3 minute read

The Race History of the Belle Of The Turf Stakes run at Wyong on Tuesday shows there hasn’t been a really strong winner for some time.

Lekvarte was a good mare though. Can we see one in the 2024 Belle Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Wyong on Tuesday?

2024 BELLE OF THE TURF STAKES - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Belle Of The Turf Stakes is a Group 3 race for fillies and mares conducted by the Gosford Race Club usually at Gosford.

The Belle Of The Turf Stakes was first run in 1988 and was won by St Klaire. It wasn't held in 2007 due to the Equine Influenza outbreak and switched dates in 2012.

The Belle Of The Turf Stakes is run over 1600m under quality handicap conditions. Prior to 2014 it was a Listed race but is now a Group 3.

The Gosford Race Club moved all their feature races to be run on one day in January along with the Gosford Cup and Takeover Target Stakes but have split them up the last couple of years. Those features are now run at the end of the Autumn Carnival. They ran the 2024 edition at Wyong due to course reconstruction.

Skyerush won in 2011 and subsequently won two Emancipation Stakes and placed in a G1 Tatts Tiara.

The race was worth $300,000 in 2024.

Notable winners of the Belle Of The Turf Stakes include Happy Sailing (1990), Rubitoff (1999), Dandify (2001), Pekalan (2006), Skyerush (2011), Pecans (Dec-2017), Expat (2021) and Lekvarte (2023).

The 2023 Belle Of The Turf Stakes was won by Lekvarte from Zoe's Promise and Pioneer Lass.