Naturalism Stakes
Naturalism Stakes
Group Three Betting Guide
| Date: | Saturday, September 20, 2025 |
| Location: | Caulfield Racecourse – Melbourne, Victoria |
| Prize Money: | $200,000 |
| Distance: | 2000m |
The Group 3 Naturalism Stakes is a 2000m event held at Caulfield Racecourse in September each year.
As of 2026, the Naturalism Stakes is run for $200,000 and is often used as a catapult towards runs in a Caulfield Cup (2400m) or Melbourne Cup (3200m).
The race is currently run as the MRC Foundation Cup, but is registered as the Naturalism Stakes.
First run in 1993, the Naturalism Stakes is named after the Lee Freedman-trained superstar Naturalism who claimed Group 1 glory in races like the Australian Derby (2400m) and Caulfield Stakes (2000m).
The winner of the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes receives ballot exemption in the Caulfield Cup.
Jameka (2016) is the only horse to complete the MRC Foundation Cup/Caulfield Cup double.
2025 Naturalism Stakes Betting Odds
Odds for Naturalism Stakes as of September 17 – Courtesy of Neds
- Birdman Win $3.00 Place $1.50
- Half Yours Win $3.20 Place $1.22
- Statuario Win $6.50 Place $2.40
- Berkshire Breeze Win $8.00 Place $2.80
- Brayden Star Win $10.00 Place $3.00
- Berkeley Square Win $11.00 Place $3.50
- Mark Twain Win $11.00 Place $3.50
- River Of Stars Win $13.00 Place $3.90
- Thedoctoroflove Win $13.00 Place $3.90
- Interpretation Win $16.00 Place $4.50
- Torranzino Win $19.00 Place $5.00
- Future History Win $21.00 Place $5.50
- Star Of India Win $23.00 Place $5.50
- Valiant King Win $27.00 Place $6.50
- Asterix Win $34.00 Place $8.00
- Okita Soushi Win $35.00 Place $8.00
- Grand Pierro Win $35.00 Place $8.00
- Mister Wolfgang Win $46.00 Place $10.00
- Herman Hesse Win $71.00 Place $14.00
- Earl Of Tyrone Win $71.00 Place $14.00
Best Naturalism Stakes bookmakers
All of our top horse betting sites have markets for the Naturalism Stakes.
Most of the Melbourne Spring Carnival races have markets open well in advance and the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes is no exception.
The top online bookmakers in Australia with Naturalism Stakes betting can be accessed via several different means, including via horse betting apps, telephone betting and via their websites.
It is a straight-forward process signing up and betting at Naturalism Stakes bookmakers, with things like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and POLi the most popular way people fund their bookie accounts. The only real rule is that you will have to prove your identity, before you have full access to your account.
Latest Naturalism Stakes News
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The Naturalism Stakes 2025 Final Field
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Previous Naturalism Stakes Field
No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 
Que Tempesta Ben, Will & JD Hayes Mark Zahra 4 59kg 2 Just Fine Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jordan Childs 10 58.5kg 3 Francesco Guardi Chris Waller Joao Moreira 11 58kg 4 Le Don De Vie Ciaron Maher Ethan Brown 9 58kg 5 Bankers Choice Mike Moroney & Glen Thompson Damian Lane 16 57.5kg 6 Pennyweka Ciaron Maher Michael Dee 13 57.5kg 7 Amade Phillip Stokes Daniel Stackhouse 12 57kg 8 MuramasaTrent Busuttin & Natalie YoungJohn Allen1457kg9 Gear Up Annabel Neasham Jamie Mott 7 56kg 10 Fancy Man Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald Tyler Schiller 15 55.5kg 11 Future History Ciaron Maher Declan Bates 1 55.5kg 12 Okita Soushi Ciaron Maher Jye McNeil 5 55kg 13 The Map Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray Craig Newitt 8 54.5kg 14 Positivity Andrew Forsman Harry Coffey 3 54kg 15 Saint George Ciaron Maher Jamie Kah 2 54kg 16 Immediacy Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Craig Williams 6 54kg No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Hezashocka Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) Blake Shinn 20 58kg 2 Emissary Mike Moroney Jye McNeil 15 57.5kg 3 Floating Artist Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Mark Zahra 10 57.5kg 4 Regal Power John Leek (Jnr) Beau Mertens 8 57.5kg 5 Goldman Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jordan Childs 19 57kg 6 Daqiansweet Junior Phillip Stokes Daniel Stackhouse 5 56.5kg 7 Sheraz Chris Waller Damien Oliver 14 56.5kg 8 Uncle Bryn Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young John Allen 4 56.5kg 9 Virtuous Circle Liam Howley Billy Egan 7 55.5kg 10 Bear Story Clinton McDonald Blaike McDougall 12 55kg 11 Milford Mike Moroney Patrick Moloney 18 55kg 12 Berkeley Square Dan O’Sullivan Harry Coffey 9 54kg 13 Hasta La War Sue Murphy Linda Meech 11 54kg 14 The Summit Ben, Will & JD Hayes Michael Dee 2 54kg 15 Chris WallerCraig Williams1354kg16 Future HistoryCiaron Maher & David EustaceCarleen Hefel1754kg17 Alaskan God (1E) Daniel Morton Jamie Kah 3 54kg 18 Reo (2E) Richard Laming Craig Newitt 1 54kg 19 Brayden Star (3E)Trent Busuttin & Natalie YoungCraig Newitt154kg20 She’s Fit (4E)Daniel MortonN/A654kgNo. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Gold Trip Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Mark Zahra 6 60kg 2 Earlswood Maddie Raymond Damian Lane 15 58kg 3 Grand PromenadeCiaron Maher & David EustaceBen Melham357kg4 Sheraz Chris Waller Damien Oliver 14 57kg 5 Elephant Emma-Lee & David Browne Jordan Childs 10 56.5kg 6 Chapada Mike Moroney Daniel Stackhouse 9 56kg 7 Daqiansweet Junior Phillip Stokes Jamie Kah 7 56kg 8 Crystal Pegasus Chris Waller Craig Williams 8 55.5kg 9 Midnight Blue Danny O’Brien Damien Thornton 4 54.5kg 10 Lunar Flare Grahame Begg Michael Dee 11 54kg 11 Emissary Mike Moroney Jye McNeil 2 54kg 12 AleasChris WallerBrett Prebble1354kg13 Smokin’ Romans Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Ethan Brown 12 54kg 14 Uncle Bryn Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Daniel Moor 1 54kg 15 The Amazonian Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) Patrick Moloney 5 54kg
2024 MRC Foundation Cup result
1st – Positivity (+2500)
2nd – Future History (-142.86)
3rd – Gear Up (+180)
Recent Naturalism Stakes results
- Just 10 months after her career started, emerging mare Positivity became a three-time Group winner with a tenacious victory in the Group 3MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) at Caulfield. After enjoying a handy run in fourth, jockey Harry Coffey presented Positivity on the outside of Future History in the home straight. That rival responded to the challenge, with Gear Up and Saint George joining in wider out on the track, but Positivity kept lifting and kept finding and edged them all out by a short head.
- Jockey John Allen took out back-to-back Group 3 features at Caulfield, as Uncle Bryn ($31.00) proved too good in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m). The Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young-trained gelding has taken dramatic improvement after being well-beaten in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) three weeks ago, courtesy of a tremendous steer by John Allen. He box-seated the entire journey aboard the lightly raced five-year-old, and once he pushed the button, managed to put a margin on his rivals, signifying the 2400m journey of a Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) might be right up his ally. The son of Sea The Stars coasted through the line in the end, while race favourite Floating Artist ($2.80) didn’t lose any admirers running into the quinella spot, with Alaskan God ($7.00) running boldly into third.
- Smokin’ Romans has qualified for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) with a gritty on-speed performance to win the Group 3 MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) at Caulfield in the hands of Ethan Brown. The New Zealand-bred son of Ghibellines leapt from 57th in order of entry to be free from the ballot for a Caulfield Cup start after staving off the challenge of Uncle Bryn ($7.50) and stablemate Gold Trip ($3.80) to score by three-quarters of a length. It was the eighth career victory for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained stayer who was a firmer in the market in the rain-softened conditions, eventually starting at $8. Having gained a relatively uncontested lead, Brown upped the tempo from the 700m mark, where he had his rivals chasing, with Smokin’ Romans having enough left in the tank to fend off his rivals.
- Nonconformist booked his way into the Caulfield Cup after a narrow win in the 2021 MRC Foundation Cup at Caulfield. Starting a $4.20 favourite in the Group 3, Nonconformist fended off the challenge from Delphi ($8) to claim the victory in the 2000m race which offers ballot exemption into the Caulfield Cup. Trained by Grahame Begg, the five-year-old son of Rebel Raider nearly won his way into the Caulfield Cup when second to Mount Popa in the Mornington Cup in March, with Begg calling his Group 3 win “second time lucky”. Nonconformist’s win was the gelding’s third win at Caulfield, which includes a 3.75 length romp on debut and a victory in the Group 3 Coongy Cup, which also offered ballot exemption to the Caulfield Cup but Begg elected to bypass the race 12 months ago. After two promising first-up runs in the PB Lawrence Stakes and Feehan Stakes, the five-year-old was set to peak third-up and did so in style.
- The Danny O’Brien-trained Orderofthegarter rocketed into Caulfield Cup favouritism after winning a golden ticket into the race with his 2020 victory in the Naturalism Stakes. Jockey Damien Oliver said Orderofthegarter had snuck into next month’s Group One race with a light weight and would be a great chance with just 50kg. O’Brien said it was a great ride from Oliver, who placed him where they had planned pre-race which was just behind the speed. It was 30 years ago at the corresponding meeting that Oliver recorded his first win at Group One level when he took out the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes on Submariner. Oliver won’t be able to ride the 50kg allotted to Orderofthegarter and O’Brien suggested that Daniel Moor could snare the plum mount. Orderofthegarter ($2.90) defeated Chapada ($21) by three-quarters of a length with Steel Prince ($11) a short-head away third.
- Master trainer Chris Waller managed to train the quinella in the 2019 Naturalism Stakes when Brimham Rocks ($21) beat home stablemate So You Win ($12) in an upset result. Before the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes, Waller’s Fastnet Rock six-year-old Brimham Rocks was 75th on the Caulfield Cup order of entry with 52kg but when winning the Naturalism was ballot-exempt from the $5 million feature. Brimham Rocks had two unplaced runs first and second-up in the Rowley Mile at Hawkesbury and then the Chelmsford Stakes before returning to the winners’ stall in the Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield. It was the import’s first win in over 700 days with Brimham Rocks previously a maiden down under, his last victory being at York in October of 2017.
Naturalism Stakes winners
| Naturalism Stakes Past Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2024 | Positivity | Harry Coffey | Andrew Forsman |
| 2023 | Uncle Bryn | John Allen | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young |
| 2022 | Smokin’ Romans | Ethan Brown | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace |
| 2021 | Nonconformist | Jordan Childs | Grahame Begg |
| 2020 | Orderofthegarter | Damien Oliver | Danny O’Brien |
| 2019 | Brimham Rocks | Michael Walker | Chris Waller |
| 2018 | Night’s Watch | Damian Lane | Darren Weir |
| 2017 | Harlem | Dwayne Dunn | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig |
| 2016 | Jameka | Nicholas Hall | Ciaron Maher |
| 2015 | Magnapal | Luke Currie | Terry & Karina O’Sullivan |
| 2014 | Gris Caro | Ben Melham | Jake Stephens |
| 2013 | Mr O’Ceirin | Glen Boss | Ciaron Maher |
| 2012 | Folding Gear | Ben Melham | Lee & Shannon Hope |
| 2011 | December Draw | Michael Rodd | Mark Kavanagh |
| 2010 | Rainbow Styling | Chris Munce | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes |
| 2009 | Red Lord | Damien Oliver | Anthony Cummings |
| 2008 | Zagreb | Craig Williams | David Hayes |
| 2007 | Douro Valley | Darren Beadman | Danny O’Brien |
| 2006 | Zipping | Steven Arnold | Graeme Rogerson |
| 2005 | Sarrera | Greg Childs | Mike Moroney |
| 2004 | Confectioner | Nash Rawiller | Tony McEvoy |
| 2003 | Rose Archway | Damien Oliver | Clarry Conners |
| 2002 | Pentastic | Brett Prebble | David Hall |
| 2001 | Inaflury | Steven Arnold | Cliff Brown |
| 2000 | Celestial Show | Jason Brown | Len Morton |
Naturalism Stakes winners pre-2000
| Naturalism Stakes Past Winners Pre 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | ||
| 1999 | Second Coming | ||
| 1998 | Our Unicorn | ||
| 1997 | Skybeau | ||
| 1996 | Peep On The Sly | ||
| 1995 | Campaign Warrior | ||
| 1994 | Top Rating | ||
| 1993 | Golden Serpent | ||
| 1992 | Three Pals | ||
| 1991 | Newbury Star | ||
| 1990 | Just A Dancer | ||
| 1989 | Tiendi | ||
| 1988 | Ebeli Show | ||
| 1987 | Tristram | ||
| 1986 | Sea Legend | ||
| 1985 | Top Banner | ||
| 1984 | Mapperley Heights | ||
| 1983 | Mevron Boy | ||
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