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The Group 3 Fred Best Classic is a 1400m event held annually in late May at Eagle Farm Racecourse. Held during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival on Kingsford Smith Cup Day the event can serves as a potential lead-up for three-year-olds heading towards the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) run back at the track and distance a fortnight later.

Run under set weight conditions, the Fred Best Classic is open only to three-year-olds and now offers a lucrative $300,000 in total prize money following a prize money boost ahead of the 2023 edition.

In 2020 COVID-19 saw a number of major changes to the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival including the Fred Best Classic taking place over 1350m at Doomben Racecourse as the key event at the meeting offering a reduced $125,000 in prize money.

The 2020 edition of the Fred Best Classic also offered a ballot exemption to the winner for the following week’s Stradbroke Handicap field, one of just two elite level races taking place during the carnival due to Coronavirus.

The 2022 Fred Best Classic form was franked with the winner Vilana going on to take out Sydney’s $1 million Silver Eagle and $1 million The Hunter race at Newcastle that spring.

The 2023 Fred Best Classic ran on Saturday May 27th, 2023 at Eagle Farm Racecourse and was won in style by the well-bred colt Hawaii Five Oh ($4) from the Waterhouse/Bott stable. 

Fred Best Classic Info:
Date:	Saturday May 27th, 2023
Track:	Eagle Farm Racecourse
Distance:	1400m
Race Type:	3YOs – Set Weights
Status:	Group 3
Prizemoney:	$300,000

2023 Fred Best Classic Results

• 1st: #8 Hawaii Five Oh ($4)
• 2nd: #2 Yellow Brick
• 3rd: #12 End Assembly

The nicely-bred Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas winning I Am Invincible colt Hawaii Five Oh ($4) kept the wins going with a stellar victory in the 2023 Fred Best Classic results ahead of his shot at the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap on June 10.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	8	HAWAII FIVE OH	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Nash Rawiller		9	57kg		$4
	2	2	YELLOW BRICK	Tony & Maddysen Sears	Ben Thompson	0.75L	7	57kg		$2.20F
	3	12	END ASSEMBLY	Mark Currie	James Orman	1.44L	15	57kg		$61
	4	3	SWISS EXILE	Annabel Neasham	Damien Thornton	3.51L	1	57kg		$21
	5	6	SANDPAPER	James Cummings	Ben Melham	4.05L	10	57kg		$41
	6	4	ZOU TIGER	John O’Shea	James McDonald	4.82L	13	57kg		$7.50
	7	7	ATMOSPHERE	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	4.99L	6	57kg		$31
	8	5	SOOTHSAYER	Lee Freedman	Sam Clipperton	5.19L	12	57kg		$21
	9	9	LUBRICATION	Matthew Dunn	Brodie Loy	5.95L	8	57kg		$151
	10	1	FASHION LEGEND	Richard & Will Freedman	Joshua Parr	6.35L	11	57kg		$17
	11	14	SEVEN VEILS	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Tim Clark	6.86L	14	55kg		$21
	12	11	LARRIKIN ROGUE	Chris Anderson	Jason Collett	7L	5	57kg		$31
	13	18	TERZIERE (NZ)	Robbie Patterson	Ms Samantha Collett	8.2L	2	55kg		$51
	14	17	KIKO	Jim Conlan	Tyler Schiller (a)	9.19L	4	55kg		$101
	15	13	CRADLE OF LIFE	Richard Laming	Ms Tegan Harrison	9.27L	3	57kg		$201
	16	15	MUMBAI JEWEL	Annabel Neasham	Chad Schofield	16.07L	16	55kg		$61
		10	SAILOR’S SECRET	Kelly Schweida	Craig Williams		0
		16	PORTRAY	James Cummings	Sam Clipperton		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Fred Best Classic Betting Odds

The winter’s latest Fred Best Classic 2023 betting odds and links to the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au will be available below once released.

Dawn Passage ($2.15 in 2020) was the last favourite in Fred Best Classic betting to salute for the punters.

There was a notable upset in 2022 with the James Cummings-trained Hallowed Crown colt Vilana winning at Fred Best Classic odds of $15.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 FRED BEST CLASSIC ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Fred Best Classic Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 FRED BEST CLASSIC FORM GUIDE

2023 Fred Best Classic Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Fred Best Classic 2023 Tips on the popular Brisbane Group 3 showdown this winter.

• To Win: #2 Yellow Brick ($2.80 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Happy to stick with the favourite in the Fred Best with the Toowoomba-trained Yellow Brick one of the most consistent three-year-old Queenslanders getting around. The son of The Mission has won six of his eight starts to date. He is two-from-two at the Eagle Farm track and proven at the distance (2:1-1-0). Fresh last time out was impressive winning the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas by 1.3 lengths at the Sunshine Coast. Fitter for the run and will only improve off that.

2023 Fred Best Classic Field

The Fred Best Classic field attracts a strong line-up of both local Queensland-trained three-year-olds as well as interstate raiders chasing the Brisbane winter racing riches. The race was a good lead-up to the Queensland Guineas before a change in the race schedule in 2021 and may be a next-up option for gallopers coming off a run in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) earlier in the month.

In 2021 the Queensland Guineas ran prior to the Fred Best Classic and the runner-up Apache Chase enjoyed an upset win in the latter. Beaten odds-on favourite in the 2021 Fred Best Classic, Ayrton went on to win the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m) next start.

The official Fred Best Classic 2023 final field & barriers are set for release by Racing Queensland on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.

The 2023 Fred Best Classic final field features a quality line-up of middle-distance three-year-olds led in betting by ultra-consistent The Mission gelding  Yellow Brick coming off a first-up win in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas. 

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	12x31111x8	FASHION LEGEND	Richard & Will Freedman	Joshua Parr	12	57kg			93
2	x3111x12x1	YELLOW BRICK	Tony & Maddysen Sears	Ben Thompson	7	57kg			100
3	2x397x4829	SWISS EXILE	Annabel Neasham	Damien Thornton	1	57kg			87.5
4	2x183x2236	ZOU TIGER	John O’Shea	James McDonald	14	57kg			101
5	51621110×3	SOOTHSAYER	Lee Freedman	Boris Thornton	13	57kg			80
6	x51790x012	SANDPAPER	James Cummings	Ben Melham	11	57kg			80
7	71626×4223	ATMOSPHERE	James Cummings	Opie Bosson	6	57kg			79
8	139×221	HAWAII FIVE OH	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Nash Rawiller	9	57kg			86
9	50231×430	LUBRICATION	Matthew Dunn	Brodie Loy	8	57kg			75
10	44116×7215	SAILOR’S SECRET	Kelly Schweida	Craig Williams	18	57kg			71.5
11	1x314x81	LARRIKIN ROGUE	Chris Anderson	Jason Collett	5	57kg			68
12	11Dx67	END ASSEMBLY	Mark Currie	James Orman	16	57kg			68
13	139×6	CRADLE OF LIFE	Richard Laming	Ms Tegan Harrison	3	57kg			61
14	210x760x23	SEVEN VEILS	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Tim Clark	15	55kg			84
15	97626×7654	MUMBAI JEWEL	Annabel Neasham	Chad Schofield	17	55kg			78
16	x4817x1020	PORTRAY	James Cummings	Sam Clipperton	10	55kg			80
17	6x345x3220	KIKO	Jim Conlan	Tyler Schiller (a)	4	55kg
18	11x	TERZIERE (NZ)	Robbie Patterson	Ms Samantha Collett	2	55kg			70

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Fred Best Classic Nominations

The early Fred Best Classic 2023 nominations close on the Monday of race week and will be updated in full below.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	True Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	12x31111x8	FASHION LEGEND	G	3	Richard & Will Freedman	1	57kg			93
2	x3111x12x1	YELLOW BRICK	G	3	Tony & Maddysen Sears	2	57kg
3	1254423211	ROYAL MERCHANT	F	3	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	3	55kg			109
4	2x397x4829	SWISS EXILE	C	3	Annabel Neasham	4	57kg			87.5
5	2x183x2236	ZOU TIGER	C	3	John O’Shea	5	57kg
6	51621110×3	SOOTHSAYER	G	3	Lee Freedman	6	57kg			80
7	210x760x23	SEVEN VEILS	F	3	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	7	55kg			84
8	x51790x012	SANDPAPER	G	3	James Cummings	8	57kg			80
9	97626×7654	MUMBAI JEWEL	F	3	Annabel Neasham	9	55kg			78
10	71626×4223	ATMOSPHERE	G	3	James Cummings	10	57kg			79
11	139×221	HAWAII FIVE OH	C	3	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	11	57kg			86
12	x4817x1020	PORTRAY	F	3	James Cummings	12	55kg			80
13	111×67	END ASSEMBLY	G	3	Mark Currie	13	57kg			78
14	50231×430	LUBRICATION	C	3	Matthew Dunn	14	57kg			75
15	44116×7215	SAILOR’S SECRET	G	3	Kelly Schweida	15	57kg			71.5
16	1x314x81	LARRIKIN ROGUE	G	3	Chris Anderson	16	57kg			68
17	6x345x3220	KIKO	F	3	Jim Conlan	17	55kg
18	x14614x319	THE RACKETEER (NZ)	G	3	Shaune Ritchie & Colm Murray	18	57kg			73
19	139×6	CRADLE OF LIFE	C	3	Richard Laming	19	57kg			61
20	11x	TERZIERE (NZ)	F	3	Robbie Patterson	20	55kg			70
21		DO IT FOR YOU	G	3	Daiki Chujo	21	57kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Fred Best Classic History

The Fred Best Classic was first run in 1984, when Bonnie Princess seized victory. Initially, the race was run for two-year-olds, and was known as the Courier Mail 2YO Classic. The Fred Best Classic has experienced many name changes over the years. Since 2000, the race has been known variously as the Powerhouse Classic, the Wyndham Estate Classic, the Richmond Grove Classic, the BTC Classic (2006-2009) and finally the Fred Best Classic from 2010 onwards.

The Fred Best Classic was previously on Doomben Cup Day before being moved later on the carnival schedule.

Named after renowned Brisbane trainer Fred Best, the Fred Best Classic always attracts a stellar field. Peter Snowden has had three winners in the race (2008, 2012 and 2019), making him the most successful trainer.

The fastest time is held by Gold Edition, who won the race in 2007 with a blistering 1:17.52. From 2017 onwards the Fred Best Classic will be run at Eagle Farm, moved from Doomben, and raced over 1400m (up from 1350m).

In 2020 the Fred Best Classic ran at Doomben over 1350m due to COVID-19.

Fred Best Classic results since 2000 are listed below.

Fred Best Classic Results

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 Fred Best Classic	1st	Hawaii Five Oh	1:22.82
	2nd	Yellow Brick
	3rd	End Assembly
2022 Fred Best Classic	1st	Vilana	1:22.43
	2nd	Kiss Sum
	3rd	Battleton
2021 Fred Best Classic	1st	Apache Chase	1:20.06
	2nd	Ayrton
	3rd	Amish Boy
2020 Fred Best Classic	1st	Dawn Passage	1:18.83 (over 1350m)
	2nd	Exhilarates
	3rd	Subpoenaed
2019 Fred Best Classic	1st	Military Zone	1:22.06
	2nd	Baccarat Baby
	3rd	Krone
2018 Fred Best Classic	1st	Perast	1:19.70
	2nd	Assimilate
	3rd	Mishani Bullitt
2017 Fred Best Classic	1st	Niccanova	1:26.59
	2nd	Sylpheed
	3rd	I Thought So
2016 Fred Best Classic	1st	Counterattack	1:18.86
	2nd	Takedown
	3rd	Perfect Dare
2015 Fred Best Classic	1st	Najoom	1:19.00
	2nd	Miss Cover Girl
	3rd	Awesome Rock
2014 Fred Best Classic	1st	Havana	1:19.2
	2nd	Into The Red
	3rd	Dothraki
2013 Fred Best Classic	1st	Platinum Kingdom	1:19.8
	2nd	Boban
	3rd	Academus
2012 Fred Best Classic	1st	Mental	1:19.3
	2nd	Amah Rock
	3rd	Boys On Tour
2011 Fred Best Classic	1st	Falino	1:18.8
	2nd	Spirit Of Boom
	3rd	Skilled
2010 Fred Best Classic	1st	Stryker	1:19.1
	2nd	Happy Hippy
	3rd	Graceful Anna
2009 Fred Best Classic	1st	Court	1:19.4
	2nd	Leapfrog
	3rd	Geeza
2008 Fred Best Classic	1st	El Cambio	1:19.2
	2nd	Mr Unforgettable
	3rd	Diplomatic Force
2007 Fred Best Classic	1st	Gold Edition	1:8.44
	2nd	Grand Reve
	3rd	J’Adane
2006 Fred Best Classic	1st	La Montagna	1:18.0
	2nd	Century Serb
	3rd	Pasikatera
2005 Fred Best Classic	1st	Gumnuts	1:18.8
	2nd	Rich Megadale
	3rd	Aqua D Amore
2004 Fred Best Classic	1st	Gallieni	1:18.1
	2nd	Drunken Joker
	3rd	Sky Cuddle
2003 Fred Best Classic	1st	Proudly Agro	1:18.9
	2nd	Brief Embrace
	3rd	Charlie Bub
2002 Fred Best Classic	1st	Tellson	1:17.8
	2nd	Gabfest
	3rd	Acadame
2001 Fred Best Classic	1st	Marlina	1:19.2
	2nd	Zariz
	3rd	Johann Lover
2000 Fred Best Classic	1st	Cryptavia	1:20.7
	2nd	Make Mine Magic
	3rd	The Kildare Kid