Australia Stakes 2022

Ladbrokes Tip: The Australia Stakes has provided a number of CF Orr Stakes winners in recent years.

The Australia Stakes is the first Group 2 race of the New Year run in late January each summer season at Moonee Valley Racecourse. The sole Group race on Australia Stakes Day, the weight-for-age clash offers $350,000 in total prize money as of 2022 and is contested over a 1200m sprint distance.

The Australia Stakes provides a nice early Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival lead-up for gallopers heading into a race like the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m). The latest horses to complete the Australia Stakes – CF Orr Stakes double in a single season are Black Caviar (2012) and Streets Of Avalon (2021), while  Black Heart Bart (2017) improved on a lead-up second in the Australia Stakes to win the CF Orr Stakes – Futurity Stakes double.

The latest edition of the Australia Stakes ran on Saturday January 29, 2022 and was won by the odds-on favourite Marabi ($1.80). 

2022 Australia Stakes Results

The official Australia Stakes 2022 and Finishing Order will be available below once the race is run and won on Saturday January 29, 2022.

• 1st: #10 Marabi ($1.80F)
• 2nd: #6 Sinawann
• 3rd: #9 Turaath

The undefeated Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained mare Marabi ($1.80F) kept the wins coming stepping-up in grade to emphatically account for her rivals at weight-for-age with an impressive victory in the 2022 Australia Stakes results on unsuitably soft ground at The Valley.

Australia Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday January 29, 2022
• Track: Moonee Valley Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $350,000
• First Run: 1989

Australia Stakes Betting

Australia Stakes betting opens the Wednesday before the race after the field and barriers are out. Horses that are resuming and have a good first-up record, proven performers at the tight Moonee Valley circuit and sprinters with a strong record over the distance sit high up the Australia Stakes odds each January.

Upsets are not uncommon however and the last winner to jump at double-figures in the Australia Stakes betting markets was Mourinho ($41 in 2015).

Marabi ($1.80 in 2022) is the latest favourite in Australia Stakes markets to salute for the punters.

2022 Australia Stakes Odds

The market for the Australia Stakes 2022 complete with the latest odds on the sprinters in the mix for the autumn Group 2 sprint race will be published below once released.

One of the world’s best mares Black Caviar won the Australia Stakes in 2010 and 2012. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.

Australia Stakes Field

The Australia Stakes field features a strong line-up of sprinters and middle-distance gallopers either rounding out their summer preps or gearing up for some of the early autumn features in Melbourne.

Many of the horses in the Australia Stakes field are running first-up for the season and may have contested a race like the Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes (1200m) at the same track the October before on Cox Plate Day, a double last achieved by Holler (2015).

Streets Of Avalon (2021) is the latest Australia Stakes winner to salute first-up.

A more recent lead-up to the Australia Stakes field run on New Year’s Day at Flemington is the Group 3 Standish Handicap (1200m).

Australia Stakes nominations close the Monday of race week followed by the final field and barrier draw released on the Wednesday before the race runs that Saturday.

2022 Australia Stakes Field

The Australia Stakes 2022 field and barrier draw will be published below as soon as released on January 26, 2022 so bookmark this page to see what Group 1 bound autumn stars make the starting line-up.

The 2022 Australia Stakes field is down to 11 runners after the withdrawal of Forbidden Love (racing on the same day in Sydney’s Expressway Stakes) with the unbeaten Marabi odds-on to win.

• Scratched: #8 Forbidden Love (1)

2022 Australia Stakes Nominations

The Australia Stakes 2022 nominations will be listed below once announced the Monday of race week.

Ciaron Maher & David Eustace’s undefeated mare Marabi dominates the 2022 Australia Stakes nominations for The Valley this weekend looking to make it three-from-three at the track.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Australia Stakes Tips

Top Australia Stakes tips include looking for proven Moonee Valley performers, past winners over the distance, good Group 1 performers in similar company, horses that have run in Group 1 company and those that finished in the money last time out whether it was the season before or in an earlier summer start.

Favourites have a solid recent record in the race so sticking with the better fancied runners in betting is also a good Australia Stakes betting tip.

2022 Australia Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Australia Stakes 2022 tips to be published close to the race date.

• To Win: #12 Lightsaber ($7 at time of publish)

Taking on the odds-on favourite and looking for the value in this resuming Peter Moody runner whose ultra-consistent and deserving a shot here. Jamie Kah is back looking for a Group 2 to get the autumn carnival underway from a nice barrier seven (into six draw) aboard the classy Zoustar colt. The three-year-old is four-from-nine heading into this Group 2 and yet to race at The Valley. How he handles the circuit will be crucial, but has form around the best including Anamoe (odds-on in the Expressway Stakes on Saturday) when fourth in the Caulfield Guineas last time out.

Australia Stakes Form Guide

The Australia Stakes form guide details for punters all the must know information like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

In recent years the Australia Stakes form has held up in tougher autumn races during the Melbourne Festival of Racing like the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington in March which the 2016 Australia Stakes runner-up Churchill Dancer ran fourth in next start.

The previous year upset Australia Stakes winner Mourinho (2015) ran third to Dissident in that year’s Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield the next month. The CF Orr winner Dissident (2015) came off a third in the Australia Stakes and went on to run third in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) and win the Group 1 All aged Stakes (1400m) in Sydney over the autumn.

The 2014 Australia Stakes runner-up Moment Of Change went on to complete the CF Orr – Futurity Stakes double at his two next runs.

Streets Of Avalon franked the Australia Stakes form in 2021 winning the CF Orr Stakes next-up, the first horse to do so since Black Caviar in 2012.

2022 Australia Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Australia Stakes 2022 Form Guide will be available below the week of the race.

Australia Stakes Results

The Australia Stakes results have been dominated by single-figure fancies in the past decade and runners that go on to win in Group 1 company during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival.

Notable recent Australia Stakes winners include Streets Of Avalon (2021), Scales Of Justice (2019), Mourinho (2015), Black Caviar (2012 and 2010), El Segundo (2007) and Super Elegant (2005).

Australia Stakes Winners