The George Main Stakes is a Gr 1 Australian weight-for-age
horserace contested over 1600m in late September each year at
Sydney's Randwick Racecourse. The race boasts a purse of
AUD$400,000, and is widely accepted to be the most important
weight-for-age race in the annual Sydney spring racing carnival.
Inaugurated in 1945, the George Main Stakes was named after George
Main, who at one time was the respected chairman of the Australian
Jockey Club, and famous for breeding racehorses and running sheep.
Since its inception, the George Main Stakes has been a popular event
and always draws plenty spectators.
One of the biggest reasons that racehorse trainers from Sydney and
further afield are attracted to the George Main Stakes, is that each
year the winner is exempt from a ballot for the Epsom Handicap. So a
victory guarantees them an automatic berth in the Epsom, one of the
nation's most prestigious races.
Being that the George Main Stakes is contested over 1600m (1 mile),
it is a race that attracts many of Australia's top 'milers', which
is why its list of winners reads like a who's who of thoroughbreds.
Notable winners include Shannon (1946,1947), Baguette (1971),
Kingston Town (1981, 1982) and Shogun Lodge (1999).
The winner of the 2004 George Main Stakes, Grand Armee, went on to
win a multitude of Gr 1 and Gr 2 races, including the 2004 and 2005
AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the 2004 VRC LKS MacKinnon Stakes, the
2005 AJC Chipping Norton Stakes and many more. |
