Perth Racing Carnivals

There are three racing carnivals staged in Perth in Western Australia at both Ascot and Belmont racecourses throughout the year, the Perth Spring and Summer Carnival, the Perth Autumn Carnival and the Perth Winter Carnival.

The Spring and Summer Carnival is the biggest of the trio. It is staged between late October and February exclusively at Ascot. The Autumn Carnival is also held at Ascot between March and April, while Belmont hosts the Winter Carnival in May, June and July.

Key Races

The Group 1 Railway Stakes and Kingston Town Stakes are the biggest two races staged during the Spring and Summer Carnival along with the Group 2 Perth Cup, while the most significant race in the Autumn Carnival is the WATC Derby, the only other Group 1 held during the year in Western Australia. The Group 3 Hyperion Stakes carries the most prize money in Belmont’s Winter Carnival programme.

The Perth Spring and Summer Carnival

The Group 3 Prince of Wales Stakes (1200m), a weight-for-age sprint, take place towards the backend of October and is the first group race of the Western Australian season.

A week later the Asian Beau Stakes (1400m), another Group 3 contest but this time for handicap performers, is the main attraction at Ascot. Midweek action at the start of November then includes the Group 3 Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m), a quality handicap for speedy types.

The first Group 2 of the season is held on the first Saturday in November when the Lee Steere Stakes (1400m), a weight-for-age race which traditionally sees some of the runners from the Prince of Wales Stakes clash once again, is held.

The following week sees a group race double header in the shape of the Group 3 WA Champion Fillies Stakes (1600m), limited to three-year-old fillies and formerly known as the WA Guineas, and the RJ Peters Stakes, a Group 3 handicap.

The following Saturday’s meeting includes three group races, the headline act of which is the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m). The open handicap race is the first Group 1 of the Western Australian season and is the richest and most prestigious race of the season. Also on the same card is the Group 2 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m), a weight-for-age contest which is regarded as the leading sprint of the carnival. Another Group 2 taking place on the day is the WA Guineas (1600m), which sees the best three-year-olds go head-to-head.

The action on the first Saturday of December includes the state’s second Group 1 the Kingston Classic Town (1800m), a weight-for-age race for the best middle distance performers. The Group 3

AJ Scahill Stakes (1400m), the last weight-for-age sprint of the Perth Spring and Summer Carnival, is an able back-up on the same day.

The following Saturday the Group 3 Lee Steere Classic (1400m), for three-year-olds only, is staged while a week later the CB Cox Stakes (2100m), a weight-for-age race for stayers, is run.

Arguably the most popular day of the Perth Spring and Summer Carnival is Perth Cup Day, which is held on New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve, depending how the calendar year falls. The Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m), the feature race of the day, is an open handicap.

After a month-and-a-half without action, the Perth Spring and Summer Carnival concludes in February with the running of the Group 3 Champion Fillies (1600m), a race which sees the best three-year-old fillies clash on the track.

Perth Autumn Carnival

The Perth Autumn Carnival takes place at Ascot and begins in mid-March when the Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) is held. The race is the leading sprint race for two-year-olds and, along with the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic held during the Spring and Summer Carnival and the Group 1 WATC Derby, is the second richest race in Western Australia.

The Group 3 WA Oaks (2400m) takes place a week later and is a staying contest for three-year-old fillies. The race is the most prestigious on the Western Australian season for fillies in their classic season.

Seven days later, the Group 1 WATC Derby (2400m) is staged for three-year-old colts as they get their chance for classic glory. Also staged the same day is the Group 3 WA Sires Produce Stakes (1400m), a two-year-old race with set weights.

Perth Winter Carnival

Belmont Racecourse stages the Perth Winter Carnival, at which the first significant race staged is the Group 3 Roma Cup (1200m), a weight-for-age sprint staged at the end of May.

The Belmont Sprint (1400m) is a Group 3 open handicap held in mid-June, while two weeks later the Group 3 Hyperion Stakes (1600m), a weight-for-age race, is the feature action. The final group race action of the Perth Winter Carnival comes in the shape of the Group 3 Strickland Stakes (2000m), another weight-for-age race, at the beginning of July.