The key support act on the Randwick Guineas Day card in Sydney on Saturday is the Canterbury Stakes 2017, a comprehensive form guide analysis and betting preview for the weight-for-age Group 1 found below.

Le Romain has a solid record in the wet heading into the 2017 Canterbury Stakes on Saturday in Sydney. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

There are eight runners in the mix for this year’s $500,000 Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) with markets at Ladbrokes.com.au led by the Team Hawkes-trained five-time Group 1 winning sprinter Chautauqua ($2.90) in his distance test.

Drawn the rails, which might not be the best place to be on a mud track, is the $3.80 second elect in Canterbury Stakes betting Music Magnate who won the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) last winter over similar metres.

There could be value in this year’s markets however so below we have a look over the full Canterbury Stakes form guide, betting statistics and historical data to uncover the best bets.

2017 Canterbury Stakes Form Facts & Betting Stats

• Last year’s Canterbury Stakes winner was the John O’Shea-trained Holler (2016) who came off a fifth in the Autumn Stakes as a three-year-old, jumped from barrier 7 (of 7) and was ridden to victory by James McDonald
• John O’Shea (2-1-1-0) chases back-to-back Canterbury Stakes wins this weekend with #3 Hauraki ($10) and #8 Impending ($11)
• Gai Waterhouse with More Joyous (2011 & 2012) and Pierro (2013) was the last trainer to prepare successive Canterbury Stakes winners
• The other previous Canterbury Stakes winning trainers with a runner on the weekend are: John Hawkes (26-4-3-4) with #1 Chautauqua ($2.90) and the race’s most successful trainer Gai Waterhouse (23-7-4-3) with #7 Ugo Foscolo ($7.50)
• The only previous Canterbury Stakes winning jockey with a ride on Saturday is Kerrin McEvoy (6-1-1-1) on #4 Music Magnate ($3.80)
• Last year’s winning barrier (7) has produced six Canterbury Stakes winners (since 1983) and belongs to #8 Impending
• The most successful Canterbury Stakes barrier in that time with nine winners is gate six drawn this weekend by #2 Le Romain ($5)
• There has been no standout lead-up race into the Canterbury Stakes but two of the past four winners came off a last start victory
• The last start winners in the field this year are: #2 Le Romain (Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes, 1200m, Randwick, 13/02/2017), #4 Music Magnate (Group 2 Expressway Stakes, 1200m, Rosehill, 28/01/2017) and #7 Ugo Foscolo (Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas, 1600m, Riccarton NZ, 05/11/2016)
• Three-year-olds have won two of the past four editions of the race; #7 Ugo Foscolo and #8 Impending are the 3YOs in the mix this year
• Five-year-olds have won four times in the past decade – the most of any age group; the 4YOs in the race this year are #3 Hauraki and #4 Music Magnate
• Favourites have an outstanding record in the race including five wins in the past 10 years; #1 Chautauqua ($2.90) is the favourite in Canterbury Stakes betting 2017

• The highest Win Rate of the field belongs to #7 Ugo Foscolo (83%) followed by #4 Music Magnate (50%) and #1 Chautauqua (48%)
• The best Place Rate of the field belongs to #2 Le Romain (86%) and #4 Music Magnate (86%) followed by #1 Chautauqua (84%) and #7 Ugo Foscolo (83%)
• The horses with winning form at the Randwick track are: #2 Le Romain (7-3-3-0), #3 Hauraki (11-3-3-2), #1 Chautauqua (4-2-0-1), #4 Music Magnate (4-2-1-0) and #5 Japonisme (4-1-0-1)
• The runners with winning form over the 1300m distance are: #4 Music Magnate (2-1-1-0) and #6 Too Good To Refuse (6-1-1-0)
• The Canterbury Stakes will be run in the wet track and the horses with the best Heavy course records are: #2 Le Romain (2-1-1-0), #3 Hauraki (1-1-0-0), # Music Magnate (1-1-0-0), #5 Japonisme (3-1-0-0) and #7 Ugo Foscolo (2-1-0-0)

Stay tuned for our exclusive Canterbury Stakes 2017 betting tips, the full form guide found below courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost (T&Cs apply).