2010 William Reid Stakes

The William Reid Stakes is a 1200 metre weight-for-age race run by the Moonee Valley Racing Club. It is normally held in February and is the feature autumn sprint race for the Club.

Race Type: Group 1, Open WFA
Distance: 1200m
Track: Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria
Date: Friday 18 Feb 2011 night meeting

William Reid Stakes Racing Odds – Click Here

The William Reid Stakes was first run in 1925 and was named after banker and racehorse owner William Reid who owned a number of prominent racehorses in the early 1900’s including Uncle Sam who won two Caulfield Cups (1912 and 1914) and ran third in the 1912 Melbourne Cup.

The race has always been at 6 furlongs which became 1200 metres in 1973 when Australia adopted metric distances, apart from 1971 when it was run over 5 furlongs. The inaugural winner in 1925 was The Night Patrol who won the next year too and several horses have won it more than once. The most famous multiple winner is Manikato who won the race a record five times in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.

In 1994 and 1995 the name of the race was changed to the Australian Made Stakes and then in 1996 it was changed again to the Australia Stakes until it reverted back to being called the William Reid Stakes in 2010, and from 2010 the Group 2 Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley in January became known as the Australia Stakes.

Traditional lead-up races are the Group 1 Lightning Stakes over 1000 metres or the Group 3 Rubiton Stakes over 1100 metres. Only a handful of horses have managed to win the Moonee Valley double of the Manikato Stakes in the spring and the William Reid Stakes in the autumn, both over 1200 metres. They include Miss Andretti and Manikato.  The race has been conducted at a night meeting several times and the first overseas horse to win it was Cape Of Good Hope in 2005.

Past winners of the William Reid Stakes: