The Canterbury Stakes 2024 Betting & Tips

The 2023 Canterbury Stakes is a Group 1 race on the Australian thoroughbred racing calendar that attracts Aussie horses ages three and up (at weight for age restrictions) to Randwick Racecourse at the start of March for a scintillating 1300m race.

The Canterbury Stakes is one of New South Wales’ most prestigious and oldest thoroughbred horse races, having first run in 1929! Since then, the Canterbury Stakes has undergone a series of changes and updates that have assisted in creating the Canterbury Stakes we know today. We will go into more of these changes to the Canterbury Stakes below in the ‘Race History of the Canterbury Stakes’ portion of this Canterbury Stakes preview.

In this preview to the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, we will look in-depth at the feature race itself, the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, as well as the history that comprises both the venues and races themselves that create the tapestry of the Canterbury Stakes. Additionally, we at OnlyRacing will share tips on how to bet and where to bet on the Canterbury Stakes.

The 2023 Canterbury Stakes will be sponsored by Furphy for the first time, who have dished out a prize pool of $600,000 available for all runners in the Canterbury Stakes. Be sure to check back in closer to the race for tips available at our OnlyRacing Tips page.

The Feature Race – The 2024 Canterbury Stakes

The Feature Race – The 2023 Canterbury Stakes

The 2023 Canterbury Stakes – 1300m
Date: Saturday 4th March 2023
Time: 4:10pm (AEDT)
Prize Money: $600,000 AUD

The 2023 Canterbury Stakes was run on the 4th of March 2023 at Randwick Racecourse. This year’s prize money was the same as the 2022 Canterbury Stakes, offering runners a share of the $600,000 prize pool. The winner, Artorius, took home $344,000 to satisfy its connections, whilst pre-race favourite Imperatriz took home second prize which also resulted in a six figure payday. See our table below for the distribution of prize money for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes.

Placing	Prize Money
1st	$344,000
2nd	$114,000
3rd	$58,000
4th	$28,000
5th	$14,000
6th, 7th, and 8th	$6,000
9th and 10th	$6,000

The field for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes was set a few days prior to Saturday the 4th of March (race day), and upon its release, it promised to be one of the most competitive fields for the Canterbury Stakes in its almost 100 year history.

Below is a breakdown of the field for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, including all critical runner information (race number and barrier, horse name, jockey, and trainer names), as well as the starting price odds according to PlayUp, recorded at the time of the jump.

Please Note: All odds are provided by PlayUp.

RUNNER INFORMATION (NUMBER, NAME & BARRIER) JOCKEY (J) TRAINER (T)	WIN	PLACE
1. Cascadian (5) J: Brenton Avdulla T: James Cummings	9.00	2.45
2. Artorius (8) J: Zac Purton T: A & S Freedman	9.50	2.60
3. Kirwan's Lane (9) J: Chad Schofield T: John O'shea	46.00	8.00
4. Lombardo (3) J: Brett Prebble T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr	17.00	3.80
5. Converge (4) J: Tim Clark T: G Waterhouse & A Bott	31.00	6.00
6. Old Flame (6) J: Sam Clipperton T: Peter & Paul Snowden	34.00	6.50
7. Quantico (10) J: Kerrin Mcevoy T: John O'shea	31.00	6.00
8. Imperatriz (7) J: James Mcdonald T: Mark Walker	2.10	1.20
9. Electric Girl (1) J: Zac Lloyd T: Michael & Wayne & John Hawkes	11.00	2.80
10. Argentia (11) J: Craig Williams T: A & S Freedman	23.00	4.80
11. Golden Mile (2) J: Nash Rawiller T: James Cummings	6.00	1.90

The race itself was brilliant. I highly implore you to check out the race replay for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes on either TAB or Racing.com. Without too many spoilers, Zac Purton put on an absolute clinic with Artorius to claim victory from a $9.50 starting price.

Going into the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, I had tipped Cascadian and Golden Mile to put on a show, however they were nowhere to be seen in the Canterbury Stakes placings. Such is horse racing in today’s day and age where all competitive racehorses can win any given race including the Canterbury Stakes.

As you can see from our table below which displays the final results for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, Electric Girl, ridden by Zac Lloyd, claimed bronze in the entertaining race. Scroll down below to view the full results for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, including how far behind the leader the runner was, the final placing, as well as the fixed starting price taken from PlayUp at the time of the jump.

Please Note: All odds are provided by PlayUp.

PLACE	RUNNER INFORMATION (NUMBER, NAME & BARRIER) JOCKEY (J) TRAINER (T)	LENGTHS (L)	WEIGHT (KG)	FIXED STARTING PRICE
1	2. Artorius (8) T: A & S Freedman J: Zac Purton	Winner	59kg	$9.50
2	8. Imperatriz (7) T: Mark Walker J: James Mcdonald	0.2L	57kg	$2.10
3	9. Electric Girl (1) T: Michael & Wayne & John Hawkes J: Zac Lloyd	1L	57kg	$11.00
4	11. Golden Mile (2) T: James Cummings J: Nash Rawiller	1.1L	56kg	$6.00
5	1. Cascadian (5) T: James Cummings J: Brenton Avdulla	2L	59kg	$9.00
6	3. Kirwan's Lane (9) T: John O'shea J: Chad Schofield	2.5L	59kg	$46.00
7	5. Converge (4) T: G Waterhouse & A Bott J: Tim Clark	2.6L	59kg	$31.00
8	7. Quantico (10) T: John O'shea J: Kerrin Mcevoy	2.8L	59kg	$31.00
9	4. Lombardo (3) T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr J: Brett Prebble	3.6L	59kg	$17.00
10	10. Argentia (11) T: A & S Freedman J: Craig Williams	3.7L	57g	$23.00
11	6. Old Flame (6) T: Peter & Paul Snowden J: Sam Clipperton	14.6L	59kg	$34.00

The Canterbury Stakes is one of, if not the most underrated race on the Australian racing calendar for me. The Canterbury Stakes always seems to boast a strong field, attract the best New South Wales jockeys, and to top it all off, the Canterbury Stakes races themselves seem to always be of the highest entertainment value.
Below is a list of the previous 11 winners of the Canterbury Stakes, their racing information, their connections, as well as their fixed starting price according to PlayUp before the race jumped. I suggest having a look for some common themes, for example both Blake Shinn and James McDonald have won the Canterbury Stakes twice in the last decade!

For a complete list of all the Canterbury Stakes winners since its inception in 1929, scroll down to the ‘Past Winners of the Canterbury Stakes’ section of this Canterbury Stakes preview.

Year	Horse Name	Age	Jockey	Trainer(s)	Barrier	Weight (in KG)	Starting Price
2023	Artorius	4	Zac Purton	Anthony & Sam Freedman	8	59	$9.5
2022	Forbidden Love	4	Hugh Bowman	Richard & Michael Freedman	7	57	$2.20
2021	Mizzy	5	Regan Bayliss	Anthony Cummings	1	57	$71
2020	The Bostonian	5	Nash Rawiller	Tony Pike	1	59	$7.5
2019	Trapeze Artist	4	Blake Shinn	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	6	59	$3.8
2018	Happy Clapper	7	Blake Shinn	Patrick Webster	1	59	$4.6
2017	Le Romain	4	Glyn Schofield	Kris Lees	6	59	$4.5
2016	Holler	3	James McDonald	John O'Shea	7	56	$7.5
2015	Cosmic Endeavour	4	James McDonald	Gai Waterhouse	1	57	$3.3
2014	Appearance	5	Kerrin McEvoy	G H Walter	10	57	$5.5
2013	Pierro	3	Jim Cassidy	Gai Waterhouse	7	56	$2.0

Where to Bet on the 2024 Canterbury Stakes

The hardest decision you will make for the Canterbury Stakes once you have figured out your picks is where to place your money. I have a tried and tested strategy you can use when punting on the Canterbury Stakes.

Firstly, be sure you have figured your specific picks for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes.
Secondly, compare the odds of this pick across as many Australian bookmakers as you can (we have a full list of all available Australian bookmakers on our Bookmaker Reviews page).
Thirdly, place your bet with whichever bookmaker has the best odds!

It can seem like a daunting decision where to place your punts for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, however hopefully we can make it a little easier. Below is a list of five of our favourite Australian bookmakers you can use to bet on the 2023 Canterbury Stakes. This list includes: Winnersbet, Unibet, Midasbet, PalmerBet, and PlayUp. Whilst the pros and cons list provides critical insight, we suggest you conduct your own research into your preferred bookmaker to use for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes.

How to Bet on the Canterbury Stakes

Now that you know who and where to bet on for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, let us take a look at some of the markets that punters regularly bet on.

Fixed Win Odds – this market locks in win odds for the selection of your choice at the time of placing a bet. For example, you placed a fixed win bet on Artorius at $11.00 two days before the jump. Artorius closes at $9.50, however if he wins, you receive the odds of $11.00 that you placed at.
Fixed Place Odds – this works in the same way as fixed win odds markets, except this market is for a runner to place in the top 3 of the field. The exception to this is when there are less than 8 runners, in which case only 2 placings are paid out. This will not be the case for the 2023 Canterbury Stakes which has a field of 11 runners competing for victory.
Exotics – this is wide umbrella term that includes such markets as the quinella, the trifecta, the exacta, and the first four. What these markets all have in common is that they combine multiple runners into a single dividend for any given race. These markets are great fun, especially on big race events such as the 2023 Canterbury Stakes.

Ultimately, it is up to you how to punt on the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, however we provide a summary of the above markets for your punting benefit. Be sure to tune in on Saturday the 4th of March so you do not miss out on the 2023 Canterbury Stakes.

Track History of Randwick Racecourse – Home to the Canterbury Stakes

One of the most prominent horse racing grounds in Australia is Randwick Racecourse, where Australia’s best champions compete for the honour of flying down the grandstand and taking home the big prize. Nowadays, Randwick Racecourse plays host to the Canterbury Stakes.

I am pleased to name Randwick Racetrackas my home turf, which is situated south-east of Sydney's thriving metropolitan Centre. The Australian Turf Club, which runs and owns Randwick Racecourse, where the Canterbury Stakes are held, has been running it as a top thoroughbred racetrack since the year 1833 (yes, 1833!). As a result, Randwick Racecourse is among the country's oldest racetracks, most prestigious racetracks, and without a doubt the jewel of New South Wales Racing.

The track layout of Randwick Racecourse, which was especially constructed to better fit the range of lengths that modern champion thoroughbreds run, is what truly distinguishes Randwick Racecourse, the home of the Canterbury Stakes. The 2200-meter course of Randwick Racecoursefeatures a 400-meter long home straight for the field to contend. This is made even better by the grandstands' prime home straight location, which fosters an exciting environment that elevates race day. For the 2023 Canterbury Stakes, I expect the Randwick Racecourse grandstand to be packed for such an eventful day!

While the Canterbury Stakes is a well-known Group 1 event in which some of Australia's top thoroughbred racers compete for the victory, Randwick Racecourse also hosts some of Australia's largest and most heralded races. The Everest, Australia's richest horse race, is held at Randwick Racecourse. The George Ryder Stakes, the Doncaster Mile, and the renowned Randwick Guineas are just a few of the Sydney Autumn Racing Festival events that take place at Randwick Racecourse in addition to the titular Canterbury Stakes.

Ultimately, the Canterbury Stakes can consider itself lucky to call Randwick Racecourse its home. Sharing the history of a racetrack that boasts almost 200 years of racing is nothing to turn your nose at. If you would like to read more information and view some cool facts about Randwick Racecourse, please visit our Randwick Racecourse review on the OnlyRacing racecourse review page.

Race History of the Canterbury Stakes

The Canterbury Stakes is traditionally run at… Canterbury Racecourse of course. However, after the merger of the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) and the Sydney Turf Club (STC), the joint enterprise decided to revamp the Canterbury Stakes and move it to Rosehill Racecourse. Below, we will go into the many changes over the history of the Canterbury Stakes, as well as a couple of fun facts along the way.

Let’s start off by talking about the distances used over the history of the Canterbury Stakes. Traditionally, as with most races before the 1970s, the Canterbury Stakes was run at 6 furlongs in length, or what is almost equivalent to 1200m. This distance was used for the Canterbury Stakes from 1929 – 1972 before it was solidified in Australian metrics as a 1200m race (1973 – 2003). After three decades of being run at 1200m, the Canterbury Stakes spent four years at 1300m before the infamous 1550m run in 2008. Since then, however, the Canterbury Stakes has reverted back to 1300m where it now remains.

The grade of the Canterbury Stakes has mimicked many similar Stakes races on the Australian thoroughbred calendar. Until 1978, the Canterbury Stakes was considered what we call a Principal Race. It was shifted to a Group 2 event in 1979 where it remained until 2012. Since then, the Canterbury Stakes has been a Group 1 race that attracts some of Australia’s best thoroughbreds.

The most interesting set of changes to the Canterbury Stakes is the location which we touched on earlier. From 1929 to 1996 the Canterbury Stakes was held at Canterbury Park Racecourse. From 1997 to 1999, Canterbury Park Racecourse was under construction and so the Canterbury Stakes was held at Rosehill Racecourse.

In the 2010s, the Canterbury Stakes spent 5 years each at Canterbury Park Racecourse and Rosehill Racecourse. Since 2014, the AJC and STC have moved the Canterbury Stakes to its new home of Randwick Racecourse where it has remained for a decade.

Past Winners of the Canterbury Stakes

The Canterbury Stakes is a lucrative Group 1 race held at Randwick Racecourse, New South Wales. The Canterbury Stakes has seen some of Australia’s great racers take part. Below is a comprehensive list of every Canterbury Stakes winner since 1929 when it was first run. As a fun game, try spot how many multiple winners there are in the history of the Canterbury Stakes.