The 2016 Lee Steere Stakes is a Group 2 event run every November at Ascot Racecourse in the city of Perth, capital of Western Australia. It’s one of the first events of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival and is contested under weight for age conditions.
The event is run over a 1400m trek and pays out $250,000 in prize money. As the very first Group 2 rated event of the Perth summer it provides a great opportunity for horses which have either good first up form or for horses running on well from the spring.
The Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes is often used as a lead up event as it’s held just two weeks before the Lee Steere Stakes on the same track.
From this race the best performing runners will likely jump up to Group 1 level with their next start in the Railway Stakes or the Winterbottom Stakes, run three weeks later.
One of the highlights of the Perth summer is the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic and the Lee Steere Stakes can be used as a long range tune up for that event.
Western Australia has a proud history of sending quality horses across to the east coast where they are usually very competitive.
The Lee Steere Stakes has featured a few of these in the past and the winner’s list has some of the state’s best.
Double Dignity never managed to win the race being outclassed back to back in 1992 and 1993 by Welcome Knight and Webasso.
In 1995 Century Blazer beat Webasso to the line but was himself edged out the following year when Bradson got in the way.
Umrum was champion in 2000 while Ellicorsam put in a blistering time to win in 2004.
The unluckiest horse in the races history though has to be Tarzi which finished second in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to Marasco, Idyllic Prince and Famous Roman.