Matriarch Stakes

The Matriarch Stakes is a Group 2 race held at Flemington Racecourse specifically for mares aged four years and older.

The Matriarch Stakes covers a distance of 2000m and is considered the premier staying race for mares during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Originally established as a Listed race in 1995, the Matriarch Stakes was later upgraded to Group 3 status from 2001 to 2004. In 2005, it received another promotion and has since been classified as a Group 2 event.

The Matriarch Stakes has seen some notable winners over the years. One of the most renowned champions of this race is Lucia Valentina. She achieved a remarkable feat by winning the Turnbull Stakes at the same course and distance before triumphing in the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick six months later.

Another memorable victor was Kenedna, who returned to her top form in 2018 by winning the Matriarch Stakes. Following her success, she went on to claim multiple Group 1 victories in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes and Doomben Cup during the subsequent autumn season.

Many talented mares choose to participate in either the Empire Rose Stakes or races on Cup day and subsequently compete in the Matriarch Stakes as a back-up option.

In 2022, the total prize money for the Matriarch Stakes amounted to $300,000.

2023 Matriarch Stakes Betting Odds

Markets for the 2023 Matriarch Stakes are currently unavailable.

Best Matriarch Stakes bookmakers

All of our top horse betting sites have odds for the Matriarch Stakes well in advance of the race jumping each year.

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

Sport Table

Latest Matriarch Stakes News

2023 Matriarch Stakes Final Field

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

Previous Matriarch Stakes Field

• 2022 Matriarch Stakes field

  No.	Silks	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
  1		Elusive Express	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Mark Zahra	8	58kg
  2		Polly Grey	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	11	57kg
  3		Sirileo Miss	Symon Wilde	Ben Melham	4	57kg
  4		Atishu	Chris Waller	James McDonald	5	57kg
  5		Honeycreeper	James Cummings	Nash Rawiller	3	57kg
  6		Steinem	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	6	57kg
  7		Foxy Frida	Andrew Noblet	Damien Oliver	13	56kg
  8		Dynasties	Peter & Paul Snowden	Jamie Kah	2	56kg
  9		Douceur	Patrick Payne	Michael Dee	12	55kg
  10		Tokorangi	Mike Moroney	Ethan Brown	10	55kg
  11		Thought Provoking	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Alana Kelly	9	55kg
  12		The Map	Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray	Damien Thornton	1	55kg
  13		Glory Bound	Peter Moody	Luke Nolen	7	55kg

2022 Matriarch Stakes result

Recent Matriarch Stakes results

• 2022: Atishu thrashes rivals
  Atishu proved way too good for her rivals in the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes in 2022. The Chris Waller-trained mare was an eye catcher coming out of the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes on Derby Day and on the quick seven-day back-up, she was backed heavily by punters, jumping as the $2.50 favourite with online bookmakers. James McDonald had Atishu in the best position possible after the leaders went hard out in front, which left them vulnerable late in the race. McDonald was swinging off of Atishu on the turn and she let down very nicely to put away the Matriarch Stakes field by two-lengths.
• 2021: Zayydani defies pattern to score
  With most of the early winners at Flemington on the fourth and final day of Melbourne Cup week edging off the inside ground, Zayydani defied the pattern in the Matriarch Stakes, taking the shortest way home under a brilliant Luke Nolen ride from barrier two to provide the Ben & JD Hayes stable with their first win for the week. Zayydani had a half-neck to spare on former Kiwi Our Intrigue, who looked set to continue the Chris Waller-James McDonald juggernaut when she hit the front mid-stretch.
• 2020: Affair To Remember Arrives In Time
  Despite giving her rivals a massive start upon settling, Dan O’Sullivan’s Affair To Remember thundered home down the Flemington straight to claim the Matriarch Stakes in style. Michael Poy had the mare building through her gears on the home turn and aided by a strong tempo set by Greysful Glamour, Affair To Remember had the last look at Paradee who hit the lead 200m out and managed to just get the bob in when it mattered most.
• 2019: Oceanex causes upset
  Under a well-timed steer from Jye McNeil, Oceanex managed to causes somewhat of a boilover in the 2019 Matriarch Stakes. With the rail out nine metres at Flemington, connections of well-bred Ocean Park mare Oceanex had some reservations about her inside draw in the feature for fillies and mares. Jockey Jye McNeil however didn’t read too much into it, allowing the eventual winner to jump cleanly from the gates. From there, McNeil was able to have the mare in striking range when the pace quickened. When asked to do so, McNeil and Oceanex would go on to pull away from their rivals to score in smart fashion.

Matriarch Stakes winners

Matriarch Stakes winners pre-2000