The 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield WFA Championship is set for an explosive start on Saturday with a star-studded field in the A$200,000 Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m).
Now in its ninth year of New Zealand Bloodstock sponsorship, the Caulfield WFA Championship comprises four races – the P.B. Lawrence Stakes, the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) on August 31, the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 29, and the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 12.
The winner of each race will earn 10 points, with 8 points for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth and 3 for fifth. Horses placed sixth to eighth will earn 1 point each.
With almost A$3 million in stakes up for grabs over the four-race series, the ultimate winner of the Championship will receive trophies to the value of A$15,000.
Five of the 11 horses in the field for Saturday's P.B. Lawrence Stakes are Group 1 winners, with another two multiple Group 2 winners and a Group 3 winner.
Most eyes will be on Mystic Journey(Needs Further), who has won 10 of her 13 starts and more than A$3.2 million in prize-money. She has won all of her last six starts, including the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) and the inaugural A$5 million All-Star Mile (1600m), and she is a leading contender for the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) in October.
The field also features the four-time Group 1 winner Hartnell(Authorized), who won the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship in 2017, along with Kenedna(Not a Single Doubt), who won two Group 1 races earlier this year. The other Group 1 winners in the field are Harlem(Champs Elysees) and Trap For Fools(Poet's Voice).
The P.B. Lawrence Stakes will be run as Race 8 on Saturday with a start time of 4:40pm (6:40pm NZT).
View the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship upcoming schedule and past resultshere.