Memsie Stakes

Memsie Stakes
Group 1 race
	Ajax, 1938, 1939, 1940 winner
Location	Caulfield Racecourse
Inaugurated	1899
Race type	Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Magic Millions (2022)
Race information
Distance	1,400 metres
Surface	Turf
Qualification	Three-year-old and older that are not maidens
Weight	Weight for age
Purse	$1,000,000 (2022)

The Memsie Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under weight for age conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1400 metres. It is held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia as a lead in to the Spring Racing Carnival.^[1] Total prize money for the race is A$1,000,000.^[2]

History

The race is often used as a lead-up race by good horses preparing for the longer feature races such as the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup. Such horses typically compete against less glamorous, and usually fitter, sprinter-milers who have been trained specifically for this race. Speed and fitness seem to prevail over class about half the time, as can be seen in the list of recent winners.^[1]

As the race comes early in the Spring, it will often indicate how well a horse has come back after its customary winter spell. There is sometimes just as much interest in the horses running on well from the back of the field, as there is in the actual winner. A good run by a staying horse in this race is often a good indicator of a successful Spring Carnival to come.^[1]

The Memsie Stakes is a virtually identical race to the P B Lawrence Stakes, another 1,400 metre weight-for-age race run at Caulfield usually earlier in August except that this is the first Group 1 in the racing season in Victoria.^[1]

The list of previous winners of the race contain recent champions, including Sincero, So You Think, Weekend Hussler, Makybe Diva, Sunline, Naturalism, Rancho Ruler, Manikato, and famous champions from the 20th century Galilee, Rising Fast, Comic Court, Lord (four times), Ajax (three times) and Phar Lap.^[3]