Catbird is the dual winner though but watch the significance of the 2023 Black Opal Stakes (1200m) at Canberra on Sunday.

2023 BLACK OPAL STAKES - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Black Opal Stakes is a Group 3 race for two-year-olds conducted by the Canberra Racing Club at Thoroughbred Park in Canberra.

The Black Opal Stakes is run over 1200m and was introduced in the Autumn of 1973 as a feature lead-up race for two-year-olds preparing for the Golden Slipper.

The Black Opal Stakes has traditionally been run on a Sunday in March. In its first decade it became the most popular Sunday race meeting held in Australia. Between 2000 and 2005 the Black Opal Stakes became a feature Saturday meeting when Sydney's Canterbury Guineas meeting was run on a Friday night.

The Black Opal Stakes is run under set weight and penalty conditions and has carried Group 3 status since 2015. It was first granted black type as a Group 3 race from 1979-1986, rose to Group 2 from 1987-1998, returned to Group 3 from 1999-2005 and was run as a Listed Race from 2006-2014.

The Black Opal Stakes is the headline race on a big weekend for the Canberra Racing Club that also features the Canberra Cup, Canberra Guineas, National Sprint and Camarena Quality.

The Black Opal Stakes/Golden Slipper Stakes double has been won only once by Catbird in 1999. However seven Black Opal Stakes winners have finished second or third in the Golden Slipper – Blazing Saddles, Just Blooming, Comely Girl, Clan O'Sullivan, St Covet, Paint and Decision Time.

Other top class two-year-olds from leading stables to win the Black Opal Stakes including Rich Reward, Silver Shadow, Bianca, Spirit Of Kingston, New Atlantis, Maizcay, Unspoken Word, Danger, Planchet, Epaulette, Criterion, Takedown, Trapeze Artist and Encryption.

Colts and geldings have won the Black Opal Stakes 38 times. Fillies have won 12 times but only four have won since 1989, the last being Queen Of The Ball in 2022.  

The late Jack Denham is the leading trainer in Black Opal history with five wins (Rich Reward, Bianca, Gold Mosaic, Maizcay, Marks Gain). The late TJ Smith won the Black Opal Stakes three times with Silver Shadow, Blazing Saddles and Comely Girl.

Current Sydney trainer Gary Portelli has also won the Black Opal Stakes three times since 2001 with Coral Salute, Down The Wicket and Delago Bolt. Gerald Ryan also has three with Paint, Lucky Raquie and Trapeze Artist but Peter Snowden (now with Paul) has four now (Epaulette, Defcon, Barbaric and Kalashnikov).

Local trainers John Morrissey (Pembleton, Speed Week) and Frank Cleary (Clan O'Sullivan, Catbird) have won the Black Opal Stakes twice. Other dual winners have been David Payne (Uber, Criterion) and James Cummings (Encryption, Pin Sec).

The leading jockey in Black Opal Stakes history with three wins each are Mark De Montfort (Just Blooming, Maizcay, Catbird), Jim Cassidy (Fraud, Pembleton, Coral Salute) and Glyn Schofield (Criterion, Lucky Raquie, Encryption). 

The 2023 Black Opal Stakes was run for prizemoney of $200,000.

The race record for the Black Opal Stakes is 1.09.6 and was set by the 1994 winner St Covet. They ran a similar time in 2021.

The 2022 Black Opal Stakes was won by Queen Of The Ball from Warby and Metallicity.