Moir Stakes 2024

Moir Stakes

Preview, Trends & Analysis

The Rundown

The A J Moir Stakes is a Group 1 Weight-for-Age feature event at Moonee Valley racecourse for any speed demon who fancies themselves over the short course of 1000 metres. 

The inaugural event was won by Scamanda (1976) over 1000 metres. 

The A J Moir has had a two distance changes since its inception. 

From 1976 to 2006 it was run over 1000 metres, but the distance was pushed out to 1200 metres from 2007 to 2014 and then subsequently put back to 1000 metres from 2015 onwards. 

The A J Moir gained Group 1 status in 2013 with Samaready being the first horse to win under those conditions. 

This 1000-metre Group dash for cash is run on a Friday night under lights of the amphitheatre that is colloquially known as ‘The Valley.’ 

Simply put, you need to have blistering sustained speed in order to be a winning hope in a race like this with only the sharpest horses with a serious turn of foot possessing a genuine winning hope. 

The race cuts through the inner part of the track as the starting chute fires the horses through a 200-metre section which then launches the field on the course proper. 

With a $1,000,000 purse on offer, the A J Moir Stakes attracts some of the best homegrown sprinters around the nation and allows those who want to target a Group 1 before the Flemington carnival kicks off a chance to do so. 

It is usually used as a lead-up to some of the bigger sprinting races such as the Manikato Stakes (1200m) run at the track in October as well as the VRC Sprint (1200m) run at Flemington in November.

Jockeys will also try to win this race in order to lock in potential rides coming into the pointy end of the spring carnival. 

Damien Oliver has been the most successful hoop in the race with four wins, while Angus Armanasco and Bruce McLachlan share four wins each as trainers.  

The Famous Winners and Record Results

The A J Moir Stakes honour roll over the last 15 years is a sight to behold. 

We will start with the undefeated mare and our greatest ever sprinter in Black Caviar (2014, 2015). 

Her back-to-back victory in the race was part of her incredible achievement as a race horse and she joined – at the time – The Judge as the only horses to have won the race multiple times. 

The record, however, for most wins in the race belongs to Buffering who was arguably the bravest ever sprinter on Australian soil. 

His 2012, 2014 and 2015 victories encapsulated punters world wide and his winning record in the race remains unsurpassed to this day. 

Three-year-old colt Extreme Choice (2016) who won the race by defeating champion sprinter Chautauqua. 

Champion sprinter Miss Andretti also produced a sprinting masterclass in 2007 by scoring a victory in the race with Craig Newitt in the saddle. 

Speed demon Nature Strip also used this race a catapult for his career when winning in 2019 with an incredible front-running performance.

Other famous winners include Schillaci (1992), Placid Ark (1987) and Manikato (1982). 

The Statistics

The Recent Winners

Year  Winner Trainer Jockey Odds 
2022 Coolangatta Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Jamie Kah$6.4
2021 Wild RulerPeter & Paul SnowdenDaniel Moor$10
2020 PippieJ & C Meagher Damian Lane $6.5 
2019 Nature StripChris WallerJames McDonald$2.9
2018 Viddora Lloyd KennewellJoe Bowditch $12 
2017 She Will ReignGary PortelliKerrin McEvoy$4
2016 Extreme ChoiceMick Price Craig Newitt$5.5
2015 BufferingRobert HeathcoteDamian Browne $7 
2014 Buffering Robert Heathcote Damian Browne $5.5
2013 SamareadyMick PriceCraig Newitt$7 
2012 Buffering  Robert HeathcoteDamian Browne $2.10
2011 Black CaviarPeter Moody Luke Nolen$1.20
2010 Black CaviarPeter MoodyLuke Nolen$1.30

The Questions

When is the Moir Stakes held?

The race will be run and won on the 23rd of September, 2022.

Are there any other races on the day?
  • Yes
  • There are another seven races on the program with Group 2 events being the Stutt Stakes (1600m) and the W H Stocks Stakes (1600m) as well as two Group 3 events with the running of the Scarborough Stakes (1200m) and the JRA Cup over the Cox Plate distance of 2040 metres. 
How do I bet on the Moir Stakes?
  • Punch in betdeluxe.com.au to your browser and find your home for all your different types of ways to bet not only on Moir Stakes night but every race across Australia heading into a huge weekend of racing.
Where do the runners of the Moir Stakes race next?

If good enough, some horses will end up getting a slot in The Everest as we saw with Nature Strip in 2019.  

Some horses will venture towards the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200 metres) at Moonee Valley in a month, while others will this race as a springboard to the VRC Sprint (1200 metres) at Flemington in November. 

How To Bet On The Moir Stakes

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