2026 Canterbury Stakes Results

Stay tuned for the official 2026 Canterbury Stakes results and finishing order at Randwick on Saturday March 7, 2026 and to see what horse gains a Doncaster Mile ballot exemption.

• 1st: No. 6 Joliestar ($2.25F)
• 2nd:  No. 8 Beiwacht
• 3rd: No. 7 Lady Shenandoah

Winning Margin: 0.59 lengths

Winning Time: 1:15.47

Joliestar ($2.25F) secured her fourth career Group 1 and made it back-to-back wins this prep with Chris Waller’s classy mare given a peach of a ride by James McDonald to surge into the clear inside the final 50m racing down stablemate Beiwacht to salute for the punters in the 2026 Canterbury Stakes results. The also Waller-trained Lady Shenandoah ran third in a stable trifecta. Joliestar will next race in the TJ Smith Stakes on April 4 before boarding a plane to chase international glory at Royal Ascot.

Click here for the full story.

Canterbury Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Canterbury Stakes 2026 Tips on the Randwick Guineas Day showdown this autumn.

To Win: No. 6 Joliestar

JOLIESTAR (4) is the one to beat in the 2026 Canterbury Stakes for mine, and she looks perfectly placed to add another Group 1 to her growing résumé at Randwick on Saturday. The triple elite-level winner returned in style first-up, producing a sharp late surge to claim the Group 2 Expressway Stakes and extend her strong Randwick record to 4 wins from 10 starts. Now second?up and rising to 1300m — the same trip she dominated in last year’s Kingsford-Smith Cup — she gets conditions to suit and maps to get every chance from the draw. With James McDonald sticking and her fitness improving, she’s poised to become the first mare since Savatiano in 2021 to complete the Expressway/Canterbury Stakes double. Joliestar is the clear top pick to take out the Canterbury Stakes.

Canterbury Stakes News

2026 Canterbury Stakes Winner Joliestar Secures 4th Group 1 Victory

• Joliestar Dominates 2026 Canterbury Stakes Field & Betting
• Joliestar Wins 2026 Expressway Stakes, Firms in Canterbury Stakes Betting
• 2025 Canterbury Stakes Results: Royal Patronage Scores Upset at $20
• 2025 Canterbury Stakes Field & Odds: Magic Time Favourite
• 2024 Canterbury Stakes Results: Lady Laguna Upsets Think About It, Espiona Third

The Canterbury Stakes is a 1300m middle distance sprinting event held at Randwick Racecourse over the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. Raced in early-mid March under weight-for-age conditions, the Canterbury Stakes offers $750,000 in prize money.

The Canterbury Stakes is one of two Group 1 races held at Royal Randwick on Randwick Guineas Day along with the Group 1 $1 million Randwick Guineas (1600m) for three-year-olds. There are a number of other Group status support races on the cards including the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) for the sprinters.

The Canterbury Stakes is an ideal lead-up race to the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) held a fortnight later at Rosehill Gardens, with the winner of the Canterbury Stakes exempt from the ballot for the George Ryder Stakes. The latest gallopers to complete the Canterbury Stakes – George Ryder Stakes double are Pierro (2013) and Forbidden Love (2022).

The 2021 Canterbury Stakes winner The Bostonian meanwhile went on to run second in that year’s George Ryder Stakes results, a feat repeated in 2024 by the Canterbury winning mare Lady Laguna.

The Canterbury Stakes winner is also exempt from that year’s Doncaster Mile and in 2022 after completing the Canterbury – George Ryder double, Forbidden Love ran fourth in that year’s Doncaster Mile results.

The 2022 Doncaster Mile form was further franked with the runner-up Lighthouse winning the Group 1 Coolmore Classic next start.

Horses may come into the Canterbury Stakes field via an earlier autumn run in a host of lead-up sprints including the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick in February or the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) for the three-year-olds. Appearance (2014) was the last horse to do the Apollo Stakes – Canterbury Stakes double.

The Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) in late January is another good lead-up into the Canterbury Stakes and Joliestar (2026) was the last to complete the Expressway / Canterbury Stakes double.

The 2021 Canterbury Stakes form was further franked with the third place-getter Masked Crusader winning Melbourne’s Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at The Valley next start and a second the run after in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick. He would also go on to run second to Nature Strip in that spring’s The Everest race.

The 2023 Canterbury Stakes form was franked with the runner-up, Imperatriz, going on to win her next five starts on the trot including Group 1 victories in the William Reid, Moir, Manikato, and Flemington’s Champions Stakes.

The upset 2025 Canterbury Stakes winner, Royal Patronage, franked the form with a second in that year’s Doncaster Mile results.

2026 Canterbury Stakes Betting

The latest Canterbury Stakes 2026 betting odds on the Group 1 Randwick feature will be open at Ladbrokes.com.au this autumn and also provided here at Races.com.au as soon as available.

Forbidden Love ($2.20 in 2022) and Joliestar ($2.25 in 2026) are the latest favourites in Canterbury Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

There was a notable upset in 2024 with Lady Laguna saluting at Canterbury Stakes odds of $11 when beaten the $2.35 favourite Think About It, and again in 2025 with Royal Patronage at $20.

Canterbury Stakes Field

2026 Canterbury Stakes Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2026 CANTERBURY STAKES FORM GUIDE

2026 Canterbury Stakes Nominations

The Canterbury Stakes nominations are the first indicator of the horses that will line-up in the Group 1 weight-for-age field on Randwick Guineas Day.

2026 Canterbury Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 03/03/2026

The Canterbury Stakes 2026 nominations attracted a smart line-up of WFA hopefuls led in all-in betting by Chris Waller’s three-time Group 1 winning mare Joliestar coming off a Group 2 Expressway Stakes win fresh.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2026 Canterbury Stakes Field

The Canterbury Stakes field attracts a line-up of the season’s best middle-distance sprinters and is announced on the Wednesday before Randwick Guineas Day each autumn.

The official 2026 Canterbury Stakes field and barriers will be published below the Wednesday of race week.

The Canterbury Stakes 2026 final field features a smart line-up of autumn sprinters including Chris Waller’s multiple Group 1 winning mare Joliestar coming off a win fresh in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2026 Canterbury Stakes field and betting markets.

Canterbury Stakes Barrier & Speedmap

1

Encap Backmarker

2

Nepotism Backmarker

3

Beiwacht Pace

4

Joliestar Midfield

5

Yorkshire Off Pace

6

Linebacker Midfield

7

Napoleonic Midfield

8

Gringotts Pace

9

Lady Shenandoah Midfield

10

Headley Grange Off Pace

Canterbury Stakes History

First won in 1929 by Amounis under jockey J. Munro, the Canterbury Stakes was originally a six-furlong (approx. 1200m) race until 1973 when it officially became a 1200m race. Thirty-one years later in 2004, the Canterbury Stakes became a 1300m event. However, it was temporarily increased to 1550m in 2008.

Since 1979, the Canterbury Stakes held Group 2 status and has been won in three consecutive years by a single horse. Between 1930 and 1932, Holdfast managed to reach the finish line first each year. The race’s double winners include San Domenico (1950-51), Sky High (1961-62), At Sea (1988-89), and More Joyous (2011-12). The most recent winner of the Canterbury Stakes / George Ryder Stakes double was Forbidden Love (2022).

For the 2013 edition of the race the Canterbury Stakes was upgraded to Group 1 level. The prize money for the race was also upgraded from $175,000 to $350,000, with the race currently offering $750,000 in prize money as of 2024.

The most successful jockey in the Canterbury Stakes is Darren Beadman with seven wins in 1988, 1989, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The 2018 Canterbury Stakes Results saw Happy Clapper set a new race record saluting in 1 minute 14.25 seconds. Just 12 months later, Trapeze Artist won the 2019 Canterbury Stakes in a new record time of 1 minute 14.19 seconds.

Joliestar (2026) was the last Canterbury Stakes winning mare.

Canterbury Stakes Previous Race Winners