Naturalism Stakes

The Group 3 Naturalism Stakes is a 2000m event held at Caulfield Racecourse in September each year.

As of 2023, the Naturalism Stakes is run for $200,000 and is often used as a catapult towards runs in a Caulfield Cup (2400m) or Melbourne Cup (3200m).

The race is currently run as the MRC Foundation Cup, but is registered as the Naturalism Stakes.

First run in 1993, the Naturalism Stakes is named after the Lee Freedman-trained superstar Naturalism who claimed Group 1 glory in races like the Australian Derby (2400m) and Caulfield Stakes (2000m).

The winner of the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes receives ballot exemption in the Caulfield Cup.

Jameka (2016) is the only horse to complete the Naturalism Stakes/Caulfield Cup double.

2023 Naturalism Stakes Betting Odds

Markets for Naturalism Stakes are currently unavailable. HorseBetting will update this page when Naturalism Stakes odds are released.

Best Naturalism Stakes bookmakers

All of our top horse betting sites have markets for the Naturalism Stakes.

Most of the Melbourne Spring Carnival races have markets open well in advance and the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes is no exception.

The top online bookmakers in Australia with Naturalism Stakes betting can be accessed via several different means, including via horse betting apps, telephone betting and via their websites.

It is a straight-forward process signing up and betting at Naturalism Stakes bookmakers, with things like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and POLi the most popular way people fund their bookie accounts. The only real rule is that you will have to prove your identity, before you have full access to your account.

Sport Table

Latest Naturalism Stakes News

The Naturalism Stakes 2023 Final Field

Horsebetting.com.au will update this page when the Naturalism Stakes 2023 field is released.

Previous Naturalism Stakes Field

• 2022 Naturalism Stakes field

  No.	Silks	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
  1		Gold Trip	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Mark Zahra	6	60kg
  2		Earlswood	Maddie Raymond	Damian Lane	15	58kg
  3		Grand Promenade	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ben Melham	3	57kg
  4		Sheraz	Chris Waller	Damien Oliver	14	57kg
  5		Elephant	Emma-Lee & David Browne	Jordan Childs	10	56.5kg
  6		Chapada	Mike Moroney	Daniel Stackhouse	9	56kg
  7		Daqiansweet Junior	Phillip Stokes	Jamie Kah	7	56kg
  8		Crystal Pegasus	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	8	55.5kg
  9		Midnight Blue	Danny O’Brien	Damien Thornton	4	54.5kg
  10		Lunar Flare	Grahame Begg	Michael Dee	11	54kg
  11		Emissary	Mike Moroney	Jye McNeil	2	54kg
  12		Aleas	Chris Waller	Brett Prebble	13	54kg
  13		Smokin’ Romans	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ethan Brown	12	54kg
  14		Uncle Bryn	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Daniel Moor	1	54kg
  15		The Amazonian	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Patrick Moloney	5	54kg

2022 Naturalism Stakes result

Recent Naturalism Stakes results

• 2022: Smokin’ Romans relishes wet conditions
  Smokin’ Romans has qualified for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) with a gritty on-speed performance to win the Group 3 MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) at Caulfield in the hands of Ethan Brown. The New Zealand-bred son of Ghibellines leapt from 57th in order of entry to be free from the ballot for a Caulfield Cup start after staving off the challenge of Uncle Bryn ($7.50) and stablemate Gold Trip ($3.80) to score by three-quarters of a length. It was the eighth career victory for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained stayer who was a firmer in the market in the rain-softened conditions, eventually starting at $8. Having gained a relatively uncontested lead, Brown upped the tempo from the 700m mark, where he had his rivals chasing, with Smokin’ Romans having enough left in the tank to fend off his rivals.
• 2021: Nonconformist shows Group 1 potential
  Nonconformist booked his way into the Caulfield Cup after a narrow win in the 2021 MRC Foundation Cup at Caulfield. Starting a $4.20 favourite in the Group 3, Nonconformist fended off the challenge from Delphi ($8) to claim the victory in the 2000m race which offers ballot exemption into the Caulfield Cup. Trained by Grahame Begg, the five-year-old son of Rebel Raider nearly won his way into the Caulfield Cup when second to Mount Popa in the Mornington Cup in March, with Begg calling his Group 3 win “second time lucky”. Nonconformist’s win was the gelding’s third win at Caulfield, which includes a 3.75 length romp on debut and a victory in the Group 3 Coongy Cup, which also offered ballot exemption to the Caulfield Cup but Begg elected to bypass the race 12 months ago. After two promising first-up runs in the PB Lawrence Stakes and Feehan Stakes, the five-year-old was set to peak third-up and did so in style.
• 2020: Ollie guides Orderofthegarter to Naturalism success
  The Danny O’Brien-trained Orderofthegarter rocketed into Caulfield Cup favouritism after winning a golden ticket into the race with his 2020 victory in the Naturalism Stakes. Jockey Damien Oliver said Orderofthegarter had snuck into next month’s Group One race with a light weight and would be a great chance with just 50kg. O’Brien said it was a great ride from Oliver, who placed him where they had planned pre-race which was just behind the speed. It was 30 years ago at the corresponding meeting that Oliver recorded his first win at Group One level when he took out the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes on Submariner. Oliver won’t be able to ride the 50kg allotted to Orderofthegarter and O’Brien suggested that Daniel Moor could snare the plum mount. Orderofthegarter ($2.90) defeated Chapada ($21) by three-quarters of a length with Steel Prince ($11) a short-head away third.
• 2019: Brimham Rocks leads home Waller quinella
  Master trainer Chris Waller managed to train the quinella in the 2019 Naturalism Stakes when Brimham Rocks ($21) beat home stablemate So You Win ($12) in an upset result. Before the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes, Waller’s Fastnet Rock six-year-old Brimham Rocks was 75th on the Caulfield Cup order of entry with 52kg but when winning the Naturalism was ballot-exempt from the $5 million feature. Brimham Rocks had two unplaced runs first and second-up in the Rowley Mile at Hawkesbury and then the Chelmsford Stakes before returning to the winners’ stall in the Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield. It was the import’s first win in over 700 days with Brimham Rocks previously a maiden down under, his last victory being at York in October of 2017.

Naturalism Stakes winners

Naturalism Stakes winners pre-2000