The Hunter 2023

The Hunter is one of the newer feature races announced by Racing NSW that debuted in 2019 making the wider Sydney Spring Racing Carnival the country’s richest racing festival with close to $60 million in prize money on offer over six weeks.

2021 The Hunter winner Lost And Running. Photo: Steve Hart.

Built around the running of the world’s richest turf race – the now $20 million The Everest in October – are a host of recently added Special Condition races giving Sydney punters plenty to stick around for as Melbourne host their Cup Carnival.

After a host of majors running at Randwick and Rosehill, the spring racing action in Sydney moves further out to Newcastle Racecourse for The Hunter in mid to late November.

One of the growing number of seven-figure Sydney spring races, The Hunter offers $1 million in total prize money and the quality handicap runs over 1300m.

It is accompanied on the breakthrough stand-alone Newcastle metropolitan meeting on The Hunter Day by the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m), previously held in September on Newcastle Cup Day.

The Hunter at Newcastle’s Broadmeadow track along with the proceeding $1 million The Gong (1600m) a week later at Kembla Grange in Wollongong are the richest Sydney races held outside the city’s two major race tracks.

There is a possible progression for horses that line-up in The Everest field to back-up in The Hunter putting the spotlight on racing in Newcastle after the bigger spring races of the carnival and allowing NSW to retain the top-tier sprinters for a few more weeks post-Everest.

Lost And Running (4th in 2021) is the latest The Everest graduate to win The Hunter having also run second in that year’s Winners Stakes.

One of the early lead-up races for female gallopers targeting The Hunter is August’s Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) run at Randwick, a double completed in 2020 by Sweet Deal.

The latest edition of The Hunter took place at Newcastle Racecourse on Saturday November 18, 2023 and was won in dominant fashion by the Joe Pride-trained Coal Crusher ($4.80) in track record time. 

2023 The Hunter Results

The official The Hunter 2023 Results & Finishing Order will be published below as soon as the race is run and won on Saturday November 18, 2023.

2023 The Hunter winner Coal Crusher was dominant in a front running performance. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #6 Coal Crusher
• 2nd: #3 King Of Sparta
• 3rd: #12 Rocketing By

Joe Pride’s smart six-year-old Coal Crusher ($4.80) was ridden in the lead by Tyler Schiller and ran his rivals ragged improving on a lead-up fourth in the $3 million Winners Stakes to take out Newcastle’s The Hunter 2023 results.

2023 The Hunter Odds

The Hunter Info

• Date: Saturday November 18, 2023
• Track: Newcastle Racecourse
• Distance: 1300m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap
• Status: Special Condition
• Prize Money: $1 million
• First Run: 2019

The Hunter Betting

Betting on The Hunter race heats up in late October as the $1 million race approaches and the horses targeting the race come forward.

The Hunter betting firms on horses that run well at the track earlier in the season in the Group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m) in September’s Newcastle Cup Day.

Any past Group 1 performers and gallopers that ran well in the $1 million Winners Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on the Saturday prior to the Melbourne Cup are also likely to be installed at shorter The Hunter betting odds. Lost And Running (2nd in 2021) is the latest The Hunter winner to come off a run in the Winners Stakes.

In the inaugural edition of the race, favourite backers were in luck with the top fancy in The Hunter betting Savatiano ($4.60) saluting in 2019.

There was an upset the following year with Newcastle specialist Sweet Deal ($10 in 2020) winning to make it back-to-back The Hunter victories for the mares.

Lost And Running ($2.50 in 2021) and Vilana ($4.80 in 2022) are the latest The Hunter favourites to salute for the punters.

The Hunter Field

The Hunter race field attracts a quality line-up of both local and visiting gallopers with the 1300m distance open to attracting both sprinters as well as middle-distance horses.

There are a host of possible lead-up races for gallopers heading into The Hunter field including Randwick’s Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) on Spring Champion Stakes Day. For NSW country-trained horses, the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) could be a potential target on The Everest Day for a number of The Hunter horses.

The inaugural The Hunter winner Savatiano came off an unplaced run in  the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington over the Melbourne Cup Carnival before relishing a drop in grade to win the lucrative feature.

In 2023 The Hunter winner Coal Crusher came via a lead-up win in Rosehill’s $3 million Winners Stakes.

Horses out of The Hunter field may also opt to back-up the following Saturday and drop in distance for a shot at the $300,000 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange.

2023 The Hunter Field

The official The Hunter 2023 Field & Barriers are set for release on the Wednesday of race week and will be listed below once final acceptances close.

2023 The Hunter Nominations

Early The Hunter 2023 nominations are open until 11am (local time) on the Monday of race week with the full nominees to be detailed right here as soon as announced by the Newcastle Jockey Club.

The Hunter Tips

Top The Hunter racing tips include looking for in-form local hopes with a top Newcastle race record and to get behind any Group race graduates out of the earlier Sydney Spring Racing Carnival features.

Watching for any country horses out of The Kosciuszko who continue onto The Hunter is another good tip as is watching for horses with a strong record over the 1200m – 1400m distance.

Any mares coming off a run in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes are also a nice tip after the success of Savatiano in 2019.

2023 The Hunter Tips

Our insider Ladbrokes’ The Hunter 2023 tips and Newcastle spring racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so bookmark this page for the horses to get behind in the new $1 million race this November.

• To Win: TBD

The Hunter Form

The Hunter form guide provides all the race info needed to place a bet including the saddlecloth numbers, jockeys, trainers, lead-up form and track / distance stats on the horses in the field.

The Hunter form from 2020 was franked the following winter with the winner Sweet Deal running third in Brisbane’s Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara in 2021.

2023 The Hunter Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive The Hunter 2023 form guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

The Hunter Results

The Hunter results listing all past The Hunter winners from the race’s inauguration in 2019 to the present are detailed in the below table.

The Hunter race record belongs to Coal Crusher who set a track record in 2023 winning in 1 minute 15.49 seconds.

The Hunter Winners