The Winterbottom Stakes is a Weight-for-age weight-for-age race held annually each November at Ascot racecourse in Perth, Western Australia during the Perth summer racing carnival. The race is run over a distance of 1200 metres and worth $500,000 in prizemoney. The 2011 Winterbottom Stakes was won by Ortensia from Rarefied with Grand Nirvana third.
Upgraded from Group 2 to Group 1 status for the 2011/2012 racing season, the Winterbottom Stakes also moved to the same day as the Group 1 Railway Stakes as part of the Festival of Perth Racing's Super Saturday of Racing, held a couple of weeks before the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic on the final day of the carnival.
The Winterbottom Stakes is the premier sprint event of the Perth summer racing carnival and attracts good horses to make it a high standard race for this time of year. Who could forget the 2008 running of the race when champion gallopers Takeover Target and Apache Cat battled it out down the Ascot straight in one of the great clashes of the modern era.
Previous races such as the Gr2 Lee Steere Stakes and Gr3 Colonel Reeves Stakes held earlier in the carnival are good lead up sprint races to this event and horses from this race may head on to the upcoming A.J. Scahill Stakes also at weight-for-age at the same track.
Grand Nirvana (3rd in 2011) managed to score a good win in the AJ Scahill Stakes at his next start after finishing thirdd in the Winterbottom Stakes.
Ortensia (2011) won a 1100m race for mares at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival before travelling to Perth to win this race for the second time in three years and recent Winterbottom Stakes winners have been Hadabeclorka (2010) and Ortensia (2009).
2011 Winterbottom Stakes result
1. $2.20 Ortensia 56.5 Craig Williams
2. $5.00 Rarefied 58.5 Kerryn Mc Evoy
3. $5.00 Grand Nirvana 58.5 Peter Hall
then followed
4. $41.00 Hadabeclorka 58.5 Glenn Smith
5. $21.00 Werd 58.5 Craig Staples
6. $31.00 Elusive Touch 58.5 Peter Knuckey
7. $16.00 Kid Choisir 58.5 Paul Harvey
8. $13.00 Morant 58.5 William Pike
9. $26.00 Ego’s Dare 58.5 Shaun O’Donnell
10. $19.00 Avante 56.5 Ms Kyra Yuill
11. $61.00 Elliotto 58.5 Brad Parnham
12. $31.00 For Your Eyes Only 56.5 Troy Turner
Margins: 1 len, Short 1/2 Head Time: 1:10.10
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