Ajax Stakes

Ladbrokes Tip: The Ajax Stakes odds are led by horses heading towards the Group 1 The Championship races in April

The latest edition of the Ajax Stakes took place on Saturday, March 14, 2026 as part of Rosehill’s Coolmore Classic Day and was won in a brave first-up effort by the now Doncaster Mile ballot exempt Cristal Clear ($5.50) from the Archibald yard. 

2026 Ajax Stakes Results

The full Ajax Stakes Results & Finishing Order 2026 will be available below when the race is run and won on Saturday, March 14, 2026.

The progressive Annabel & Rob Archibald-trained four-year-old Exceedance gelding Cristal Clear ($5.50) kicked off his autumn in style when handing apprentice hoop Braith Nock his first stakes success in the 2026 Ajax Stakes results in Sydney. The winner came from an on-pace run sitting third at the top of the straight before letting down well down the inside rail before hitting the front inside the final furlong and holding off the challenge by Robusto to secure a ballot free ride into the Doncaster Mile field on April 4 where he will carry just 50kg. He has firmed in from $101 to $34 in futures Doncaster Mile betting.

2026 Ajax Stakes Odds

The updated 2026 Ajax Stakes odds on the Group 2 Coolmore Classic Day race will be available below the week of the race so bookmark this page for access to the best autumn racing markets followed by the official Ajax Stakes results after the event.

Ajax Stakes Tips

Looking for gallopers coming off a top two black-type run last start and for those with good Sydney form are top Ajax Stakes tips.

Favourites have a good record in the race so sticking with the runners under $10 in betting is also a good Ajax Stakes tip. Another Ajax Stakes betting tip is to check the top runners in the markets for the following month’s Doncaster Mile over 1600m.

2026 Ajax Stakes Tips 

Our insider 2026 Ajax Stakes betting tip will be published below following final acceptances on the Doncaster lead-up.

The Ajax Stakes is a Group 2 support race on Coolmore Classic Day held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in early March during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The feature on the card is the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) for the fillies and mares, which is supported by two Group 2 events.

One of those is the Ajax Stakes run over 1500m under quality handicap conditions for horses aged three-years-old and above.

The race is named in honour of Australian Hall of Fame racehorse and 1938 Cox Plate champion Ajax who won 18 straight races during his career of 43 starts that produced a total of 36 victories.

The Ajax Stakes offers a total of $300,000 in prize money including $170,000 to the winner.

The Ajax Stakes winner is exempt from ballot for the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) held on Day 1 of Royal Randwick’s The Championships in April and the latest horses to complete the Ajax Stakes – Doncaster double are Grand Armee (2003) and It’s Somewhat (2017).

Ajax Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026
• Track: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
• Distance: 1500m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1974

Ajax Stakes Betting

Ajax Stakes odds are traditionally led by horses with proven form over 1500m – 1600m coming off nice lead-up runs.

Runners dropping back in class off a strong Group 1 run in a race like the Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) usually feature prominently in Ajax Stakes betting as do last start winners.

Messene (2014) was the last Ajax Stakes winner to come off a lead-up victory having taken out a black-type over 1400m in Canberra until 2019 when Fifty Stars won on the back of a Group 2 Blamey Stakes win at Flemington.

Single figure hopes have a good record in the race and the latest double figure Ajax Stakes winners were Brilliant Light ($14 in 2011), Cepheus ($15 in 2023), and Iowna Merc ($11 in 2025). 

Ajax Stakes Field

A field of middle-distance gallopers looking to step out over a mile face off in the Ajax Stakes each autumn.

Horses come into the Ajax Stakes race field via a variety of different lead-up races including the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick a month earlier and the Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) (1600m) in late February. The Apollo Stakes last produced an Ajax Stakes winner with Comin’ Through (3rd in 2018).

Following a run in the Ajax Stakes many gallopers may back-up at the same track / distance a fortnight later in the Group 3 Doncaster Prelude (1500m). Brilliant Light (2010) was the last to complete the Ajax Stakes – Doncaster Prelude double.

Ajax Stakes nominations close on the Monday before the race followed by the release of the final field and barrier draw on the Wednesday.

2026 Ajax Stakes Field

The official Ajax Stakes 2026 field of potential Doncaster Mile horses will be released by Racing NSW and will be published right here so stay tuned.

The Ajax Stakes 2026 final field features a small but impressive line-up of potential Doncaster Mile hopes including resuming Group 1 Caulfield Stakes winner Globe and the rails-drawn Chris Waller-trained Militarize looking to improve on his fourth fresh in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup.

Rosehill R9 - Hyland Race Colours Ajax Stakes (G2)

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. Globe J: Tommy Berry T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr	x2421x	G	11	59kg
	2. Militarize J: James McDonald T: Chris Waller	7523x4	G	1	57.5kg
	3. Robusto J: Tim Clark T: Bjorn Baker	77320x	G	5	57kg
	4. Sandpaper J: Jason Collett T: Bjorn Baker	702615	G	4	56.5kg
	5. Willaidow J: Chad Schofield T: Marc & Mitchell Conners	576x10	G	7	56kg
	6. Lord Penman J: Zac Lloyd T: Chris Waller	7720x1	G	10	53kg
	7. Enxuto J: Tyler Schiller T: Robbie Griffiths	424x32	G	2	53kg
	8. Cristal Clear J: Braith Nock T: Annabel & Rob Archibald	11266x	G	3	53kg
	9. War Eternal J: Rachel King T: Bjorn Baker	9x9045	G	9	53kg
	10. Portland J: Kerrin Mcevoy T: Matthew Smith	83x7x7	G	6	53kg
	11. Thunderlips J: Dylan Gibbons T: Bjorn Baker	x04269	G	8	53kg

View Results

2026 Ajax Stakes Nominations

The official Ajax Stakes 2026 nominations are taken on the Monday leading-up to Coolmore Classic Day and the full list of early entries will be available below.

2026 Ajax Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 10/03/2026

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	6x00x120x3	ARCTIC GLAMOUR	M	5	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	105
2	x44111266x	CRISTAL CLEAR	G	4	Annabel & Rob Archibald	94
3	x753424x32	ENXUTO	G	5	Robbie Griffiths	97
4	37x39667x6	FIRESTORM (NZ)	M	5	Chris Waller	100
5	13x0x2421x	GLOBE (NZ)	G	7	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	110
6	124x1155x2	LAZZURA	M	4	Chris Waller	109
7	91x27720x1	LORD PENMAN (NZ)	G	4	Chris Waller	98
8	46x57523x4	MILITARIZE (NZ)	G	5	Chris Waller	107
9	x24183x7x7	PORTLAND (IRE)	G	5	Matthew Smith	90
10	177x77320x	ROBUSTO	G	6	Bjorn Baker	106
11	15×0702615	SANDPAPER	G	6	Bjorn Baker	105
12	10136x107x	SEA KING (GB)	G	7	Matthew Dunn	102
13	1147×04269	THUNDERLIPS	G	5	Bjorn Baker	90
14	82169×9045	WAR ETERNAL (NZ)	G	7	Bjorn Baker	93
15	048x576x10	WILLAIDOW	G	7	Marc & Mitchell Conners	104

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Ajax Stakes Form Guide

The lead-up form into the Ajax Stakes varies and it is hard to pinpoint the best to follow into the race.

Sydney runs dominate however and the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) has produced a number of recent winners including Pureness (2011) who ran second in the Group 3 before a win in the Group 2 next start and Democracy Manifest (6th in 2024). 

Iowna Merc (2025) was the last horse to complete the Liverpool City Cup / Ajax Stakes double. 

The Ajax Stakes form has stacked up in other autumn Group 1 races over the years including the Doncaster Mile (1600m) held the following month. In 2014 Weary ran second in the Ajax Stakes and went on to place third to Sacred Falls in the Doncaster Mile two starts later. More recently, back-to-back Ajax Stakes winner It’s Somewhat backed up from his second in 2017 to take out the Doncaster Mile that autumn.

In 2021 the Ajax Stakes runner-up Think It Over franked the form winning the Group 1 George Ryder next-up before a Queen Elizabeth Stakes fourth. He also won a host of good races in the spring including the Rosehill Gold Cup.

The 2022 Ajax Stakes form was franked with the runner-up Ellsberg winning a trio of big races that spring including the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) and the $2 million The Five Diamonds (1800m).

The Ajax 2023 form held up that spring with the winner Cepheus taking out both the Group 2 Shannon Stakes and $1.5 million Alan Brown before a Melbourne Cup Day second in Sydney’s The Big Dance race.

2026 Ajax Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Ajax Stakes 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 AJAX STAKES FORM GUIDE

Past Ajax Stakes Results

Single figure hopes have dominated the Ajax Stakes race results in recent years and favourites have a credible record.

Notable recent Ajax Stakes winners include It’s Somewhat (2016-17), Messene (2014), All Silent (2008), and Grand Armee (2003).

Sea Pictures (1986) was the last Ajax Stakes winning mare.

Niagara (2012) was the last three-year-old Ajax Stakes winner.

Recent Ajax Stakes Winners

Past Ajax Stakes winners and placegetters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Third	Time
2026	Cristal Clear	Robusto	Enxuto	1:29.62
2025	Iowna Merc	Willaidow	West Of Africa	1:28.84
2024	Democracy Manifest	Territory Express	Detonator Jack	1:28.39
2023	Cepheus	Waterford	Caesars Palace	1:28.9
2022	Just Folk	Ellsberg	Kiku	1:31.5
2021	I Am Superman	Think It Over	Rock	1:27.9
2020	Imaging	Yulong Prince	Cascadian	1:35.6
2019	Fifty Stars	Mask of Time	Dyslexic	1:32.6
2018	Comin’ Through	Tom Melbourne	Radipole	1:28.5
2017	It’s Somewhat	New Tipperary	Testashadow	1:31.0
2016	It’s Somewhat	Excess Knowledge	Dances On Stars	1:28.1
2015	First Seal	Supara	Slightly Sweet	1:28.9
2014	Thump	Real Surreal	Lucia Valentina	1:23.5
2013	Dear Demi	Driefontein	Longport	1:22.2
2012	Streama	Sea Siren	Hallowell Belle	1:24.7
2011	Parables	Red Tracer	Rose Of Peace	1:22.3
2010	More Joyous	Hurtle Myrtle	So Anyway	1:23.6
2009	Portillo	Romneya	Rocha	1:21.8
2008	Chinchilla Rose	Occurrence	Mimi Lebrock	1:24.2
2007	Gold Edition	Tuesday Joy	Just Dancing	1:22.3
2006	Regal Cheer	Mnemosyne	Star Mystic	1:22.8
2005	Lotteria	Shania Dane	Johan’s Toy	1:22.8
2004	Only Words	Ike’s Dream	Shamekha	1:25.9
2003	Bollinger	Bumptious	Sunday Joy	1:23.1
2002	Hosannah	Heritiere	Quays	1:22.8
2001	On Type	Maitland Gold	Miss Kournikova	1:22.7
2000	Ad Alta	Spinning Hill	Camena	1:24.0

FAQ

Who won the 2026 Ajax Stakes?

The 2026 Ajax Stakes was won by four-year-old Exceedance gelding Cristal Clear first-up at $5.50 for trainers Annabel & Rob Archibald with apprentice jockey Braith Nock celebrating his first stakes victory riding the winner on 53kg from barrier 3 to win by 0.16 lengths on a Good (4) track in a time of 1:29.62.

Who won the 2025 Ajax Stakes?

The 2025 Ajax Stakes was won by five-year-old Winning Rupert gelding Iowna Merc at $11 for trainer Bjorn Baker with jockey Josh Parr aboard on 57.5kg from barrier 2 to win by 0.05 lengths in a time of 1:28.84.

When is the Ajax Stakes 2026?

Saturday, March 14, 2026

What is the prize money for the Ajax Stakes 2026?

$300,000

Where is the Ajax Stakes 2026?

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, James Ruse Dr, Rosehill NSW 2142. 

How do I bet on the 2026 Ajax Stakes?

Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at ladbrokes.com.au. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods. Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.

Which horse will win the 2026 Ajax Stakes?

The best way to pick which horse will win the Ajax Stakes is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out ladbrokes.com.au in the lead up to the race for full form information.