AJ Scahill Stakes

Winners and Past Results for the AJ Scahill Stakes.

The Perth summer racing carnival includes the AJ Scahill Stakes, a Group 3 weight for age race for horses three years old and over.

Held in December, the excitement builds up on a day when the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic is also held at the Ascot Racetrack.

The winner of the AJ Scahill Stakes makes its connections richer by $250,000.

Several horses that compete in the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes or Winterbottom Stakes under the same weight conditions tackle this event. The RJ Peters Stakes is another Group 2 race that provides a form guide for horses that may enter the AJ Scahill Stakes.

The AJ Scahill Stakes is the concluding weight for age sprint at the Perth summer racing carnival. This provides race goers with the best opportunity to select horses based on form in the previous weight for age races during the season. Takeover Target was one of the gallopers to strike in the 2008 Winterbottom Stakes before moving on to win the AJ Scahill Stakes.

Lining up for the 2007 edition was Tarzi who ran second in the Lee Steere Stakes followed by a minor placing in the Railway Stakes. The bay gelding, winner of over $1.1 million in prize money then went on to win the Scahill Stakes.

The first AJ Scahill Stakes was a principal race held in 1978 run over 1200 M. Burgess Queen was the first to lift the trophy. The event became a Group 3 race in 1980 with 200 M added to the distance. Hakim Boy was the first to win the event as a Group 3 race The Colonel Reeves Stakes and the Railway Stakes are also lead up races where many horses make it to the starting gate in the AJ Scahill Stakes.

The quality middle distance sprint race is named after former Vice Chairman of Perth Racing and founding member of the W. A. Totalisator Agency Board. The Perth Summer Racing Carnival held between October and January the following year promises race goers action packed race days at Ascot.

The carnival attracts people from all around the nation to witness some of the finest gallopers blaze the Ascot track. Generous purses also attract a number of competitors from all over Australia. Apart from Tarzi, some of the most brilliant middle distance sprinters to lift the AJ Scahill Stakes include Marasco in 2006 and Takeover Target in 2009.