The William Reid Stakes is a Group 1 race held each year at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne.  Generally hosted in March during the Autumn Racing Carnival, the 1200 metre William Reid Stakes has been won by some champion sprinters over the years.  This event is run under weight for age conditions and currently worth $400,000 in prizemoney.

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The William Reid Stakes was first run in 1925, named after prominent Victorian racehorse owner and banker William Reid.  This event was a Principal Race between 1925 and 1979, graduating to a Group 2 race in 1980 and a Group 1 race in 1987.  Held over 6 furlongs between 1925-1972, the William Reid Stakes became a 1200 metre race in 1973.

This event has been through some name changes over the years, known as the Australia Made Stakes between 1994-1995 and the Australia Stakes between 1996-2009 before reverting back to its original title in 2010.  This event should not be confused with the current Australia Stakes, a Group 2 event also run at Moonee Valley in late January.

The William Reid Stakes formed a leg of the prestigious Global Sprint Challenge between 2005-2007 when known as the Australia Stakes, together with the  Lightning Stakes and King’s Stand Stakes.  The Australian leg of the Global Sprint Challenge series is now taken by The Age Classic.

This great race has been won by some big names in recent years, including Black Caviar in 2011, Apache Cat in 2008 and 2009, and Miss Andretti in 2007.  If you go back a little further into the past, other great winners include Hareeba in 1995, Redelva in 1991, and Zeditave in 1989.  In the distant past, notable winners include Heroic in 1927 and Comic Court in 1951.

However, the one name that will always be associated with this great race is Manikato, who won the William Reid Stakes for five years in a row between 1979 and 1983.  This fantastic record, among other victories, saw the great Manikato honoured with the Group 1 Manikato Stakes in September at Moonee Valley.  In 2005, the William Reid Stakes was won by Cape Of Good Hope, the first overseas runner to take victory.

In the news:

Robbie Griffiths is under no illusions about the task facing William Reid Stakes outsider It Is Written.

But the sprinter’s affinity for the Moonee Valley circuit has convinced the trainer to roll the dice and give him a crack at Friday night’s Group One sprint.

“I don’t believe he’s a genuine Group One horse and I think if some of those other horses are on their A-game, like Samaready, we’re probably just going to run midfield,” Griffiths said.

“But he does excel at Moonee Valley and if he’s going to run out of his skin and run above his natural talent you’d think he’d do it at a track like that.”

It Is Written has five wins and five placings from 13 Moonee Valley starts, including a Listed victory last Friday night and a Group Two placing in the Australia Stakes in January.

His success at the course is part of the reason Griffiths has nicknamed it “Money Valley”.

“It’s been good for us over the years,” he said.

“We’ve been fortunate to have had a few horses that have really liked the circuit and because of that we keep coming back there.”

Former stable stalwart Dandy Kid is the most notable Valley specialist winning there a record 15 times.

The Griffiths-trained Girl In Flight is untried at the track and her performance in Friday’s Listed Alexandra Stakes will help determine whether she heads to Sydney or Adelaide for feature races.

Griffiths said the filly had trained on well since her second-up fourth to Solicit at Flemington but was unsure if the smaller Valley circuit would suit the backmarker’s racing pattern.

“I expect her to run top four and the difference between fourth and first will be just how she gets around the tighter circuit,” Griffiths said.