Northerly Stakes News

Cascadian Heads 2022 Northerly Stakes Field & Betting Markets

• 2021 Kingston Town Classic Field & Betting Update: Western Empire Odds-On
• 2020 Kingston Town Classic Betting Update: Punters Firm on Pike-Ridden Favourite
• Kingston Town Classic 2020 Barrier Draw: Inspirational Girl Draws 18
• Inspirational Girl Heads 2020 Kingston Town Classic Field & Odds
• Kay Cee Odds-On Favourite in 2020 Belmont Guineas Betting

The Northerly Stakes – renamed ahead of the 2022 edition – is the last of three Group 1 races run and won at Ascot Racecourse in WA each Perth Summer Racing Carnival.

Formerly known as the Kingston Town Classic, the race was previously named after the Australian Racing Hall of Fame horse Kingston Town.

It was renamed in 2022 as the Northerly Stakes in honour of the 2000 Railway Stakes champion Northerly, one of the country’s best ever middle-distance racehorses. Northerly won a host of Group 1 races in Australia including dual wins in the Australian Cup (2001, 2003) and Cox Plate (2001, 2002), as well as the 2002 Caulfield Cup during his illustrious career.

Run in either late November or early December annually, the weight-for-age race is worth $1.5 million dollars in prize money as of 2022 and is contested over 1800m.

The best lead-up race to the event is the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) run a fortnight earlier. Horses out of the Northerly Stakes field may go on to contest the Group 1 Perth Cup (2400m).

In 2020 the ill-fated Truly Great scored an upset win in the Kingston Town Classic before winning the Group 2 Ted Van Heemst Stakes next-up ahead of a second in the Perth Cup results.

Regal Power (2021) was the last horse to complete the Kingston Town Classic –  Ted Van Heemst Stakes double.

Four horses have completed the Railway Stakes – Kingston Town Classic (Northerly Stakes) double in the same year with the latest to do so being Sniper’s Bullet (2009).

The brand new Group 3 $1.5 million The Gold Rush (1400m), held for the first time in 2022, run at Ascot in mid-December is also a potential target for horses out of the Northerly Stakes field each summer.

Horses that contest the summer’s Northerly Stakes are also now likely to target a slot in Perth’s richest race, the $4 million The Quokka (1200m), taking place for the first time in April of 2023.

The 2022 Northerly Stakes form was franked with the winner Amelia’s Jewel running second in the following year’s The Quokka results before heading to Melbourne where she won both the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes and Group 2 Stocks Stakes in 2023.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes ran on Saturday December 9, 2023 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth and was won in a narrow upset by the Sean & Jake Casey-trained Dom To Shoot ($21). 

2023 Northerly Stakes Results

• 1st: #5 Dom To Shoot ($21)
• 2nd: #1 Zaaki
• 3rd: #15 Zipaway

The Sean & Jake Casey-trained Shooting  To Win six-year-old, Dom To Shoot ($21), improved on his third in the Group 1 Railway Stakes to charge home over the final 100m to run down and deny the favourite Zaaki success right on the line in a final stride thriller in the 2023 Northerly Stakes results.

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Northerly Stakes Betting Odds

The top 2023 Northerly Stakes odds will be provided below along with links to the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au for you to back your insider Northerly Stakes betting tips at the right price this summer.

Amelia’s Jewel ($2.90 in 2022) was the last favourite in Northerly Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

There was a notable upset in 2023 with Dom To Shoot saluting at Northerly Stakes odds of $21.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 NORTHERLY STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Northerly Stakes Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 NORTHERLY STAKES FORM GUIDE

2023 Northerly Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our exclusive Northerly Stakes 2023 Tips on the Group 1 Perth showdown this summer.

• To Win: #11 Alsephina ($7.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Going for value in the Northerly Stakes and have Alsephina on top to finally break through with a win after a string of frustrating seconds this prep. The local Grant & Alana Williams-trained Star Turn mare is from the right stable to win a Perth Group 1. The bonny five-year-old has been second in all three runs this time in in key Northerly Stakes lead-up races. At her latest a fortnight back she was runner-up a length off Bustler here with 53kg in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m). William Pike stays on from a favourable barrier six draw and, even with more weight, she looks well suited with previous winning form over the 1800m distance.

2023 Northerly Stakes Field

The Northerly Stakes field – formerly known as the Kingston Town Classic field – is usually filled out with some of the better Perth thoroughbreds as well as visiting stayers from the eastern states.

Horses traditionally run in the Railway Stakes a fortnight earlier leading-up to the race and Sniper’s Bullet (2009) was the last to do the double in a single season.

Three-year-old runners in the field may have their final lead-up in the Group 2 W.A. Guineas and Arcadia Queen (2018) and fellow filly Amelia’s Jewel (2022) are the last WA Guineas winners to back-up and beat the older horses in the then Kingston Town Classic field next start.

In 2019 the Neville Parnham-trained filly Kay Cee improved on a lead-up second in the WA Guineas to take out that year’s Kingston Town Classic results.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes field is announced on the Monday of race week and will be published in full below once released by Perth Racing.

The Northerly Stakes 2023 final field features a class line-up of local and interstate hopefuls including the Annabel Neasham-trained four-time Group 1 winner Zaaki and Neville Parnham’s Group 2 WA Guineas winning Playing God three-year-old Zipaway.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes barrier draw took place on Tuesday evening with Zaaki drawing out in gate 10 and the Railway Stakes champ Bustler chasing the double from barrier five.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2023 Northerly Stakes field and betting markets.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Northerly Stakes Nominations

More and more interstate raiders trained outside of W.A. are featuring in the Northerly Stakes nominations that close about a month out from the Group 1.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes nominations attracted a bumper 106 hopefuls led in all-in betting by Group 1 winner Tuvalu coming off some big runs in the Melbourne majors over the spring and lightly-raced three-year-old Cosmic Crusader.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes History

First raced in 1976 and won by Family Of Man, the Kingston Town Classic has undergone plenty of name changes. Starting with the Marlboro 50,000, the event then went on to be named the Western Mail Classic, Rothwells Stakes, Winfield Stakes, Beat Diabetes 2 Stakes and Fruit ‘N’ Veg Stakes. In 2007 it was officially named the Kingston Town Classic after the great horse’s victory in 1982.

Summer Beau won the race in two consecutive years in 1996 and 1997 and Old Comrade followed in 2000 and 2001. Niconero managed to win the Classic twice in 2006 and 2008 as did the race’s first winner Family Of Man in 1976 and 1978.

More recently Playing God (2010-11) went back-to-back in the race as a three-year-old and four-year-old, while in 2015 Perfect Reflection became the first three-year-old filly to win the Kingston Town Classic.

Three years later and another filly was in the mix, Arcadia Queen dominating the 2018 Kingston Town Classic results with a 4.5 length win. The following summer, a daughter of two-time champion Playing God – Kay Cee – became the third filly to win the Kingston Town Classic.

The fillies were back on top again with the favourite Amelia’s Jewel winning the 2022 Northerly Stakes.

The event was renamed the Northerly Stakes ahead of the 2022 edition.

Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes Winners

The table below shows the winners and place-getters of the Kingston Town Classic since 2000. From 2022 onwards the winners are known as the Northerly Stakes winners.