Futurity Stakes

The Futurity Stakes is a Group 1 weight-for-age race held late February or early March each year at Caulfield racecourse in Melbourne during the Melbourne autumn racing carnival. The race is run over a distance of 1400 metres and has prizemoney of $500,000. The 2011 Futurity Stakes was won by More Joyous from Whobegotyou with Dao Dao third.

Taking place on the Melbourne Racing Club's biggest race day of the autumn, Blue Diamond Stakes day, the Futurity Stakes takes place alongside feature autumn races, the Gr1 Blue Diamond Stakes & Gr1 Oakleigh Plate.

The Futurity Stakes is the first leg of the Asian Mile Challenge which is a four-race international series with a total purse of more than $12.5 million, organised jointly by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Japan Racing Association, the Melbourne Racing Club and the Dubai Racing Club.

Open to horses from around the world, the Asian Mile Challenge feature races are the Futurity Stakes in Melbourne, the The Dubai Duty Free in Dubai, The Champions Mile in Hong Kong and the The Yasuda Kinen in Japan.

Futurity Stakes info
Date:	Saturday 25th February 2012
Track:	Caulfield racecourse, Melbourne
Distance:	1400 metres
Race Type:	Weight-for-age
Status:	Group 1
Prizemoney:	$500,000
2011 Winner:	More Joyous

The Futurity Stakes is one of the more prominent weight-for-age races of the Caulfield autumn racing carnival and the 1400m distance is attractive to a variety of gallopers, including strong sprinters and quality middle distance types, which assures a top field is assembled each year.

Sprinters in this event may come via the Gr1 CF Orr Stakes which is a weight-for-age race at Caulfield in February, and staying types may consider heading on to the Gr1 Australian Cup at Flemington on Super Saturday of Racing in March. Typhoon Tracy (2010) was the last horse to win the CF Orr Stakes & Futurity Stakes double, while Niconero (2009) was the last galloper to take out the Futurity Stakes & Australian Cup double.

Some quality thoroughbreds have saluted in this event over the years, including More Joyous (2011), Fields Of Omagh (2006), Testa Rossa (2000), Encounter (1998), Schillaci (1993/1995), Redelva (1991) and Zeditave (1989). The Futurity Stakes is a race for good horses and one of the highlights of the autumn in Melbourne.

More Joyous (2011) won the Gr2 Breeders Classic at Randwick in Sydney prior to winning this race and recent Futurity Stakes winners have been Typhoon Tracy (2010) and Niconero (2008-09) in consecutive years.

2011 Futurity Stakes result
1. $1.45 More Joyous 57.0 N Rawiller
2. $6.50 Whobegotyou 59.0 D Oliver
3. $26.00 Dao Dao 59.0 D Dunn

then followed
4. $12.00 King Mufhasa 59.0 Ms S Spratt
5. $151.00 Voile Rouge 59.0 S Arnold
6. $17.00 Ortensia 57.0 M Zahra
7. $20.00 Doubtful Jack 59.0 L Nolen
8. $26.00 We're Gonna Rock 59.0 M Rodd
9. $101.00 Avienus 57.0 C Williams
10. $201.00 C'est La Guerre 59.0 N Hall

Margins: 3/4 len, 1-1/2 len
Time: 1:21.79

Other group races on Blue Diamond Stakes day at Caulfield include the Gr2 St George Stakes, Gr2 Autumn Classic, Gr2 Angus Armanasco Stakes & Gr3 Mannerism Stakes.

Futurity Stakes recent winners & placegetters
Year	Winner	2nd	3rd	Time
2011	More Joyous	Whobegotyou	Dao Dao	1:21.7
2010	Typhoon Tracy	Dao Dao	Sniper's Bullet	1:34.4
2009	Niconero	Light Fantastic	Alamosa	1:36.4
2008	Niconero	Cargo Cult	Miss Finland	1:34.8
2007	Aqua Damore	Seachange	El Segundo	1:35.7
2006	Fields Of Omagh	Red Dazzler	Rosden	1:34.2
2005	Regal Roller	Super Elegant	Modem	1:24.6
2004	Reset	Vocabulary	Yell	1:23.7
2003	Yell	Innovation Girl	Roman Arch	1:21.9
2002	Dash For Cash	Chattanooga	Aquiver	1:23.0
2001	Desert Sky	Porto Roca	Mr Murphy	1:22.8
2000	Testa Rossa	Miss Pennymoney	Redoutes Choice	1:23.7
1999	Rustic Dream	Al Mansour	Helm	1:22.1
1998	Encounter	Al Mansour	Rebel	1:23.5
1997	Mouawad	Shame	Cut Up Rough	1:23.0
1996	Star Dancer	Flying Spur	Buzzoff	1:24.0
1995	Schillaci	Jeune	Spanish Mix	1:23.8
1994	Primacy	Deposition	Schillaci	1:22.0
1993	Schillaci	Excited Angel	Hulastrike	1:23.2
1992	Mannerism	Planet Ruler	Wrap Around	1:23.9
1991	Redelva	Bureaucracy	Planet Ruler	1:22.6
1990	Ark Regal	Lightning Bend	Sydeston	1:23.7
1989	Zeditave	Jet Fighter	Redelva	1:22.4
1988	Vo Rogue	Campaign King	Rancho Ruler	1:22.2