Carbine Club Stakes (VRC)

The Carbine Club Stakes (VRC) is a Group 3 race held at Flemington racecourse on VRC Derby Day during the Melbourne Cup Carnival worth $500,000.

Throughout its history, the Carbine Club Stakes has consistently been run over a mile (1600m). Initially classified as a Listed Race, it gained Group 3 status in 1998.

In recent years, the Carbine Club Stakes has seen limited success for fillies, with only six of them claiming victory since Permaiscuous in 2006. The most recent filly to win the race was Fangirl (2021), who went on to win the Vinery Stud Stakes in the following autumn season.

The Carbine Club Stakes has often served as a reliable indicator of a horse’s potential, with renowned trainer Bart Cummings frequently using the race to assess his horses’ abilities. Notable winners of the race include Think Big, who went on to win the Melbourne Cup, and Saintly, another Melbourne Cup champion.

Horses who compete in the Carbine Club Stakes subsequently participate in the Sandown Guineas, held two weeks later.

2023 Carbine Club Stakes Betting Odds

Markets for the 2023 Carbine Club Stakes are currently unavailable.

Best Carbine Club Stakes bookmakers

All of our recommended bookmakers have markets for the Carbine Club Stakes.

Most of the Melbourne Cup Carnival races have markets opened well in advance and the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes is no exception.

Sport Table

Latest Carbine Club Stakes News

2023 Carbine Club Stakes Final Field

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

Previous Carbine Club Stakes Field

• 2022 Carbine Club Stakes field

  No.	Silks	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
  1		Tijuana	Ben & JD Hayes	Mark Zahra	2	58.5kg
  2		Sandpaper	James Cummings	William Buick	5	58kg
  3		Liberty Steps	Ben & JD Hayes	Damien Oliver	4	57kg
  4		The Fortune Teller	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	12	57kg
  5		Lincoln Square	Greg Eurell	Jye McNeil	7	57kg
  6		Elkington Road	Mike Moroney	Jamie Mott	11	57kg
  7		Rediener	Chris Waller	Brett Prebble	8	57kg
  8		Watadeel	Phillip Stokes	Zac Spain	10	57kg
  9		Big Story	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Damian Lane	13	57kg
  10		Lindermann	Chris Waller	N/A	6	57kg
  11		Perfect Thought	John Sargent	Craig Williams	9	57kg
  12		Pungo	Chris Waller	James McDonald	1	57kg
  13		My Brothers Keeper	Stephen Brown	Harry Coffey	3	57kg

2022 Carbine Club Stakes result

Recent Carbine Club Stakes results

• 2022: Perfect ride for Perfect Thought
  27 years after Saintly won the race in the same colours, John Sargent’s Perfect Thought caused a massive upset in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes. Having been sent out as a $26 chance in the opening race on VRC Derby Day, the colt relished the genuine tempo that race favourite Pungo set throughout the 1600m affair. Craig Williams had his mount perfectly positioned throughout and when asked to quicken, Perfect Thought was quick to put his rivals away and would go on to claim victory by two lengths when eased down.
• 2021: Fangirl rewrites history
  Chris Waller, once again, started Victoria Derby Day on a high note by training the winner of the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) for the third time in eight years. Fangirl, ridden by James McDonald, delivered a dominant performance to secure victory in the 2021 Carbine Club Stakes. With this win, Fangirl joined the ranks of Waller-trained Carbine Club Stakes winners Kermadec (2014) and Comin’ Through (2016). Notably, she became the first filly to claim victory in the race since Permaiscuous in 2006. During the race, McDonald positioned Fangirl as they bided their time in the second half of the pack. As they entered the home straight at Flemington, McDonald made his move, taking Fangirl to the widest part of the track. With an impressive burst of speed, Fangirl surged past Brigantine, the runner-up priced at $5.50, with 200m to go she crossed the finish line with a comfortable three-length margin.
• 2020: Crosshaven gets off the canvas
  New Zealand-owned three-year-old Crosshaven called on all his fortitude to outgun stablemate Aysar in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m), the opening event of the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington. The Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes-trained gelding had been a model of consistency, winning five of his seven starts and entered the contest on the back of a fourth placing in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m). Ridden by expat Kiwi Daniel Stackhouse, Crosshaven lead throughout at a measured tempo and despite being headed in the straight by Aysar, rallied back to score in determined fashion.
• 2019: Dalasan grips on
  Dalasan, a South Australian star, delivered a significant victory for connections when getting the better of Brandenburg in the Carbine Club Stakes. Despite being a beaten favourite in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude and the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, Dalasan, trained by Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas, made a strong comeback in the Group 2 event at Flemington. Following a gun ride from Hugh Bowman, Dalasan was able to pounce on the lead inside the final 200m and would go on to beat Brandenbrug by half-a-length in impressive fashion.

Carbine Club Stakes winners

Carbine Club Stakes winners pre-2000