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The $5 million The Quokka is a new event to run at Ascot Racecourse in Perth in April since 2023.

The Special Conditions slot-race is officially the richest race held in Western Australia and is run over a 1200m sprint distance at weight-for-age.

The Quokka Day takes place the Saturday after Sydney’s ‘The Championships’ are held on the first and second Saturdays of April, which are headlined by the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on Day 2 at Randwick.

The Quokka field is open to 14 slot holders at a cost of $200,000 each.

In a huge multi-million dollar initiative by Perth Racing, The Quokka forms part of The Western Trilogy series, Australia’s first tri-code slot-racing event. The other races making up the massive autumn racing weekend are The Nullarbor (harness racing) and The Sandgroper (greyhounds).

The Quokka race is named in honour of the quokka, dubbed the “happiest animal on Earth”, for which the state’s Rottnest Island is famous for.

The Quokka is Australia’s latest slot-racing event, the concept continuing to gain popularity since the now world-famous $20 million The Everest (1200m) held in Sydney during the spring since 2017.

It is currently the fifth richest thoroughbred horse race in Australia with stakes boosted from $4 million to $5 million ahead of the 2024 edition.

Horses that perform well in the previous summer’s Perth Group 1 races including the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) are likely to target a slot in The Quokka field.

The opening edition of The Quokka was won in an all-the-way thriller by the Bjorn Baker-trained Sydney raider Overpass.

Overpass franked The Quokka 2023 form with a next-up second in Brisbane’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 before going on to win the Winterbottom Stakes back in Perth that summer.

Third in the inaugural The Quokka results, Bella Nipotina also franked the form with a victory in the $3 million Winners Stakes in Sydney that spring.

Overpass returned in 2024 to go back-to-back in The Quokka with another strong performance.

The second edition of the $5 million The Quokka race ran at Perth’s Ascot Racecourse on Saturday April 20, 2024 and saw Bjorn Baker’s reigning champ Overpass ($6) charge up the middle to successfully defend his title. 

The Quokka 2024
Date:	Saturday April 20, 2024
Track:	Ascot Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	Weight-for-age
Status:	Non-Black Type Special Conditions Slot-Race
Prize Money:	$5,000,000

2024 The Quokka Results

• 1st: #1 Overpass ($6)
• 2nd: #8 Amelia’s Jewel
• 3rd: #10 Oscar’s Fortune

Bjorn Baker’s Overpass ($6) maintained his perfect record at Ascot in dominant fashion, successfully defending his title in The Quokka 2024. The powerful sprinter charged through the centre of the track to secure a convincing victory, once again defeating the favoured Amelia’s Jewel in Perth’s richest race. Remarkably, Overpass remains the sole The Quokka winner to date and he boasts an undefeated record at Ascot, having claimed this year’s edition in his first race back since his Winterbottom Stakes victory last December.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	1	OVERPASS	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr		6	58.5kg		$6
	2	8	AMELIA’S JEWEL	Simon A Miller	Damian Lane	0.9L	12	56.5kg		$3F
	3	10	OSCAR’S FORTUNE	Dion Luciani	William Pike	1.12L	3	56.5kg		$6.50
	4	7	BELLA NIPOTINA	Ciaron Maher	Craig Williams	1.4L	13	56.5kg		$8.50
	5	6	SALOON BAR	Daniel Morton	Rhys McLeod	1.65L	1	58.5kg		$91
	6	2	KING OF SPARTA	Peter & Paul Snowden	Blake Shinn	2.18L	4	58.5kg		$5
	7	14	PETULA	Simon A Miller	Patrick Carbery	2.89L	9	54.5kg		$101
	8	4	TRIPLE MISSILE	Grant & Alana Williams	Brad Parnham	3.16L	7	58.5kg		$61
	9	5	WAITAK (NZ)	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Kyle Wilson-Taylor	3.32L	10	58.5kg		$41
	10	9	RIPCORD	Luke Fernie	Clint Johnston-Porter	4.47L	5	56.5kg		$21
	11	3	MALKOVICH	Bjorn Baker	Shaun McGruddy	5.04L	2	58.5kg		$31
	12	12	ALMIGHTY CLASS	Mitchell Pateman	Jarrad Noske	5.1L	8	56.5kg		$61
	13	11	WILD BELLE	Luke Fernie	Steven Parnham	7.74L	11	56.5kg		$61
	14	13	SUPER SMINK	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	8.01L	14	54.5kg		$21
		17e	HOT ZED	Lou Luciani			0
		18e	GEMMA’S SON	Embroja-Lee Altieri			0
		15e	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford			0
		16e	RED CAN MAN	Steve Wolfe			0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 The Quokka Betting Odds

The Quokka 2024 racing odds will be available here as soon as The Quokka race betting opens.

There was a narrow upset in the opening edition with Overpass winning the 2023 race at The Quokka odds of $12. Amelia’s Jewel was the first The Quokka favourite at $2.80 and ran second by the barest of margins.

Overpass won again in 2024 at The Quokka odds of $6 with Amelia’s Jewel second again as the beaten favourite at $3.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2024 THE QUOKKA ODDS (Final Field)

2024 The Quokka Tips

Stay tuned for our insider The Quokka 2024 betting tips and exotic Perth autumn racing selections on the now $5 million slot-race this season.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2024 THE QUOKKA TIPS & BEST BETS

• To Win: #10 Oscar’s Fortune ($6 at time of publish) – BET NOW

The stage is set for another thrilling edition of The Quokka at Ascot this Saturday, with a wide-open field of contenders vying for the massive $5 million prize. Oscar’s Fortune ($6) presents an enticing value play after his upset victory over Amelia’s Jewel in the Group 3 Roma Cup. This win makes him a serious threat to the current favourite, the classy Group 1 winner Amelia’s Jewel. A lightly raced three-year-old trained by Dion Luciani, he is drawn well in gate three with champion jockey Willie Pike on board and boasts a nice record at Ascot.  While yet to win at 1200m before, his strong showing against last year’s Quokka winner Overpass in the Winterbottom Stakes suggests he shouldn’t be overlooked. Keep an eye on this improving colt.

2024 The Quokka Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 THE QUOKKA FORM GUIDE

2024 The Quokka Field

The autumn’s The Quokka field features an exclusive line-up of 14 weight-for-age hopefuls selected by the slot-holders that purchased a spot in the event at a cost of $200,000.

The Quokka 2024 field will be confirmed the week of the race and published below as soon as available.

The official 2024 The Quokka field has been confirmed with Group 1 winning mare Amelia’s Jewel favourite to go one better than her second in last year’s race and salute.

The Quokka 2024 barrier draw was conducted from 10:30am (AEST) on Tuesday and saw the well-supported mares Amelia’s Jewel and Bella Nipotina both draw wide in gates 12 and 13 respectively.

Click here to read more on the key runners in The Quokka 2024 field and betting markets.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	90x12x201x	OVERPASS	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	6	58.5kg		115
2	624x28211x	KING OF SPARTA	Peter & Paul Snowden	Blake Shinn	4	58.5kg		113
3	576×363362	MALKOVICH	Bjorn Baker	Ben Melham	2	58.5kg		105
4	42x7x260x5	TRIPLE MISSILE	Grant & Alana Williams	Brad Parnham	7	58.5kg		100
5	55700x118x	WAITAK (NZ)	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Kyle Wilson-Taylor	10	58.5kg		106
6	3242191×42	SALOON BAR	Daniel Morton	Rhys McLeod	1	58.5kg		83
7	33315×4542	BELLA NIPOTINA	Ciaron Maher	Craig Williams	13	56.5kg		113
8	x12x1190x2	AMELIA’S JEWEL	Simon A Miller	Damian Lane	12	56.5kg		113
9	3x228132x3	RIPCORD	Luke Fernie	Clint Johnston-Porter	5	56.5kg		104
10	111122×21	OSCAR’S FORTUNE	Dion Luciani	William Pike	3	56.5kg		107
11	3x178x41x1	WILD BELLE	Luke Fernie	Steven Parnham	11	56.5kg		99
12	6x12x23	ALMIGHTY CLASS	Mitchell Pateman	Jarrad Noske	8	56.5kg		78
13	1211x1232x	SUPER SMINK	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	14	54.5kg		90
14	11×4742113	PETULA	Simon A Miller	Patrick Carbery	9	54.5kg		81
15e	225x3373x8	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford		0	58.5kg		108
16e	0x13645x08	RED CAN MAN	Steve Wolfe		0	58.5kg		104
17e	x371607676	HOT ZED	Lou Luciani		0	58.5kg		102
18e	205×627144	GEMMA’S SON	Embroja-Lee Altieri		0	58.5kg		96

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 The Quokka Slot Holders (Horse)

1. Ladbrokes (Super Smink)
2. Lindsey Smith Racing (Wild Belle)
3. Loloma Farms (Oscar’s Fortune)
4. Magic Bloodstock Racing (Malkovich)
5. Morton Racing (Saloon Bar)
6. Peters Investments (Ripcord)
7. RAM Racing Syndicate (Overpass)
8. Rapid Equine Breeding (Triple Missile)
9. Seacorp / Hallowell (King Of Sparta)
10. SKY Racing (Petula)
11. Sportsbet (Bella Nipotina)
12. TABtouch (Amelia’s Jewel)
13. The Chief Racing Syndicate (Almighty Class)
14. Trackside NZ / Perth Racing (Waitak)

Confirmed 2024 The Quokka Horses

Stay tuned below as the 14 slots in The Quokka Field are filled, the confirmed horses and the slot-holders to be listed below as positions are announced leading up to the race.

1. OVERPASS

• Trainer: Bjorn Baker
• Slot Holder: RAM Racing Syndicate

RAM Racing will chase back-to-back The Quokka victories with the syndicate again set to partner with Sydney horseman Bjorn Baker to saddle-up the speedy Overpass. The son of Vancouver was enormous late flashing home to beat the favourite Amelia’s Jewel in a thrilling first edition, and he has been strong in plenty since including his summer success in the Group 1 Winterbottom. Every chance to salute again.

2. KING OF SPARTA

• Trainers: Peter & Paul Snowden
• Slot Holder: Seacorp / Hallowell

Mt. Hallowell Stud will be represented by the Snowden’s I Am Invincible five-year-old, King Of Sparta, in this year’s The Quokka field. The gelding was huge fresh with a two length victory at the Gold Coast in the Magic Millions Snippets putting the writing on the wall for a big campaign to come that now has him WA-bound. He franked that form with a Group 2 Expressway Stakes at Randwick on February 17 in a big run.

3. MALKOVICH

• Trainer: Bjorn Baker
• Slot Holder: Magic Bloodstock Racing

Baker won the race last year with Overpass who is back defending his title, and the horseman has a second shot at a second The Quokka victory with Malkovich representing Magic Bloodstock Racing slot holders. This older galloper is in top form with some big Sydney runs against good horses this prep including the Group 2 Expressway third. Form can hold heading west.

4. TRIPLE MISSILE

• Trainer: Lindsey Smith
• Slot Holder: Rapid Equine Breeding

While his win record may not be the flashiest, six-year-old Triple Missile is a proven competitor at the top level in WA. The talented Smart Missile gelding seeks to improve upon his 10th place finish in last December’s Winterbottom Stakes. Prior to that, he demonstrated his ability in Melbourne with a credible second-place finish to Star Patrol in the prestigious Group 2 Gilgai Stakes down the Flemington straight. Triple Missile shouldn’t be overlooked on his day – he’s a quality sprinter with a chance to contend.

5. WAITAK

• Trainers: Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott
• Slot Holder: Trackside NZ / Perth Racing

The Quokka boasts an international flavor in 2024 with the inclusion of Kiwi galloper Waitak. This well-bred son of Proisir recently announced his arrival on the big stage with a breakthrough victory in the Group 1 Sistema Railway. Perth hasn’t seen a New Zealand-trained contender since 2016, and Waitak brings a touch of trans-Tasman excitement. While the versatile four-year-trained by O’Sullivan & Scott has experience over longer distances (up to 2400m), his longest win came over 1500m. The Quokka’s 1200m distance seems perfectly suited for Waitak, making him a contender with a genuine chance of claiming victory.

6. SALOON BAR

• Trainer: Morton Racing
• Slot Holder: Daniel Morton

Morton is slot holder and trainer of Saloon Bar, a progressive local four-year-old doing plenty right in easier grade ahead of this acid test for the big money.

7. BELLA NIPOTINA

• Trainer: Ciaron Maher
• Slot Holder: Sportsbet

Maher’s star mare just continues to perform and finish in the money in the country’s best sprint races. She was third in last year’s race and has been strong in plenty since including a Winners Stakes victory in Sydney. At her latest she was just beaten in the TJ Smith Stakes in the wet, an ideal lead-up.

8. AMELIA’S JEWEL

• Trainer: Simon A Miller
• Slot Holder: TABtouch

She was runner-up to Overpass as the beaten favourite last year and Amelia’s Jewel gets her shot at atonement back again in 2024. The Simon Miller-trained mare went down the barest of margins in 2023 and returned in Melbourne that spring to win back-to-back Group 2 races. A genuine hope once more back in her home state. Remains favourite after putting in plenty of effort late to make up ground and run second in the Roma Cup.

9. RIPCORD

• Trainer: Luke Fernie
• Slot Holder: Peters Investments

Written By three-year-old Ripcord has been chosen by Peters Investments to line-up in the second The Quokka race with the promising gelding catching the eye when third in last year’s Winterbottom behind key players Overpass and Oscar’s Fortune. Kept that strong WA form going when runner-up in the lucrative The Gold Rush only a half-length beaten, and he looks a potential force fitter and more mature this prep. Third first-up in the Roma Cup catching the eye.

10. OSCAR’S FORTUNE

• Trainer: Dion Luciani
• Slot Holder: Loloma Farms

Loloma Farms have named their talented Rich Enuff three-year-old, Oscar’s Fortune, as their 2024 The Quokka representative with the Dion Luciani-trained gelding having caught the eye last December when runner-up behind the inaugural The Quokka champ Overpass in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes. Won the Group 3 Roma Cup beating Amelia’s Jewel in the perfect Quokka lead-up.

11. WILD BELLE

• Trainer: Luke Fernie
• Slot Holder: Lindsey Smith Racing

Lindsey Smith Racing were the last to lock in their The Quokka horse with the final position going to Luke Fernie’s four-year-old Pride Of Dubai mare Wild Belle. She is a three-time winner from five starts at the track and was last seen saluting in the Rock Magic here over 1000m on March 23. Good record, but this is tough.

12. ALMIGHTY CLASS

• Trainers: Mitchell Pateman
• Slot Holder: The Chief Racing Syndicate

Three-year-old colt Playing God gelding Almighty Class has been thrust into the spotlight, selected by the Chief Racing Syndicate to represent them in the prestigious The Quokka despite having no races under his belt this season. Trained by Mitchell Pateman, the up-and-comer boasts promising credentials. Last season, he convincingly defeated Ripcord (who later placed third in the Gr. 1 Winterbottom Stakes) before pushing Super Smink close for second in the Belgravia Stakes, a black-type race. This raw talent is clearly exciting connections, who see him as a contender despite his racing hiatus.

13. SUPER SMINK

• Trainer: Daniel Morton
• Slot Holder: Ladbrokes

Dan Morton’s talented filly Super One steps up to challenge the established stars in The Quokka 2024. Throughout the past season, she’s displayed significant promise against her own age group, highlighted by her victory in the WA Sires’ and a close third-place finish in the prestigious Group 2 WA Guineas against the colts over the mile. Given her success at this distance and her pedigree as a Group 2 Karrakatta winner, Super One is definitely a contender to watch in this open race.

14. PETULA

• Trainer: Simon Miller
• Slot Holder: Sky Racing

The three-year-olds are well represented in the second The Quokka field and Miller’s filly is one of the underrated youngsters. She has summer form around some of the key local hopes for this race and is ultra-consistent.

15e. COMFORT ME (Emergency)

16e. RED CAN MAN (Emergency)

17e. HOT ZED (Emergency)

18e. GEMMA’S SON (Emergency)

The Quokka History

The Quokka history was made when Perth’s richest race ran for the first time in April of 2023 and was won by the Bjorn Baker-trained Sydney visitor Overpass for slot holders RAM Racing Syndicate.

Overpass successfully defended his title winning the 2024 The Quokka race for the same syndication.

The Quokka Winners

The Quokka winners and place-getters from the event’s inauguration in 2023 can be found in the below table.

Overpass (Bjorn Baker) remains history’s sole The Quokka winner in 2023 and 2024.

YEAR	WINNER	SECOND	THIRD	TIME
2024	Overpass	Amelia’s Jewel	Oscar’s Fortune	1:08.88
2023	Overpass	Amelia’s Jewel	Bella Nipotina	1:09.53

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