. The winner takes home half a million dollars in prize money. Only the country's best jockeys and horses are known to compete in this prestigious race. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Japan Racing Association, the Melbourne Racing Club and the Dubai Racing Club come forward and jointly organise this Futurity Stakes.

Notable is that the Futurity Stakes marks the beginning of the first leg of the four-race international series of the Asian Mile Challenge worth $12.5 million. The 2011 winner of the Futurity Stakes was the dare devil More Joyous. Whobegotyou and Dao Dao secured the second and third place respectively.

The Futurity Stakes was first won by a horse named Resolute in 1897 in which horses ran over a distance of seven furlongs. It was then a Principal Race and remained so till 1979. During the period 1973 to 1979, it was run over a distance of 1400 metres. In 1980, it was elevated to its present Group 1 status. Ajax, the Futurity Stakes winner in 1938, won the event three times consecutively between 1938 and 1940. However, Ajax was not the only one to win this event three times consecutively as Manikato followed suit with four titles in 1979 to 1981 and also in 1983.

The Group 1 CF Orr Stakes which is held in February at the Caulfield race track under weight for age conditions is generally a stepping stone for horses seeking to make it big in the prestigious Futurity Stakes. Contestants in this event may participate in the Group 1 Australian Cup held at the Flemington Racecourse the following month. The winners who have really made this event a glorious one in the recent years include More Joyous in 2011, Typhoon Tracy in 2010 and Niconero in 2008 and 2009.

The weight for age conditions in the Futurity Stakes favour in form horses. The 1200 M Group 2 Breeders Classic held earlier at Randwick presents a good form guide for the Futurity Stakes with More Joyous winning in style prior to lifting the Futurity Stakes.