Ladbrokes Tip: Recent Aurie’s Star Handicap winners have won next-up in Sydney Group races

The Aurie’s Star Handicap is the first Group race of the new racing season held in Melbourne and takes place in early August at Flemington Racecourse. Holding Group 3 status the open handicap sprint is contested over 1200m down the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ track and offers a total of $160,000 in prize money.

Officially held during the winter racing season, the Aurie’s Star Handicap makes a good starting point for Melbourne and Sydney Spring Racing Carnival hopefuls. Often graduates out of the Aurie’s Star Handicap race at Flemington step-up in distance and target the season’s first elite level race, the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

The latest edition of the Aurie’s Star Handicap ran on Saturday August 10, 2019 . 

2019 Aurie’s Star Results

• 1st: #5 So Si Bon
• 2nd: #2 Malibu Style
• 3rd: #4 Sesar

The official Aurie’s Star Handicap 2019 Results saw the Lindsay Park-trained son of So You Think So Si Bon score an upset at $21 odds first-up in just his third win at career start number 38. So Si Bon ran down the front-runner Malibu Style, while the beaten favourite Sesar flashed home for late. Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes named the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) as the first elite level target of the spring for the 2019 Aurie’s Star winner.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Race Info

• Date: Saturday August 10, 2019
• Track: Flemington Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Open Handicap
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $160,000
• First Run: 1996

Aurie’s Star Betting

Proven sprinters with a strong record over the distance (1200m) sit high up the Aurie’s Star Handicap betting markets, especially those with past experience down the famous Flemington straight.

Favourites have a dominant recent record in the race including odds-on favourites in the Aurie’s Star Handicap betting markets.

Shorter Aurie’s Star Handicap odds are usually offered for the class horses in the race, especially any previous Group 1 performers. For example, the 2018 Aurie’s Star Handicap was won by Hey Doc who had saluted in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at the track during that year’s autumn carnival.

That said, upsets do occur with the longest-priced Aurie’s Star Handicap winner in recent history being So Si Bon (2019) who jumped at $21 Aurie’s Star odds.

2019 Aurie’s Star Handicap Odds

The latest Aurie’s Star Handicap 2019 odds and betting market links on the Flemington Group 3 sprint will be available below as soon as markets open on the August showdown.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Field

2018 Aurie’s Star Handicap winner Voodoo Lad. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The Aurie’s Star Handicap field attracts a quality line-up of early season spring sprinters, many of which have upcoming Group 1 ambitions over the coming Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

The majority of horses in the Aurie’s Star Handicap field are resuming racing. There are however a number of potential lead-up races held over the winter that gallopers may have contested on their way to the Aurie’s Star Handicap field including Caulfield’s Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) over 100m shorter in mid-July.

Another potential lead-up into the field for the Aurie’s Star Handicap is the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m), contested over the same distance at Caulfield Racecourse in late July. The 2018 Aurie’s Star Handicap winner Voodoo Lad improved on a lead-up second in the Bletchingly Stakes before his win in the Group 3 event. Voodoo Lad also won the Sir John Monash Stakes earlier that winter and went on to take out the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) in Perth that December.

Horses out of the Aurie’s Star Handicap field may go on to contest Caulfield’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) or be kept at the traditional 1200m sprint distance over the carnival season. In 2017 Hey Doc won the Aurie’s Star Handicap before a Memsie Stakes fourth. He would also go on to win the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Eve as a $21 roughie.

The race nominations close the Monday of race week with the final field and barrier draw released the Wednesday before the race takes place that Saturday.

2019 Aurie’s Star Handicap Field

The Aurie’s Star Handicap 2019 Final Field & Barriers are set for release on the Wednesday leading-up to the race and the full list of acceptors and gates will be detailed below once announced.

The 2019 Aurie’s Star Handicap field attracted just under the capacity with 15 confirmed runners including the Team Hawkes-trained Group 2 winner Sesar out to atone for his sixth as the beaten odds-on favourite in the Bletchingly Stakes.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Tips

Good Aurie’s Star Handicap tips to consider each season include looking for the proven Flemington straight track performers in the field coming off a strong lead-up that are well-weighted in the handicap feature.

Another top Aurie’s Star Handicap betting tip is to lock-in the favourites in the markets with punters’ picks boasting a strong recent record in the race. Previous Group 1 winners and those with a gun first-up record when resuming in the spring lead-up also make good Aurie’s Star betting tips.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Form Guide

The Aurie’s Star Handicap form guide is released when the field comes out the Wednesday of race week and details all the information from jockeys, trainers, barriers and weights to the lead-up runs and track / distance records of the sprinters in the field.

Over the years the Aurie’s Star Handicap form has stacked up in later spring Group races in both Sydney and Melbourne including the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) that the 2011 winner Temple Of Boom took out two starts later.

Temple Of Boom also ran second in the 2012 Aurie’s Star Handicap before a second in the Group 3 Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) at the same track next start. The 2012 Aurie’s Star third placegetter Zamorar meanwhile came off a Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) second and also ran second in the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) next s tart.

2019 Aurie’s Star Handicap Form

A link to our detailed Aurie’s Star Handicap 2019 Form Guide and betting preview will be provided for punters the week of the race.

Results of the Aurie’s Star Handicap

The Aurie’s Star Handicap results have been dominated by single-figure chances and notable recent Aurie’s Star Handicap winners include Tiger Tees (2014), Temple Of Boom (2011) and Mic Mac (2009). There has been plenty of classy Aurie’s Star Handicap winners in the past few years including Hey Doc (2017) and Voodoo Lad (2018) who both went on to enjoy Group 1 wins.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Winners