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Recognised as one of the biggest races during the Perth Summer Racing Carnival, the 2021 Railway Stakes is a Group 1 mile race worth $1 million in prize money. Open to all horses aged three years and older, the Railway Stakes takes place at Perth’s Ascot Racecourse in mid-late November.

Many of the better horses come from the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, while locally in Perth a key lead-up race into the Railway Stakes field is the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) held over 200m shorter a fortnight prior that last produced a winner in Great Shot (2nd in 2017).

Due to the hot conditions of Western Australia, the race is more suited to local horses accustomed to the heat of the area. Many Railway Stakes contenders do go on to compete in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) held two weeks later. Sniper’s Bullet (2009) was the last horse to complete the Railway Stakes – Kingston Town Classic double.

More recently the 2020 Railway Stakes winner Inspirational Girl finished a next-up second in the Kingston Town Classic that summer.

The Railway Stakes runs a week before the $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m), which is Perth’s premier sprint race.

The 2021 Railway Stakes ran at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday November 20, 2021 and was domianted by the odds-on favourite Western Empire ($1.60F). 

Railway Stakes 2021
Date:	Saturday November 20, 2021
Track:	Ascot Racecourse
Distance:	1600m
Race Type:	3YO+ Open Handicap
Status:	Group 1
Prize money:	$1,000,000

2021 Railway Stakes Results

• 1st: #16 Western Empire ($1.60F)
• 2nd: #6 Comfort Me
• 3rd: #10 Kissonallforcheeks

The Grant & Alana Williams-trained four-year-old Western Empire ($1.60F) was so dominant second-up, the exciting galloper backing-up off an Asian Beau Stakes victory to score of Perth racing history’s best wins in the Railway Stakes 2021 results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	16	WESTERN EMPIRE (NZ)	Grant & Alana Williams	William Pike		3	53kg		$1.60F
	2	6	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford	Peter Knuckey	3.98L	15	53kg		$31
	3	10	KISSONALLFORCHEEKS	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	5.59L	1	53kg		$7
	4	12	NOTORIOUS ONE	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Shaun O’Donnell	6.37L	4	53kg		$13
	5	5	TOO CLOSE THE SUN	Lindsey Smith	Joseph Azzopardi	6.75L	2	55kg		$31
	6	4	DANCE MUSIC	Simon A Miller	Brad Parnham	7.25L	14	56kg		$61
	7	2	MASSIMO	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Clint Johnston-Porter	8.07L	10	57.5kg		$18
	8	14	SON OF BACCHUS	Rhys Radford	Jason Whiting	8.31L	7	53kg		$61
	9	1	VALOUR ROAD	Simon A Miller	Brad Rawiller	8.84L	16	58kg		$31
	10	13	PLATOON	Neville Parnham	Jason Brown	9.06L	13	53kg		$61
	11	7	DIG DEEP	Daniel & Ben Pearce	Patrick Carbery	9.96L	6	53kg		$41
	12	8	KAPTAIN KAOS	Michael Grantham	Ms Lucy Warwick	10.74L	9	53kg		$21
	13	15	TELLEM WE’RE COMIN	Daniel Morton	Troy Turner	11.29L	12	53kg		$51
	14	11	NAUGHTY BY NATURE	Jason Miller	Jordan Turner	11.83L	11	53kg		$101
	15	9	KAY CEE	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	13.91L	5	53kg		$26
	16	3	THE VELVET KING	Darren McAuliffe	Ms Kyra Yuill	15.55L	8	56.5kg		$41
		17e	MEDIA BARON	David Harrison	Ms Jade McNaught		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2021 Railway Stakes Betting Odds

The latest Railway Stakes odds 2021 on the field of hopeful milers from Perth and the eastern states will be listed below complete with links to Ladbrokes.com.au for you to lock in your Railway Stakes Betting Tips at the best summer racing odds.

Inspirational Girl ($2.60 in 2020) followed by Western Empire ($1.60 in 2021) are the latest favourites in Railway Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

2021 Railway Stakes Field

The official Railway Stakes Final Field is announced by Perth Racing on the Monday of race week followed by the full Railway Stakes Barrier Draw on the Tuesday and will be published in full below once released.

A capacity 2021 Railway Stakes field faces off in Perth on Saturday with markets dominated by the odds-on Grant & Alana Williams-trained favourite Western Empire in barrier three with William Pike on the 53kg light-weight who is out to extend his winning streak to six straight.

Click here to read more on the key horses in the Railway Stakes 2021 field and betting market. 

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	7x4621x332	VALOUR ROAD	Simon A Miller	Brad Rawiller	17	58kg		111
2	0x6094x221	MASSIMO	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Clint Johnston-Porter	11	57.5kg		110
3	3x70x158x5	THE VELVET KING	Darren McAuliffe	Ms Kyra Yuill	9	56.5kg		108
4	11x3323x13	DANCE MUSIC	Simon A Miller	Brad Parnham	15	56kg		107
5	4x750x31x8	TOO CLOSE THE SUN	Lindsey Smith	Joseph Azzopardi	2	55kg		105
6	5x2117x411	COMFORT ME	Rhys Radford	Peter Knuckey	16	53kg		90
7	5013475×25	DIG DEEP	Daniel & Ben Pearce	Patrick Carbery	7	53kg		97
8	113×111314	KAPTAIN KAOS	Michael Grantham	Ms Lucy Warwick	10	53kg		95
9	100x096x97	KAY CEE	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	6	53kg		101
10	01121×2161	KISSONALLFORCHEEKS	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	1	53kg		94
11	22x4211x55	NAUGHTY BY NATURE	Jason Miller	Jordan Turner	12	53kg		97
12	165×131122	NOTORIOUS ONE	Chris & Michael Gangemi	Shaun O’Donnell	4	53kg		96
13	130284×646	PLATOON	Neville Parnham	Jason Brown	14	53kg		99
14	38x17x4132	SON OF BACCHUS	Rhys Radford	Jason Whiting	8	53kg		89
15	576x221P36	TELLEM WE’RE COMIN	Daniel Morton	Troy Turner	13	53kg		97
16	43131111×1	WESTERN EMPIRE (NZ)	Grant & Alana Williams	William Pike	3	53kg		100
17e	127×474478	MEDIA BARON	David Harrison	Ms Jade McNaught	5	53kg		88

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2021 Railway Stakes Nominations

The Railway Stakes nominations & weights close on a Tuesday in mid-October over a month out from the opening Group 1 event of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival and will be published below once announced.

The 2021 Railway Stakes nominations have attracted over 60 hopefuls including five for last year’s winning trainers Grant & Alana Williams who chase a fourth straight victory in the race led by the ultra-consistent Western Empire.

Railway Stakes History

Inaugurated in 1894 when Wandering Willie took the title, the Railway Stakes was won by Cox Plate winner Better Loosen Up in 1990 and Caulfield Cup winner Northerly in 2000.

There have only been three horses which have managed to win the race more than once and they are Tudor Mak in 1968-69, Miss Muffet in 1987-88 and Luckygray in 2011 and 2013. Throughout the race’s history there have been several distance changes from the original 12 furlongs. In 1926 the Stakes became an 8 furlong race until 1974 when it was decreased to 1500m. In 1984 it was finally changed back to a 1600m race and has remained so to this day.

The Railway Stakes has been run and won by plenty of nice horses from both local and interstate stables including the Perth-trained Regal Power (2019) who went on to win the following year’s $5 million All-Star Mile in Melbourne.

In 2020 jockey William Pike and trainers Grant & Alana Williams won the Railway Stakes for the third straight year with the success of race favourite Inspirational Girl before making it four straight in 2021 with odds-on favourite Western Empire.

Railway Stakes Winners

Below are the results for the Group 1 Railway Stakes since 2000.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2021 Railway Stakes	1st	Western Empire	1 minute 34.38 seconds
	2nd	Comfort Me
	3rd	Kissonallforcheeks
2020 Railway Stakes	1st	Inspirational Girl	1 minute 33.79 seconds
	2nd	Too Close The Sun
	3rd	Uni Time
2019 Railway Stakes	1st	Regal Power	1 minute 35.89 seconds
	2nd	Best Of Days
	3rd	Platoon
2018 Railway Stakes	1st	Galaxy Star	1 minute 34.08 seconds
	2nd	Gatting
	3rd	Material Man
2017 Railway Stakes	1st	Great Shot	1 minute 35.81 seconds
	2nd	Black Heart Bart
	3rd	Tom Melbourne
2016 Railway Stakes	1st	Scales Of Justice	1 minute 36.13 seconds
	2nd	Good Project
	3rd	Perfect Reflection
2015 Railway Stakes	1st	Good Project	1 minute 34.52 seconds
	2nd	Messene
	3rd	Balmont Girl
2014 Railway Stakes	1st	Elite Belle	1 minute 35.59 seconds
	2nd	Balmont Girl
	3rd	Moriarty
2013 Railway Stakes	1st	Luckygray	1 minute 36.75 seconds
	2nd	Platinum Rocker
	3rd	Fire Up Fifi
2012 Railway Stakes	1st	Mr Moet	1 minute 35.89 seconds
	2nd	Luckygray
	3rd	Rosie Rocket
2011 Railway Stakes	1st	Luckygray	1 minute 34.88 seconds
	2nd	He’s Remarkable
	3rd	Westriver Kevydonn
2010 Railway Stakes	1st	Gathering	1 minute 35.1 seconds
	2nd	Famous Roman
	3rd	Megatic
2009 Railway Stakes	1st	Sniper’s Bullet	1 minute 34.25 seconds
	2nd	Tarzi
	3rd	Colour Correct
2008 Railway Stakes	1st	Gilded Venom	1 minute 34.5 seconds
	2nd	Sniper’s Bullet
	3rd	Annenkov
2007 Railway Stakes	1st	El Presidente	1 minute 34.7 seconds
	2nd	Hartley’s Dream
	3rd	Mansion House
2006 Railway Stakes	1st	Belle Bizarre	1 minute 34.4 seconds
	2nd	Confectioner
	3rd	Niconero
2005 Railway Stakes	1st	Covertly	1 minute 34.8 seconds
	2nd	Early Express
	3rd	Blinded
2004 Railway Stakes	1st	Modem	1 minute 35.9 seconds
	2nd	Mr Sandgroper
	3rd	Blinded
2003 Railway Stakes	1st	Hardrada	1 minute 35.7 seconds
	2nd	Early Express
	3rd	Mapperholic
2002 Railway Stakes	1st	Old Fashion	1 minute 35.6 seconds
	2nd	Hardrada
	3rd	Corporate Bruce
2001 Railway Stakes	1st	Old Comrade	1 minute 37.6 seconds
	2nd	Mr Tanzania
	3rd	Finito
2000 Railway Stakes	1st	Northerly	1 minute 35.8 seconds
	2nd	Old Comrade
	3rd	Lizzy Long Legs