Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes is on of the key support races on Melbourne Cup Day each spring!

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes – also known as the Maybe Mahal Stakes – is a Group 3 race for mares aged four-years-old and above taking place at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November annually on the hugely popular Melbourne Cup Day card.

Racing at headquarters that day is dominated by the time-honoured Group 1 $8.41 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) and also features the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) for two-year-olds.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes is one of the newer events of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival taking place for the first time in 2005.

The event is contested at set weights plus penalties and currently offers $200,000 in prize money.

It’s registered name is in honour of former top Bart Cummings-trained mare Maybe Mahal who was the 1977-1978 Australian Racehorse of the Year.

The race has held Group 3 status since 2012 and a number of top-class mares have won the event including Neroli (2008), Strawberry Field (2009), Plucky Belle (2013) and Rich Hips (2020, 2021).

The latest edition of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes ran on Tuesday November 7, 2023 as part of Australia’s biggest day of racing – Melbourne Cup Day 2023 – and was won by the Mark Walker-trained Group 1 winner Skew Wiff ($6).

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Results

2023 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes winner Skew Wiff was too strong for her rivals on Melbourne Cup Day. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #2 Skew Wiff
• 2nd: #18 Foxy Cleopatra
• 3rd: #17 Forbidden City

The official Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023 Results & Finishing order including the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes winner will be available below once the race takes place on Melbourne Cup Day Tuesday November 7, 2023.

Mark Walker’s Group 1 Tarzino Trophy winner back across the Tasman, Skew Wiff, was back to winning form on Melbourne Cup Day drawing clear the final 100m off a perfectly timed ride by Opie Bosson to hold off the late lunging Foxy Cleopatra and win the Group 3 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes.

Forbidden City was also good late finishing in a photo for third for Moody & Coleman who won the previous race with Roll On High.

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Odds

The season’s latest Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023 betting odds on the field of mares will be available as soon as released so stay tuned for access to the best markets on the Melbourne Cup Day Group 3 this spring.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Info

• Registered Race Name: Maybe Mahal Stakes
• Date: Tuesday November 7, 2023
• Track: Flemington Racecourse
• Distance: 1400m
• Conditions: Mares, 4YOs & Upwards, Set Weights + Penalties
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $200,000
• First Run: 2005

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Betting

Odds for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes are displayed shortly after the final field is released on the Wednesday prior to the race but most of the betting is done on the Saturday with the number of bets increasing as it gets closer to start time.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes odds displayed by bookies are determined by each horses lead up form over the Spring Carnival and may include races in Melbourne as well as the Sydney Carnival. The prices on individual mares range from the favourite who would have been winning or running around the placings and could be as short as $3 and range up to $51 to $101 for those horses that have been running near to last than first.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes betting is big business as the punters enjoy bets on Melbourne Cup Day.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Tips

Tips for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes are dominated by any mares coming off a previous Group status win over the spring and those with a proven record at the famous Flemington track.

A good Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes tip is to look for the mare jockey Hugh Bowman is riding as the master hoop boasts three previous wins in the event aboard Artistry (2016), Koonoomoo (2012) and Juste Momente (2007).

Another key betting tip is to take a widely-drawn mare with 10 of the 15 winners from 2009 – 2023 jumping from barrier 10 or wider including five from barrier 10, most recently Rich Hips (2021) and Skew Wiff (2023). The 2022 winner Larkspur Run jumped from barrier 12 of 15.

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023 tips and selections on what mares will enjoy a Melbourne Cup Day victory will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned.

• To Win: #8 La Danseuse Rouge ($9 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Going for a touch of value with La Danseuse Rouge looking well-rated and weighted for a potential improvement and upset here. The Cliff Brown-trained Manhattan Rain mare is third-up and fit this weekend coming off back-to-back placings in good company. Her latest in the Group 3 Northwood Plume Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield in mid-October had her only a length beaten for third behind She Dances at a big price carrying 57kg. She is safer in the markets here, up in distance but down in weight to 56kg. Damian Lane comes aboard. Needs to stretch to get the distance but if she runs it she can win at a price.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Field

The final field for the Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes is made up of older mares, many coming off previous Group 3 and Group 2 lead-up spring races.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes nominations close the Wednesday before the race with final acceptances on the Friday before VRC Derby Day runs on the Saturday to kick off the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Field

The official 2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw will be published below once announced on the Friday before the race.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023 final field features a capacity line-up of mares including Chris Waller’s former Thousand Guineas winner Madame Pommery and class Kiwi Group 1 winner Skew Wiff. 

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Nominations

The early Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes 2023 Nominations close the Wednesday leading up to 2023 Melbourne Cup Day, the entries to be published in full right here once released by Racing Victoria.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Form Guide

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes form guide shows all the must know race facts and stats on the horses in the field including their lead-up runs, strike-rate at the track / distance and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes barrier draw.

The form out of the Maybe Mahal Stakes / Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes has often gone on to be franked by the winning mares over their careers. The 2013 winner Plucky Belle took out the 2015 Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m), while looking further back Neroli won the 2008 event before returning the next autumn to win the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) in the autumn of 2009.

2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Form Guide

A link to the full 2023 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Form Guide will be provided below once the field is out.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes Results

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes race results display the full finishing order of all the runners, their starting prices and weights along with the winning margins and times.

Rich Hips (2020-2021) is the only two-time Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes winning mare in the race’s history.

Past Maybe Mahal Stakes / Hong Kong Jockey Club Past Winners

Recent Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2005 are detailed in the below table.