WINTERBOTTOM STAKES News Stories

The Winterbottom Stakes is one of the three feature races of the Perth summer carnival held annually at Ascot Racecourse. It is run on the middle weekend of the carnival, a week after the Railway Stakes and a week before the Kingston Town Classic 

The Winterbottom is Western Australia's premier sprint race, each year attracting a bumper crowd to Ascot to see who prevails over the 1,200 metre course. As well as being the grand final for sprinters from out west, the Winterbottom is also the last Group 1 sprint of the year. Because of the lucrative prize purse that comes with a Group 1 race, the Winterbottom also attracts top sprinters from interstate who try to spoil the party for locals.

In the long history of the Winterbottom Stakes, some of Australia's all-time great sprinters have greeted the judge. Miss Andretti, Takeover Target, Ortensia and Buffering all list among the horses to have triumphed in the Winterbottom, with both Ortensia and Buffering having won on two separate occasions. 

With a long run down the back straight before runners hit the turn into the home straight, the Winterbottom is always an even race where barriers play a limited role. This is especially pleasing to horses that come over after unlucky runs in some of Victoria's feature sprints, and are looking for a slice of good fortune.