A look at the William Reid Stakes

WILLIAM REID STAKES

1200m, $500,000, Group One, weight-for-age at Moonee Valley

NOTABLE WINNERS

* Gothic (1929); Comic Court (1951); Flying Halo (1952/53/55); Dual Choice (1972); All Shot (1973/74); Manikato (1979/ 80/ 81/ 82/ 83); Vo Rogue (1988); Hareeba (1995); Cape Of Good Hope (2005); Apache Cat (2008/09); Silent Sedition (2017); Hellbent (2018)

HISTORY:

* First run in 1925 when won by The Night Patrol who also won the following year

* Formerly known as the Australia Stakes. Reverted to its original name, the William Reid Stakes, in 2010

* Previously run in January

* Group One since 1987

* Manikato won the race five years in a row from 1979 to 1983

* Champion Black Caviar won the race twice in 2011 and 2013 during her unbeaten career

* Flamberge in 2016 was Peter Moody’s final winner before he retired from training

* Melbourne’s final Group One race for the season

* The William Reid joins the Moir Stakes (September) and Manikato Stakes (October) as Melbourne’s only Group One races run under lights

TALKING POINTS:

* The field of 11 contains four Group One winners – Voodoo Lad, Shoals, Written By and Sunlight

* Sunlight and Embrace Me will each be aiming to be the first three-year-old filly to win since Virage De Fortune in 2006

* Cape Of Good Hope (2005) won the William Reid-Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot double and Miss Andretti (2007) won the William Reid-King’s Stand Stakes double

WHAT THE KEY PLAYERS ARE SAYING:

“I came into Melbourne yesterday and went to the stable and looked at her and she looked like she had been to the bakery again” – Sunlight’s trainer trainer Tony McEvoy on the filly’s condition after a gallop at The Valley on Monday

“He’s an older horse with a few niggles so we’ll keep him on the softer surface at The Valley” co-trainer Ciaron Maher on Voodoo Lad

“He enjoyed his trip out to The Valley last week and had a good solid gallop” – Written By’s trainer Grahame Begg

“She’s good second-up, it looks a nice race for her, she’s drawn well and she should be competitive” – Shoals’ trainer Anthony Freedman