The Black Caviar Lightning, registered as the Lightning Stakes, is a

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup ...

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse race at

Weight for Age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...

, run over a distance of 1000 metres at

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The racec ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in February. Prize money is A$1,000,000.

History

The Lightning Stakes forms the first leg of the three leg Autumn sprint series over the Melbourne carnival. It precedes the G1

Oakleigh Plate The Oakleigh Plate is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late February. Total prize money is A$750,000. History The Oakleigh ...

(1100m, open handicap) at

Caulfield Racecourse Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publ ...

on the third Saturday in February and the G1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m, open handicap), Australia's most famous sprinting handicap, also run at Flemington on the first Saturday in March. Horses contesting this race may also head to the G1

William Reid Stakes The William Reid Stakes is a horse race of Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 1 thoroughbred racing at Weight for Age, for three year olds and older, run over a distance of 1200 metres at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in the autumn. ...

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a fa ...

, run over 1200m at

weight-for-age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rous ...

in March.

Name

The name of the race changed from the Lightning Stakes in 2013, to honour sprinting superstar Black Caviar, who won the race in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Distance

* 1955–1972 - 5

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s (~1000 metres) * 1973 onwards - 1000 metres

Grade

* 1955–1979 - Principal race * 1980–1986 - Group 2 * 1987 onwards - Group 1

Venue

* In 2007 the race was run at

due to refurbishment work at

International affiliation

Since 2005 the race has been the first leg of the

Global Sprint Challenge The Global Sprint Challenge is a Thoroughbred horse racing series inaugurated in 2005 as a series of six sprint races run across three racing jurisdictions in Australia, England and Japan. In 2006 the series expanded to seven races across four raci ...

, followed by the

Australia Stakes The Australia Stakes, registered as the Stanley Wootton Stakes, is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group races, Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race raced under weight for age conditions, for three year olds and older, over a distance of 1200 metres at Moon ...

and from 2008 followed by the

King's Stand Stakes The King's Stand Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

when the

was replaced as a leg of the series by

The Age Classic The Champions Sprint, registered as the Victoria Racing Club Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over, under weight for age conditions, over a distance of 1200 metres held at Fl ...

. Until Nicconi's defeat in the 2010

at Royal Ascot held in June, this race has proved an outstanding guide to the winner of that race, with Choisir (2003),

Takeover Target Takeover Target (27 September 1999 – 20 June 2015) was a much-travelled Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won top sprinting races in each of the five major cities in Australia as well as in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore. ...

(2006),

Miss Andretti Miss Andretti was the 2007 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year and is the only Thoroughbred in racing history to simultaneously hold a total of five track records in Australia and England. Breeding She is a bay or brown mare that was foal ...

(2007) and

Scenic Blast {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Scenic Blast , image = , caption = , sire = Scenic , grandsire = Sadler's Wells , dam = Daughters Charm , damsire = Delgado , sex = Gelding , foaled = 2004 , country = Australia , colour = Bay / br ...

(2009) all winning this race before subsequently winning at Royal Ascot later that year.

Most wins

* Black Caviar (3)

Winners

* 2022 -

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

* 2021 – Nature Strip * 2020 –

Gytrash The Gytrash , a legendary Black dog (folklore), black dog known in Northern England, was said to haunt lonely roads awaiting travelers. Appearing in the shape of horses, mules, Crane (bird), cranes or dogs, the Gytrash haunt solitary ways and le ...

* 2019 –

In Her Time In Her Time (foaled 9 September 2012) is a multiple Group 1 winning Australian thoroughbred racehorse. Background At the 2014 Inglis Classic yearling sale, In Her Time had a reserve price of A$ 40,000, however this was not met. Racing career ...

* 2018 – Redkirk Warrior * 2017 – Terravista * 2016 –

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...

* 2015 – Lankan Rupee * 2014 – Snitzerland * 2013 –

Black Caviar Black Caviar (foaled 18 August 2006) is a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was undefeated in 25 races, including 15 Group Ones, an Australian record. She was the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 WTRR World Champion Sprinter. Black C ...

* 2012 –

* 2011 –

* 2010 – Nicconi * 2009 –

* 2008 –

Apache Cat Apache Cat (foaled 2002) is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who had 43 starts for 19 wins (including eight Group One (G1) victories) and was placed on another 11 occasions from for just under $4.6 million in prize money. He was born and bre ...

* 2007 –

* 2006 –

* 2005 –

Fastnet Rock Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...

* 2004 – Regimental Gal * 2003 –

Choisir Choisir (18 September 1999 – 7 December 2021) was an Australian-bred dual hemisphere-winning Thoroughbred racehorse. He became the first Australian-trained winner of the Group Two King's Stand Stakes. The same year, Choisir also won the Golden ...

* 2002 – Spinning Hill * 2001 – Sports * 2000 – Testa Rossa * 1999 – Isca * 1998 – General Nediym * 1997 –

Mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

* 1996 – Gold Ace * 1995 –

* 1994 – Keltrice * 1993 – Schillaci * 1992 – Schillaci * 1991 –

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Cir ...

* 1990 –

Redelva Redelva was a notable Australian thoroughbred racehorse. A chestnut son of Romantic Hope from the mare Delvena, he was foaled in 1983 and was trained throughout his career by Greg Varcoe. Redelva competed primarily in sprint races winning up to ...

* 1989 – Zeditave * 1988 – Special * 1987 –

Placid Ark Placid Ark (1983-1988) was an Australian thoroughbred foaled in Western Australia. His sire Arkenstone was a winning son of the Western Australian champion sire Zvornik and his dam was Northern Queen a mare bred in South Australia by the United ...

* 1986 – Hula Chief * 1985 – River Rough * 1984 – River Rough * 1983 – Demus * 1982 – He's A Haze * 1981 – Countess Marizza * 1980 – Sportscast * 1979 – The Judge * 1978 – Maybe Mahal * 1977 – Maybe Mahal * 1976 – Desirable * 1975 – Cap D'antibes * 1974 – Century * 1973 – Make Mine Roses * 1972 – Zambari * 1971 – Dual Choice * 1970 – Black Onyx * 1969 – Mister Hush * 1968 – Begonia Belle * 1967 – Storm Queen * 1966 – Citius * 1965 – Marmion * 1964 –

Wenona Girl Wenona Girl (foaled 1957) was a leading Australian Thoroughbred horse racemare that had 27 wins over distances ranging from 4½ furlongs to 1½ miles. She won 22 principal races, 15 of which were later designated group one (G1) races. Wenona Girl ...

* 1963 –

* 1962 – Sky High * 1961 – Sky High * 1960 –

Todman Todman (7 October 1954 – 1976) was one of the greatest Australia, Australian Thoroughbred racehorses and an important sire. He was perhaps best known as the winner of the inaugural STC Golden Slipper in 1957, being the first of Star Kingdom ...

* 1959 – Ritmar * 1958 – Misting * 1957 – Copper Year * 1956 – Apple Bay * 1955 – Gay Vista

References

{{VRC Race Days and Events Open sprint category horse races Group 1 stakes races in Australia Flemington Racecourse