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The Lexus Hotham Stakes is a Group 3 staying event held on Victoria Derby Day offering a ballot exemption to the winner into the Melbourne Cup Field a few days later.
The Group 3 2020 Lexus Stakes – now known as the Hotham Stakes – 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 $200,000, 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.
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 2020 Lexus Stakes was held on Saturday October 31, 2020 as the Hotham Stakes and was won by the German raider Ashrun who secured a slot in the Melbourne Cup 2020 field.
Lexus Stakes 2020 | |
---|---|
Date: | Saturday October 31, 2020 |
Racecourse: | Flemington Racecourse |
Distance: | 2500m |
Conditions: | 3YO&UP Quality Hcp |
Status: | Group 3 |
Prize Money: | $200,000 |
Inaugurated: | 1869 |
The Andreas Wohler-trained German raider Ashrun ($5.50) became the third straight international horse to win the 2020 Lexus Hotham Stakes, the top weight winning his way into Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup field with a narrow victory over Sound on Derby Day.
Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | ASHRUN (FR) | Andreas Wohler | Kerrin McEvoy | 2 | 61kg | $5.50 | |||
2 | 5 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | Jamie Kah | 0.1L | 5 | 59.5kg | $7.50 | ||
3 | 7 | FUTURE SCORE (IRE) | Matt Cumani | Fred W Kersley | 1.1L | 9 | 58kg | $12 | ||
3 | 2 | BRIMHAM ROCKS (GB) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 1.1L | 4 | 60kg | $6.50 | ||
5 | 8 | CARIF | Peter & Paul Snowden | William Pike | 1.6L | 1 | 57.5kg | $10 | ||
6 | 10 | SCHABAU (GER) | Robert Hickmott | Mark Zahra | 3.6L | 8 | 56.5kg | $4.80F | ||
7 | 11 | ADMIRE ROBSON (JPN) | Paul Preusker | Glen Boss | 4.1L | 3 | 56kg | $5 | ||
8 | 6 | AZURO (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Ben Melham | 5.6L | 6 | 58kg | $81 | ||
9 | 4 | PLATINUM INVADOR (NZ) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 8.35L | 7 | 59.5kg | $51 | ||
10 | 3 | HUSH WRITER (JPN) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Craig Williams | 9.85L | 10 | 60kg | $21 | ||
9 | ATTORNEY (FR) | Matthew Smith | Jye McNeil | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
The latest Lexus Stakes 2020 odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au will be listed below on the stayers and potential Melbourne Cup horses.
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 2020 Lexus Stakes Final Field & Barriers are announced the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.
Eleven stayers chase a late inclusion in the Melbourne Cup 2020 field via a win in Saturday’s Lexus Hotham Stakes 2020 including the Andreas Wohler-trained German raider and top weight Ashrun.
No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1853x5x224 | ASHRUN (FR) | Andreas Wohler | Kerrin McEvoy | 2 | 61kg | 105 | |
2 | x7691x8382 | BRIMHAM ROCKS (GB) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 5 | 60kg | 103 | |
3 | x7000x3240 | HUSH WRITER (JPN) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Craig Williams | 11 | 60kg | 103 | |
4 | 21023×6937 | PLATINUM INVADOR (NZ) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 8 | 59.5kg | 102 | |
5 | 5x532x5226 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | Jamie Kah | 6 | 59.5kg | 102 | |
6 | 13770×7006 | AZURO (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Ben Melham | 7 | 58kg | 99 | |
7 | 11x1253x61 | FUTURE SCORE (IRE) | Matt Cumani | Fred W Kersley | 10 | 58kg | 99 | |
8 | 0352×67807 | CARIF | Peter & Paul Snowden | William Pike | 1 | 57.5kg | 98 | |
9 | x6804x2414 | ATTORNEY (FR) | Matthew Smith | Jye McNeil | 3 | 57kg | 97 | |
10 | x111x7x334 | SCHABAU (GER) | Robert Hickmott | Mark Zahra | 9 | 56.5kg | 96 | |
11 | 1x214x7x67 | ADMIRE ROBSON (JPN) | Paul Preusker | Glen Boss | 4 | 56kg | 95 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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.
Year | First | Second | Third | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 |