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The Ethereal Stakes is a Group 3 race held in October on Caulfield Cup Day for VRC Oaks-bound fillies during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

Named in honour of the 2011 Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double winning mare Ethereal, the race is open only to three-year-old fillies and takes place at set weights plus penalties.

Offering $200,000 and contested over 2000m, the Ethereal Stakes is a traditional lead-up into the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) held the following month at Flemington during the coveted four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Pinot (2017) was the last filly to complete the Ethereal Stakes – VRC Oaks double, while the year before the Ethereal Stakes winner Eleonora (2016) ran third in the VRC Oaks (then Crown Oaks) next start.

The 2020 edition of the Ethereal Stakes ran on Saturday October 17, 2020 as part of a bumper Caulfield Cup Day program and was won by the Wakeful-bound Chica Fuerte.

Ethereal Stakes 2020
Date:	Saturday October 17, 2020
Track:	Caulfield Racecourse
Distance:	2000m
Race Type:	3YOs Fillies – Set Weights + Penalties
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$200,000

2020 Ethereal Stakes Results

• 1st: #2 Chica Fuerte
• 2nd: #10 Salto Angel
• 3rd: #12 Star Of Eden

Chica Fuerte ($5.50) led all-the-way thanks to a brilliant on-speed ride by jockey Ben Melham to dominate the 2020 Ethereal Stakes results on way to a Wakeful bid on Derby Day.

Click here to read more on the all-the-way Ethereal Stakes 2020 winner Chica Fuerte.

Colour	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	2	CHICA FUERTE	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Ben Melham		6	56kg		$5.50
	2	10	SALTO ANGEL (NZ)	Danny O’Brien	Damian Lane	1.75L	3	56kg		$19
	3	12	STAR OF EDEN	Michael Moroney	Billy Egan	1.95L	5	56kg		$31
	4	6	PENSATO	James Cummings	William Pike	2.7L	1	56kg		$11
	5	5	SILHOUETTE	James Cummings	John Allen	3.45L	4	56kg		$4F
	6	4	SUCCEED INDEED	Leon & Troy Corstens	Mark Zahra	3.75L	8	56kg		$4.40
	7	1	CAFE RIZU	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Craig Newitt	4.75L	16	56kg		$71
	8	3	STARELLE	Danny O’Brien	Damien Oliver	4.85L	9	56kg		$5
	9	16	MRS MURPHY (NZ)	Paul Rocke	Jake Noonan	4.95L	15	56kg		$201
	10	14	YATTON (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Jye McNeil	6.7L	12	56kg		$21
	11	7	ART GLASS	Grahame Begg	Craig Williams	8.2L	11	56kg		$61
	12	15	SWINDON LASS	Matthew Brown	Brian Higgins	9.45L	7	56kg		$151
	13	11	SELFLESS	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Michael Walker	13.2L	13	56kg		$31
	14	9	BLAZING LACE	Dan O’Sullivan	Luke Currie	14.95L	14	56kg		$101
	15	13	NORTHERN BLISS	Nigel Blackiston	Jamie Kah	15.45L	2	56kg		$101
	16	8	SHILAJIT (NZ)	Dan O’Sullivan	Michael Rodd	16.45L	10	56kg		$301

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2020 Ethereal Stakes Betting

Betting on the Ethereal Stakes 2020 opens the week of the race with all-in markets available at Ladbrokes.com.au as soon as the nominations are taken.

The latest Ethereal Stakes odds on the Oaks-bound fillies will be provided below as soon as released.

Verry Elleegant ($2.35 in 2018) was the last favourite in Ethereal Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

2020 Ethereal Stakes Field

The official Ethereal Stakes 2020 Field & Barriers are announced the Wednesday leading-up to the Caulfield Cup. The day the Ethereal Stakes final acceptances close is also host to three Group status races at Caulfield for Blue Sapphire Stakes Day.

The 2020 Ethereal Stakes final field features 16 Oaks-bound fillies led in betting by Starelle and Chica Fuerte who ran second and third in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes last time out.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	82×71180	CAFE RIZU	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Craig Newitt	16	56kg		66
2	32×123	CHICA FUERTE	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Ben Melham	6	56kg		72
3	2×552	STARELLE	Danny O’Brien	Damien Oliver	9	56kg		73
4	3×314	SUCCEED INDEED	Leon & Troy Corstens	Mark Zahra	8	56kg		70
5	4313×75	SILHOUETTE	James Cummings	John Allen	4	56kg		64
6	5x4x231	PENSATO	James Cummings	William Pike	1	56kg		66
7	48×001	ART GLASS	Grahame Begg	Craig Williams	11	56kg		61
8	79×10960	SHILAJIT (NZ)	Dan O’Sullivan	Michael Rodd	10	56kg		58
9	08×431799	BLAZING LACE	Dan O’Sullivan	Luke Currie	14	56kg		60
10	822	SALTO ANGEL (NZ)	Danny O’Brien	Damian Lane	3	56kg		63
11	10	SELFLESS	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Michael Walker	13	56kg		63
12	23	STAR OF EDEN	Michael Moroney	Billy Egan	5	56kg		62
13	4202	NORTHERN BLISS	Nigel Blackiston	Jamie Kah	2	56kg		57
14	344	YATTON (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Jye McNeil	12	56kg		61
15	565	SWINDON LASS	Matthew Brown	Brian Higgins	7	56kg		59
16	64	MRS MURPHY (NZ)	Paul Rocke	Jake Noonan	15	56kg		56

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Ethereal Stakes History

The Ethereal Stakes was first conducted in 2000 making it one of the newer editions to the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

The event has gone by many names due to sponsorship purposes including its inaugural title – the Foster’s Light Ice Handicap. Originally it was a handicap race, but it is now a set weights plus penalties feature.

The Ethereal Stakes became a key VRC Oaks lead-up when upgraded to Group 3 status in 2015. It has been won by many quality fillies including Set Square (2014), that year’s VRC Oaks winner Pinot (2017) and the Chris Waller-trained Verry Elleegant (2018) who – as of publish – has won a subsequent four Group 1 races.

Ethereal Stakes results since the upgrade to Group 3 status are listed below.

Ethereal Stakes Results

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2020 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Chica Fuerte	2 minutes 07.20 seconds
	2nd	Salto Angel
	3rd	Star Of Eden
2019 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Gamay	2 minutes 04.42 seconds
	2nd	Vegas Jewel
	3rd	Celestial Falls
2018 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Verry Ellegant	2 minutes 5.56 seconds
	2nd	Aristia
	3rd	Sizzleme
2017 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Pinot	2 minutes 2.71 seconds
	2nd	Rimraam
	3rd	Hiyaam
2016 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Eleonora	2 minutes 5.31 seconds
	2nd	Tiamo Grace
	3rd	Savvan
2015 Ethereal Stakes	1st	Dawnie Perfect	2 minutes 2.79 seconds
	2nd	Honesta
	3rd	Ambience