Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021

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 $200,000 in prize money as of 2021.

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. In 2019 the upset Aurie’s Star winner So Si Bon went on to run second in the Memsie Stakes. Some horses may also opt to come out of the Aurie’s Star and drop down in distance on Memsie Stakes Day for the Group 3 The Heath 1100 Stakes (1100m).

The latest edition of the Aurie’s Star Handicap ran on Saturday August 7, 2021 and was won by one-time favourite The Astrologist.  

2021 Aurie’s Star Results

The full Aurie’s Star Handicap results and finishing order for 2021 will be updated right here once the Group 3 takes place on Saturday August 7, 2021 at Flemington.

• 1st: #5 The Astrologist 
• 2nd: #4 Romancer
• 3rd: #14 Too Good Too Hard

The Astrologist heads towards the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes this coming spring carnival following a one-length win in the Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021 results by the in-form Zoustar five-year-old. 

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Race Info

• Date: Saturday August 7, 2021
• 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.

2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap Odds

The latest Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021 odds and betting market links on the Flemington Group 3 sprint will be available below as soon as markets open on the August showdown.

2019 Aurie’s Star Handicap winner So Si Bon. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Field

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. The 2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap winner The Astrologist meanwhile improved on a lead-up third in the Bletchingly Stakes to salute in the Flemington sprint feature. 

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.

2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap Field

The Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021 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 2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap field features 15 runners including returning VRC Derby champ Johnny Get Angry racing for the first time in nine months, the winter’s Glasshouse Handicap winner at the Sunshine Coast King Of Hastings and in-form Flemington specialist The Astrologist sitting top of the odds. 

2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap Nominations

Nominations for the Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021 are announced by the VRC the Monday of race week with the complete list of early entries to be published here.

Twenty runners make-up the 2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap nominations including shock Victoria Derby winner Johnny Get Angry in his four-year-old debut, last start Glasshouse Handicap winner King Of Hastings and last spring’s Caulfield Guineas runner-up Aysar.

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

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.

2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap Tips

Our insider Ladbrokes’ 2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap betting tips will be detailed below the week of the race.

• Best Roughie: #14 Too Good Too Hard ($11 at time of publish) 

Wide open edition of the Aurie’s Star with half the field under $10 for the win. There’s a mixture of fit winter types and resuming Group 1 runners making for an intriguing race. One of the runners getting in under the radar is Too Good Too Hard at 10/1. The Phillip Stokes-trained mare is well-weighted and chases a hat-trick of wins. She’s lightly-raced for a six-year-old and has an excellent record over the six furlongs (13:5-2-2). This is an obviously class rise and she’s in the big city here, but she’s been carrying a lot of weight convincingly and can surprise a few of these. 

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.

2021 Aurie’s Star Handicap Form

A link to our detailed Aurie’s Star Handicap 2021 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.

In 2020 the Aurie’s Star Handicap results saw the 2018 runner-up Home Of The Brave atone and hand jockey Damien Oliver with a record fifth win in the race.

Aurie’s Star Handicap Winners