Australia Stakes 2024

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 and is contested over a 1200m sprint distance.

2022 Australia Stakes winner Marabi. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

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 Australia Stakes is also now part of Melbourne’s Summer Sprint Series running as the fourth event in the four-race series. The other races in the series are the Listed Kensington Stakes at Flemington, Listed Christmas Stakes at Caulfield, and the Group 3 Standish Handicap at Flemington in January.

The latest edition of the Australia Stakes ran on Saturday January 27, 2024 and saw the McEvoy’s resuming Grunt colt Veight ($2.15F) secure a first-up victory for the punters coming with an exciting late burst in the closing stages. 

2024 Australia Stakes Results

The official Australia Stakes 2024 and Finishing Order will be available below once the race is run and won on Saturday January 27, 2024.

2024 Australia Stakes winner Veight. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 1st: #8 Veight 
• 2nd: #11 Southport Tycoon
• 3rd: #3 Recommendation

The punters enjoyed a Group 2 win at The Valley on Saturday with the Tony & Calvin McEvoy-trained colt, Veight ($2.15F), given a perfectly timed ride by Damian Lane who charged up the middle the final stages on the Caulfield Guineas runner-up to salute in the Australia Stakes 2024 results. 

2024 Australia Stakes Odds

The market for the Australia Stakes 2024 complete with the latest odds on the sprinters in the mix for the summer Group 2 sprint race will be published below once released.

Australia Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday January 27, 2024
• 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 week of the race.

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), Jigsaw ($3.10 in 2023), and Veight ($2.15 in 2024) are the latest favourites in Australia Stakes markets to salute for the punters.

Australia Stakes Field

The Australia Stakes race 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).

Earlier, horses that performed well in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes on Zipping Classic Day the November prior often run well in the Australia Stakes field.

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.

2024 Australia Stakes Field

The Australia Stakes 2024 field and barrier draw will be published below as soon as released on January 24, 2024 so bookmark this page to see what Group 1 bound autumn stars make the starting line-up.

The 2024 Australia Stakes final field features a smart line-up of Group 1-bound sprinters led in betting by the Tony & Calvin McEvoy-trained Veight racing first-up. 

2024 Australia Stakes Nominations

The Australia Stakes 2024 nominations will be listed below once announced the Monday of race week.

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.

2024 Australia Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Australia Stakes 2024 tips to be published close to the race date.

• To Win: #8 Veight ($2.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Our choice remains the well-deserving favourite Veight. This talented Grunt colt from the Tony & Calvin McEvoy stable embarks on his new campaign at The Valley, a track he hasn’t graced before. However, his perfect record when stepping out fresh from a break inspires confidence in a strong first-up showing. Boasting a two-from-three win rate at this distance, he arrives without the pressure of a recent trial. While his last outing in November saw him finish fifth in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington, his prior second-place finish in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas over a mile showcases his versatility and undeniable class. Expect him to be a major force to be reckoned with in this race.

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.

The 2022 Australia Stakes form was also franked with the winning favourite Marabi going on to win the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) next-up.

2024 Australia Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Australia Stakes 2024 Form Guide will be available below the week of the race.

Australia Stakes Results

The Australia Stakes race 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).

Marabi (2022) was the last Australia Stakes winning mare.

Veight (2024) was the last three-year-old Australia Stakes winner.

Past Australia Stakes Winners

Recent Australia Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.

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