Matriarch Stakes 2023

Ladbrokes Tip: Matriarch Stakes winners often go on to win a Group 1 the following autumn

The Matriarch Stakes is a Group 2 support race on the VRC Champions Stakes Day – formerly known as Mackinnon Stakes Day – program held on the first Saturday of November at Flemington Racecourse each Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

2022 Matriarch Stakes winner Atishu. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The fourth and final meeting of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, Stakes Day takes place four days after the coveted Melbourne Cup at the same track on the first Tuesday of November every year.

As of 2022, three elite levels headline the program with the Group 1 VRC Champions Stakes (2000m), the Group 1 VRC Champions Mile (1600m) and the Group 1 VRC Champions Sprint (1200m) for the spring sprinters all currently offering $3 million in prize money.

The Group 3 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) is the other Group status feature on the card.

The race is the only Group 2 race on the card and offers $300,000 in total prize money. It is a set weights plus penalties event open to mares only and has produced a number of subsequent Group 1 winners in recent years including Lucia Valentina (2015) who won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) – a race now worth $5 million – in Sydney the following April.

The latest edition of the Matriarch Stakes ran on Saturday November 11, 2023 on Stakes Day at Flemington and was won by the Michael Kent-trained favourite Deny Knowledge ($3.80F). 

2023 Matriarch Stakes Results

• 1st: # Deny Knowledge
  

  2023 Matriarch Stakes winner Deny Knowledge saluted for the punters in the Flemington showdown. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 2nd: #13 Osmose
• 3rd: #2 Amokura

The Michael Kent-trained Deny Knowledge ($3.80F) became the first import to take out the Matriarch Stakes with the classy mare relishing a drop in grade off a lead-up fourth in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes to take out the Group 2 on the quick back-up as the deserving favourite.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Odds

The season’s top Matriarch Stakes 2023 betting odds and Flemington market links to the Stakes Day support act will be available below the week of the race so stay tuned for the top prices on the spring mares.

Matriarch Stakes Race Facts

• Date: Saturday November 11, 2023
• Track: Flemington Racecourse
• Distance: 2000m
• Conditions: 4YO&Up Mares – Set Weights + Penalties
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1995

Matriarch Stakes Betting

While not as popular as the Group 1 odds on offer on Champions Stakes Day, Matriarch Stakes betting still attracts plenty of interest each Cup Carnival and opens the Wednesday before the race when the field of mares is released by Racing Victoria.

Mares that have previous Group 1 spring racing experience often dominate the Matriarch Stakes odds, especially those out of tougher lead-up races like the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) the Saturday before on Derby Day.

Atishu (5th in 2022) and Deny Knowledge (4th in 2023) are the latest Matriarch Stakes winners to come off a lead-up run in the Empire Rose Stakes.

Previous Flemington race experience and proven form over 2000m also has mares kept safe in Matriarch Stakes betting by the bookies each season.

Atishu ($2.50 in 2022) and Deny Knowledge ($3.80 in 2023) are the latest Matriarch Stakes favourites to salute.

Matriarch Stakes Tips

Matriarch Stakes tips to take to the bookmakers during the Melbourne Cup Carnival include backing mares with previous winning form over the distance (2000m) and at the Flemington track, looking at runners coming off a top three effort in similar class and the any recent Group 1 performers dropping back in class.

The set weights plus penalties conditions of the race ensure that the classier mares usually reign supreme so favourites make for a good Matriarch Stakes betting tip.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Matriarch Stakes 2023 tips and Flemington racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the mares to back and sack in the Matriarch Stakes betting markets this spring.

• To Win: #8 Pearl Of Alsace ($5 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Open market for the Matriarch and at time of publish this New Zealand-trained daughter of Tavistock is narrow favourite. Think she can win based on her solid lead-up runs and the good strike-rate of the Kiwi raiders with the form from across the Tasman stacking up down under this spring. She has only had one run over the distance when third in a Group 1 back home last time out. Think she’ll handle it with plenty of room at Flemington. Mid-field draw and James McDonald in the saddle. She has won six from nine to date and finished out of the money just once. The one to beat.

Matriarch Stakes Field

The Matriarch Stakes race field attracts a line-up of classy mares every spring, the majority of which are using it as a final chance to secure a Group win for the season before turning out for a spell.

Matriarch Stakes runners come via a number of different lead-up runs. In 2015 Lucia Valentina came off a run in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and won the following autumn’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in Sydney.

Matriarch Stakes winner Lucia Valentina (2015) went on to win a Group 1 in Sydney the following autumn. Photo Credit: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Another more traditional lead-up into the Matriarch Stakes field for mares is the Group 3 Tesio Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day.

The last mare to complete the Tesio Stakes – Matriarch Stakes double was Suavito (2014) who also went on to win the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) the following autumn. In 2017 the Matriarch Stakes winner Savapinski improved on a lead-up second in the Tesio Stakes.

Mares that are not heading to the paddock may back-up in the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes (1800m) a week later at Sandown, a race the 2015 Matriarch Stakes third place-getter Casino Dancer won on the quick back-up. In 2013 the Matriarch Stakes runner-up Queenstown ran third in the Group 2 Sandown Classic (2400m) a week later when the race ran at Caulfield.

Matriarch Stakes nominations close the Monday before Champions Stakes Day runs on the Saturday and the final field and barriers are out on the Wednesday.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Field

The official Matriarch Stakes 2023 Final Field & Barriers are announced on the Wednesday leading-up to Champions Stakes Day and will be published in full below once released so stay tuned to see what mares make the line-up in the lucrative Group 2 showdown.

The Matriarch Stakes 2023 final field features a smart line-up of in-form mares including Shaun Ritchie’s classy Kiwi raider Pearl Of Alsace, Deny Knowledge coming off a Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes fourth here on Derby Day, and the Chris Waller-trained Thalassophile.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Nominations

The early Matriarch Stakes 2023 Nominations close on the Monday ahead of the race – Melbourne Cup eve – and will be available below once confirmed by Racing Victoria.

Matriarch Stakes Form Guide

The Matriarch Stakes form guide provides punters with all the crucial information and statistics from the jockeys, trainers and barriers to the track / distance records of all the mares in the field.

In recent years the Matriarch Stakes form has gone on to hold-up in tougher races the following autumn with plenty of winners taking out a Group 1 race in Melbourne early the next year.

The 2022 Matriarch Stakes winner Atishu franked the form the following autumn with a Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) win in Sydney.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Form Guide

A link to the comprehensive Matriarch Stakes 2023 Form Guide will be provided below the week of the race so stay tuned for all the facts / stats you need to place a winning wager on the Matriarch Stakes field this spring.

Matriarch Stakes Results

The Matriarch Stakes race results have been a mix between single and double-figure winners over the past decade, but the majority came off a top three run in Melbourne leading up to the Group 2.

Notable recent Matriarch Stakes winners include Lucia Valentina (2015), Suavito (2014), and Purple (2009).

Past Matriarch Stakes Winners

Recent Matriarch Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.