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The Group 3 2021 Lexus Stakes – currently known as the Lexus Hotham Handicap – is a 2500m staying event held at the illustrious Flemington Racecourse on Victoria Derby Day, the Saturday prior to the Melbourne Cup.

Open to horses aged three years and older, the Lexus Stakes is run under quality handicap conditions. With total prize money of $300,000, the Lexus Stakes is quite a lucrative Group 3 event and key race on the Melbourne Cup Carnival schedule.

The Lexus Stakes winner gains a ballot exemption for the Group 1 $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) back at the track just three days later and Shocking (2009) was the last to complete the double.

More recently the 2018 Lexus Stakes winner Prince Of Arran ran third in the Melbourne Cup trifecta next start.

Victoria Derby Day is a massive race meeting, and the Lexus Stakes shares a race program with eight other Group status races. These include the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m), Group 1 Kennedy Cantala (1600m), Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m), Group 2 Salinger Stakes (1200m) and Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m).

There are a variety of paths that horses take to the Lexus Stakes. As it runs at the culmination of the spring carnival, those horses which target the Lexus Stakes may have been racing in Victoria, NSW or may even have just come out of quarantine following their trip to Australia. In the past, the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) has been a fairly popular lead-up event as has the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m).

A number of horses use the Lexus Stakes as a lead up event to the Melbourne Cup, held just four days later on the first Tuesday of November. This has been a common course for international horses who are seeking ballot exemption, which the Lexus Stakes provides.

The Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) is another popular target following a Lexus Stakes run held the Saturday after on Mackinnon Stakes Day and offers a bonus to any horse that was balloted out of that year’s Melbourne Cup field should they salute.

The 2021 Lexus Stakes was run on Saturday October 30, 2021 as the Lexus Hotham Handicap and saw the Chris Waller-trained Great House further secure his spot in the 2021 Melbourne Cup field. 

Lexus Stakes 2021
Date:	Saturday October 30, 2021
Racecourse:	Flemington Racecourse
Distance:	2500m
Conditions:	3YO&UP Quality Hcp
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$300,000
Inaugurated:	1869

2021 Lexus Hotham Handicap Results

• 1st: #4 Great House ($3.60)
• 2nd: #7 Mankayan
• 3rd: #6 Emissary

The Chris Waller-trained Great House ($3.60) was too strong late thanks to a gun and patient ride by James McDonald to run down a brave Mankayan on the straight making up ground from the back to win the 2021 Lexus Stakes on way to Tuesday’s $8 million Melbourne Cup.

Click here to read more on the strong Lexus Hotham Stakes 2021 win by Melbourne Cup-bound Great House.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	4	GREAT HOUSE (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald		7	57.5kg		$3.60
	2	7	MANKAYAN (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Linda Meech	0.75L	1	54kg		$3.50F
	3	6	EMISSARY (GB)	Michael Moroney	Glen Boss	3.5L	8	54kg		$16
	4	3	LE DON DE VIE (GB)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Damien Oliver	3.6L	5	58kg		$8.50
	5	9	KING’S CHARISMA (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Jye McNeil	3.9L	2	54kg		$5.50
	6	1	MIRAGE DANCER (GB)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Craig Newitt	4.1L	4	59kg		$16
	7	2	KNIGHTS ORDER (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	5.85L	3	58.5kg		$21
	8	8	SOUS LES NUAGES (IRE)	Matt Cumani	Fred Kersley	11.85L	9	54kg		$41
	9	5	FUN FACT	Bjorn Baker	Ms Rachel King	31.85L	6	57kg		$14

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2021 Lexus Stakes Betting Odds

The latest Lexus Stakes 2021 odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au will be listed below on the stayers and potential Melbourne Cup horses.

Downdraft ($5.50 in 2019) was the last favourite in Lexus Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

2021 Lexus Stakes Field

The Lexus Stakes field attracts a quality line-up of spring stayers, the majority of which are chasing the Melbourne Cup ballot exemption on offer to the winner of the Victoria Derby Day race.

Good lead-up races into the Lexus Stakes field each season including Caulfield’s Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) or even the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) the Saturday prior on Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day that produced the 2017 Lexus Stakes winner Cismontane (3rd) and the 2019 champion Downdraft (3rd) for Melbourne Cup winning trainer Joseph O’Brien.

The official 2021 Lexus Stakes Final Field & Barriers are announced the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.

A line-up of stayers chasing an eleventh-hour run in the Melbourne Cup field is engaged for the 2021 Lexus Hotham Stakes field where race favourite Great House could be scratched having now secured a start in the ‘race that stops a nation’.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	08×8268456	MIRAGE DANCER (GB)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Craig Newitt	4	59kg		103
2	3x8511x909	KNIGHTS ORDER (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	3	58.5kg		102
3	x57170x505	LE DON DE VIE (GB)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Damien Oliver	5	58kg		101
4	4×13275155	GREAT HOUSE (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald	7	57.5kg		100
5	4100×66730	FUN FACT	Bjorn Baker	Ms Rachel King	6	57kg		99
6	1x2031x275	EMISSARY (GB)	Michael Moroney	Glen Boss	8	54kg		80
7	31222×2322	MANKAYAN (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Linda Meech	1	54kg		79
8	1423x18x07	SOUS LES NUAGES (IRE)	Matt Cumani	Fred Kersley	9	54kg		77
9	x111733x74	KING’S CHARISMA (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Jye McNeil	2	54kg		76

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

Lexus Stakes History

The Lexus Stakes was inaugurated in 1969 as the Hotham Handicap, it’s current registered name. One of the oldest races in Australia, the Lexus Stakes has a very prestigious history to match its age.

The Lexus Stakes is renowned for a very rare triple dead heat in 1956. Fighting Force, Ark Royal and Pandie Sun crossed together to win one of the only races ever to record three winners.

Besides its current name, the Lexus Stakes has been known by a variety of sponsor titles. For ten years prior to 2009 (when Lexus started sponsorship) it was known as the Saab Quality. Prior to that, it was the Lean Cuisine Quality, Ten News Quality, Crown Quality and The Dalgety.

Notable Lexus Stakes winners include Miss Carbine (1899), Spear Chief (1938), Foxzami (1949), Think Big (1974), Brew (2000) and Shocking (2009) who was the last Lexus Stakes winner to back-up and dominate that year’s Melbourne Cup results doing the double. Lexus Stakes results, winners and placegetters since 2000 are listed below, along with winning times.

The 2018 Lexus Stakes winner Prince Of Arran would go on to run placings in three straight editions of the Melbourne Cup finishing 3rd in 2018, 2nd in 2029 and 3rd again in 2020.

Lexus Stakes Results

Year	First	Second	Third	Time
2021	Great House	Mankayan	Emissary	2:34.56
2020	Ashrun	Sound	Brimham Rocks / Future Score (Dead Heat)	2:37.94
2019	Downdraft	Carif	Azuro	2:38.85
2018	Prince Of Arran	Brimham Rocks	Jaameh	2:37.46
2017	Cismontane	Vengeur Masque	Pentathlon	2:35.41
2016	Oceanographer	Tom Melbourne	Tally	2.35.68
2015	Excess Knowledge	Zanteca	Havana Cooler	2:36.8
2014	Signoff	Big Memory	La Amistad	2:37.9
2013	Ruscello	Let’s Make Adeal	Araldo	2:39.8
2012	Kelinni	Dare To Dream	Exceptionally	2:37.6
2011	Niwot	Macedonian	Anudjawun	2:37.5
2010	Maluckyday	Linton	Once Were Wild	2:35.1
2009	Shocking	Hume	Irazu	2:38.3
2008	Moatise	Light Vision	Cape Cover	2:37.7
2007	Sculptor	The Fuzz	Desert Master	2:35.4
2006	Maybe Better	Irazu	Vanquished	2:35.8
2005	Strasbourg	Bush Honey	Mr Celebrity	2:40.3
2004	Don Raphael	Catchmeifyoucan	Winning Belle	2:36.6
2003	Big Pat	Fawaz	Dance On Wood	2:39.4
2002	Requiem	Miss Meliss	Piachay	2:35.3
2001	Maythehorsebewithu	Spirit Of Westbury	Touch The Groom	2:35.8
2000	Brew	Mr Nelson	Yammer	2:37.1