Northerly Stakes 2023

The Kingston Town Classic was renamed the Northerly Stakes ahead of the 2022 edition

The Kingston Town Classic – currently run as the Northerly Stakes – is the third and final Group 1 race contested at Western Australia’s Ascot Racecourse during the annual Perth Summer Racing Carnival.

2022 Northerly Stakes winner Amelia’s Jewel (pictured at Flemington). Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

In Sydney on the same date Randwick hosts the $2 million Group 2 The Ingham (1600m) for the summer milers.

Run two weeks after the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and a week following the sprinters doing battle in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m), the weight-for-age Kingston Town Classic takes place on a Saturday in early December and is contested over 1800m.

Offering $1.5 million in prize money as of 2022, it is the traditional target for graduates of the Railway Stakes and the last horse to complete the double in the same season was Sniper’s Bullet (2009).

In 2012 the previous year’s Railway Stakes winner Luckgray (2011) won the Kingston Town Classic. More recently, the 2018 Railway Stakes champ Galaxy Star backed-up with a third in the Kingston Town Classic trifecta next start. In 2021 the Railway Stakes winner Western Empire started odds-on at $1.20 in the Kingston Town Classic only to run second to his stablemate Regal Power in a shock loss.

When run as the Kingston Town Classic, the race was named after Australian Racing Hall of Fame racehorse Kingston Town who was a triple Cox Plate winner (1980-82) among other accolades.

In 2022 it was renamed the Northerly Stakes in honour of Australia’s premiere middle-distance racehorse in the early 2000s, Northerly, who won the 2000 Railway Stakes in Perth. Northerly would go on to win a plethora of other Group 1 features in Australia over his star career including the Australian Cup (2001, 2003), Cox Plate (2001, 2002), and Caulfield Cup (2002).

The old race formerly known as the Northerly Stakes held at Ascot in Perth during October is now named the Group 3 Eurythmic Stakes (1400m) and takes place on the same date as Melbourne’s Caulfield Cup race.

As of 2022 Perth’s premier racing carnival will continue on with the running of the Group 3 $1.5 million The Gold Rush (1400m) the weekend after the Northerly Stakes at Ascot.

The latest edition of the Northerly Stakes ran on Saturday December 9, 2023 and saw Dom To Shoot ($21) post a narrow upset defeating the favourite Zaaki ($2.50F) in a tight quinella. 

2023 Northerly Stakes Results

The full Northerly Stakes 2023 Results & Finishing Order – formerly known as the Kingston Town Classic Stakes up until 2022 – will be available below after the Group 1 is run and won on Saturday December 9, 2023.

• 1st: #5 Dom To Shoot
• 2nd: #1 Zaaki
• 3rd: #15 Zipaway

The Sean & Jake Casey-trained Shooting  To Win six-year-old, Dom To Shoot ($21), improved on his third in the Group 1 Railway Stakes to charge home over the final 100m to run down and deny the favourite Zaaki success right on the line in a final stride thriller in the 2023 Northerly Stakes results.

2023 Northerly Stakes Odds

The season’s top Northerly Stakes 2023 odds and Perth Group 1 betting market links will be provided below so stay tuned for access to the best summer prices.

Northerly Stakes Race Info

• Former Race Name: Kingston Town Classic
• Date: Saturday December 9, 2023
• Track: Ascot Racecourse
• Distance: 1800m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $1.5 million
• First Run: 1976

Northerly Stakes Betting

Kingston Town Classic odds – now known as the Northerly Stakes odds – are led by the best performing horses coming out of the Railway Stakes run over 200m shorter under handicap conditions a fortnight before. Proven weight-for-age horses with winning form over the 1800m at Ascot also feature highly in the Northerly Stakes betting markets each summer.

Last start winners have an excellent record in the race over the past decade, and a lead-up win in Perth in a race like the Railway Stakes usually ensures favouritism in the Northerly Stakes odds.

Favourites have a strong winning strike rate over the past decade or so with eight winners from 2007 – 2023. The three most recent Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes favourites to salute for the punters were all fillies with Perfect Reflection (2015), Arcadia Queen (2018) and Amelia’s Jewel ($2.90 in 2022). Another filly also won the Kingston Town Classic in 2019 with Kay Cee saluting at $11.

After Perfect Reflection however there were two roughies in Kingston Town Classic betting that won with Stratum Star (2016) and Pounamu (2017) both at double-figures.

There was also an upset in 2020 when $18 shot Truly Great beat home his short-priced stablemate Inspirational Girl ($2.10F), and again in 2021 with Regal Power ($14) beating the fellow Grant & Alana Williams-trained Western Empire ($1.20F).

There was another notable Northerly Stakes upset in 2023 with Dom To Shoot ($21) narrowly beating home the favourite Zaaki ($2.60) in the final stride. 

Northerly Stakes Tips

Kingston Town Classic tips – now known as the Northerly Stakes tips – include taking last start winners at the Ascot track, the in-form three-year-old gallopers of the season as the youngsters have a good record in the race and opting for form over barriers.

Other tips include following the favourite as the top fancies have plenty of recent wins, and avoiding any interstate visitors that haven’t had a previous Perth run as Stratum Star (2016) was the first Kingston Town Classic winner to come off a non-WA lead-up since Credit Account back in 1993.

2023 Northerly Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive Northerly Stakes 2023 betting tips and exotic summer racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the Perth locals and interstate raiders to get behind this season.

• To Win: #11 Alsephina ($7.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Going for value in the Northerly Stakes and have Alsephina on top to finally break through with a win after a string of frustrating seconds this prep. The local Grant & Alana Williams-trained Star Turn mare is from the right stable to win a Perth Group 1. The bonny five-year-old has been second in all three runs this time in in key Northerly Stakes lead-up races. At her latest a fortnight back she was runner-up a length off Bustler here with 53kg in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m). William Pike stays on from a favourable barrier six draw and, even with more weight, she looks well suited with previous winning form over the 1800m distance.

Northerly Stakes Field

The Northerly Stakes race field attracts the season’s best milers – stayers with the line-up mainly attracting locally trained Perth gallopers. The Railway Stakes over the mile at the same track two weeks earlier is the key lead-up race into the Northerly Stakes field and provides the majority of runners in the latter.

Upset Kingston Town Classic winner Stratum Star (2016) was the first champ of the Perth Group 1 to come off a non-Ascot lead-up race since 1993. Photo Credit: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The latest interstate raiders to beat the locals home for the Kingston Town Classic win were the Chris Waller-trained Moriarty (2014) and the Darren Weir-trained Stratum Star (2016).

The Northerly Stakes field has a capacity of 16 starters and was run at capacity in 2015 when Perfect Reflection became the first three-year-old filly in history to win.

Three years later Arcadia Queen became the second Kingston Town Classic winning filly to salute beating 13 rivals in the million dollar feature.

In 2019 the Kingston Town Classic field again ran at the full 16 starters when Playing God filly Kay Cee became the third filly in history to win.

Fifteen runners faced off in the 2022 Northerly Stakes field with an early scratching from the event, which was subsequently won by the well-backed filly Amelia’s Jewel.

There was a capacity Northerly Stakes field of 16 in 2023 when the WA-trained Dom To Shoot scored an upset. 

The smallest field for the race in the past 30 plus years was 10 starters when Old Nick overcame the outside barrier to win in 1998.

Northerly Stakes nominations close over a month before the race in late October before the final field of acceptances is released the Monday of race week.

2023 Northerly Stakes Field

The official Northerly Stakes 2023 Final Field is announced by Perth Racing the Monday leading-up to the race and will be available in full below as soon as released so stay tuned to see what gallopers make the starting line-up in the final Group 1 race of the year in Australia.

The Northerly Stakes 2023 final field features a class line-up of local and interstate hopefuls including the Annabel Neasham-trained four-time Group 1 winner Zaaki and Neville Parnham’s Group 2 WA Guineas winning Playing God three-year-old Zipaway.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes barrier draw took place on Tuesday evening with Zaaki drawing out in gate 10 and the Railway Stakes champ Bustler chasing the double from barrier five.

2023 Northerly Stakes Nominations

The early Northerly Stakes 2023 nominations are taken around a month before Northerly Stakes Day in early December, the full entries to be released below.

The 2023 Northerly Stakes nominations attracted a bumper 106 hopefuls led in all-in betting by Group 1 winner Tuvalu coming off some big runs in the Melbourne majors over the spring and lightly-raced three-year-old Cosmic Crusader.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Northerly Stakes Form Guide

The Kingston Town Classic form guide – now known as the Northerly Stakes form guide – details all the crucial information for punters like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

History shows an even spread of winners from both inside and wider barrier draws, so doing the Northerly Stakes form on the lead-up runs and track / distance records of the horses over their gate is important.

Three-year-olds have a good record in the race with seven wins in the past decade, including three fillies with Perfect Reflection (2015), Arcadia Queen (2018), Kay Cee (2019) and Amelia’s Jewel (2022) who won from barrier one.

The Railway Stakes is the best guide and so looking for horses coming off a run in this mile lead-up is also important.

The 2022 Northerly Stakes form was franked with the winner Amelia’s Jewel running second in the following April’s inaugural edition of the $4 million The Quokka before two Group 2 victories in Melbourne in the spring of 2023.

Northerly Stakes Form Facts

• The Railway Stakes has produced more Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes winners than any other lead-ups.
• A final run at Ascot is the key to picking the Northerly Stakes winner with just one horse since 1993 having come off a lead-up outside of WA.
• Three-year-olds boast six wins – including four by fillies – in the Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes results from 2010 – 2023 so in-form youngsters make a good tip.
• Favourites in Kingston Town Classic betting saluted seven times from 2008 – 2023.

2023 Northerly Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Northerly Stakes 2023 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes Results

The Kingston Town Classic results have seen plenty of recent upsets including Playing God ($21 in 2011) who also saluted as the punters’ pick the previous year, Stratum Star ($12 in 2016), the shock local winner Pounamu ($21 in 2017), the filly Kay Cee ($11 in 2019), Truly Great ($18 in 2020), former All-Star Mile champion Regal Power ($14 in 2021), and Dom To Shoot ($21 in 2023). 

Other notable recent Kingston Town Classic winners include Luckygray (2012), Niconero (2006 and 2008), and Old Comrade (2000-01).

From 2022 onwards the winning horses in this race are known as the Northerly Stakes winners with the favourite filly Amelia’s Jewel the first to win under the event’s new name.

Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes Winners

Recent Kingston Town Classic and Northerly Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.