The Canterbury Stakes is a Group 1 thoroughbred race held every autumn in Sydney at Randwick Racecourse.  Run over 1300 metres and worth a total of $500,000 in prizemoney, this event has a long history in Sydney that stretches back to 1929.  The Canterbury Stakes is for horses three years old and up, and is run alongside the Group 1 Randwick Guineas.

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The Canterbury Stakes started its life over 6 furlongs on 1929, a distance roughly the equivalent of 1200 metres in the modern measurement.  It officially became a 1200 metre event in 1973, growing to a 1300 metre event in 2004.  The Canterbury Stakes was run over 1550 metres in 2008, before moving back to 1300 metres in 2009.

This event only recently received Group 1 status in 2013, after being a Group 2 race between 1979 and 2012 and a Principal race before that.  The Canterbury Stakes has also been through a number of venue changes over the years, run at Canterbury between 1929 and 1996, Rosehill between 1997 and 1999, Canterbury again between 2000 and 2003, Rosehill again between 2004 and 2007, Canterbury in 2008, and Rosehill for a third time from 2009 onwards.

The Canterbury Stakes has been won by a number of notable horses over the years, including inaugural winner  Amounis in 1929, Chatahm in 1933, Shannon in 1947, Baguette in 1971, Manikato in 1982, Emancipation in 1983, Placid Ark in 1987, and All Our Mob in 1997.  Pierro won the 2013 event ahead of More Joyous in second place and Solzhenitsyn in third.

Typically a good lead up race to the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, the Canterbury Stakes and George Ryder double was won by Pierro in 2013.  A few outstanding horses have also managed to win this event more than once, including San Domenico in 1950 and 1951, Sky High in 1961 and 1962, and More Joyous in 2011 and 2012.

In the news:

Six Group One winners – another who promises to be and a few who probably should be. It’s the formula for an intriguing Canterbury Stakes.

Headlined by the return of $20 million colt Zoustar, the race also boasts two of the country’s best mares in Appearance and Red Tracer.

Frontrunner Rain Affair and Speediness have five Group One placings between them, while three-year-old Not Listenin’tome adds another dimension as the untapped talent.

It is little wonder trainer Chris Waller is cautious about the winning prospects of Zoustar in the Randwick feature.

“He’s first-up over 1300 metres and it’s going to be hard,” Waller said.

“I haven’t wanted to flatten him on the training tracks, I want to have a horse for the T J Smith.

“It’s a juggling act. I’m banking on the horse’s ability.”

Zoustar has been defeated twice in eight starts, one of those coming at his first run in an otherwise dominant spring campaign.

Waller is mindful of that statistic heading into Saturday, and that the colt meets older horses for the first time.

Bookmakers believe the three-year-olds can overcome their seasoned rivals with Zoustar $2.75 in early markets ahead of Not Listenin’tome at $3.80.

The favourite’s stablemate My Kingdom Of Fife is the outsider at $126 as he prepares to race for the first time in almost 2-1/2 years.

Waller compares him to Rangirangdoo and Metal Bender who made successful comebacks for the stable after long injury-enforced layoffs.

However, he doesn’t expect that success to come on Saturday.

“Second-up in the George Ryder I expect him to finish about midfield and third up he should be ready to run a really good race,” Waller said.

The trainer credited owner Richard Pegum’s team for resurrecting My Kingdom Of Fife’s career.

“It’s been a team effort and it’s taken plenty of time,” he said.

“Mr Pegum’s farm has done a tremendous job with him over a long period. They never let him get big and heavy which was the most important thing.

“They’ve sent me to him in great condition and with a clean pair of legs.”