More than a racehorse: How Wakeful inspired generations

The Victorian Wakeful Club was established in 2001 by a group of women who knew the time was overdue to encourage the networking of the many women participating in every facet of thoroughbred racing.

Already, since 1993, there has been a Lady of Racing Award which has since been awarded annually, almost without exception.

The first recipient was the thoroughbred breeder, racing administrator, owner and author, the late Robin Levett. The Lady of Racing honour roll includes women famous around Australia, but also those who, less conspicuously, have been inspirations to women invested in the sport they love.  

The Wakeful Club came into being and took its name before the arrival on the Australian turf of three superstar mares: Makybe Diva with her three Melbourne Cups; the sizzling Black Caviar, uniquely unbeaten in her 25 starts; and Winx, with her 37 wins, 33 in succession. Before cheering for these champions, racegoers have fallen in love with a succession of great race mares. Think of Sunline, Empire Rose, Emancipation, Leilani, Dual Choice, Chicquita and, much further back, Flight, Rivette, Sister Olive, Gladsome and Gloaming. 

Yet it is reasonable to assert that Wakeful is the greatest mare ever to have raced in Australia. She did not start racing until four years old, continuing until she was seven. It is her versatility that makes her exceptional. The first wins were in those sprint classics, the Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield and the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, followed directly by the Doncaster Handicap at Randwick. In the spring she returned to win the Caulfield Stakes, then was second in Caulfield Cup and next won what was called the Melbourne Stakes on Derby Day. Her first try at a Melbourne Cup she finished fifth to Revenue.  

The next autumn, her seven victories included the Sydney Cup – which she won smashing the course record while carrying 61.2 kilograms. Her ten wins at age six included a Champion Race at Flemington over a marathon 3 miles (4828 metres). At seven she was handicapped to carry top weight of 10 stone (63.4 kilograms) in the 1903 Melbourne Cup. Her jockey, Fred Dunn, had won the Melbourne Cup on Revenue in 1901 but miscalculated this time by taking Wakeful to the front half a mile from home. The three-year-old Lord Cardigan with boy jockey Noel Godby carried 43.7 kg – yes! – 20 kilograms less on his back. Even so, he could only just catch Wakeful in the shadows of the post. The sentimental favourite lost. People wept openly in the stands and cheered her back to the saddling yard as a champion.  

The postscript to the Wakeful story is that she also triumphed as a broodmare. She herself was a daughter of Trenton (twice placed in Melbourne Cups in the mid-1880s). Her dam, appropriately named, was Insomnia, daughter of Nightmare. Wakeful gave birth to ten foals. Nine raced and six were winners – including Blairgour who won an Oakleigh Plate, and Night Watch who won the 1918 Melbourne Cup. Wakeful is the only (Sydney) Cup-winning mare to produce a Cup winner. She is worth celebrating 120 plus years on, our four-legged Lady of Racing.  

2025 Lady of Racing award to be announced this Saturday at Flemington 

The Lady of Racing Award continues to celebrate the outstanding contributions of women in the thoroughbred racing and breeding industry.

This year, three exceptional women – Rebecca Cassar, Gwenda Johnstone, and Vicky Leonard – have been named as finalists for the prestigious honour.

The winner will be announced on Saturday at Flemington, which coincides with International Women’s Day. 

The Lady of Racing Award has a rich history, with last year’s winner, trainer Natalie Young, joining an esteemed list of past recipients, including Michelle Payne, Amanda Elliott, Shelley Hancox, Wendy Kelly, Gaye Gauci, and Jamie Melham.