Chelmsford Stakes 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: Trainer Chris Waller has a gun recent record in the Chelmsford Stakes

The Chelmsford Stakes is a Group 2 race conducted at Royal Randwick Racecourse in early September during the annual Sydney Spring Racing Carnival the day after the Listed Wyong Gold Cup (2100m) takes place on the Friday.

2022 Chelmsford Stakes winner Knights Order. Photo: Steve Hart.

It is one of three Group 2 races on the card along with the Furious Stakes for three-year-old fillies and the Tramway Handicap. The other key support act on the program is the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) for potential The Everest horses.  Offering $300,000 in total prize money the Chelmsford Stakes is run over 1600m and the weight-for-age clash is open to gallopers aged three-years-old and over.

The race is a nice lead-up to tougher events in both Sydney and Melbourne during the spring including the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) – formerly the George Main Stakes – which now runs in mid-October on The Everest Day race card.

The last horse to complete the Chelmsford Stakes – George Main Stakes (now King Charles III Stakes) double was Winx in 2017. In 2015 Kermadec ran second in the Chelmsford Stakes before winning the George Main at his next start, while stablemate Royal Descent ran third and second in the same two races respectively that year.

The latest edition of the Chelmsford Stakes took place on Saturday September 7, 2024 as a lead-up to the spring Group 1 races in Sydney and Melbourne and saw trainer Chris Waller win for seventh time taking out the quinella with Buckaroo ($7) beating Hinged. 

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Results

The official Chelmsford Stakes 2024 Results & Finishing Order will be announced below once the race is run and won on Saturday September 7, 2024.

2024 Chelmsford Stakes winner Buckaroo handed trainer Chris Waller his seventh win in the event. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #1 Buckaroo
• 2nd: #9 Hinged
• 3rd: #3 Nonconformist

It was an exciting 2024 Chelmsford Stakes result for the Waller stable with trainer Chris Waller winning the event for a seventh time and preparing the quinella with the front-running Buckaroo ($7) narrowly holding out Hinged in a thriller. 

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Odds

The best Chelmsford Stakes 2024 betting odds and market links to the milers contesting the Group 2 spring event at Royal Randwick will be provided below as soon as released.

Chelmsford Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 1600m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1895

Chelmsford Stakes Betting

Chelmsford Stakes odds are dominated by proven Sydney milers coming off a good run in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at the same track two weeks before.

In-form horses from the stables of Chris Waller also feature prominently in Chelmsford Stakes betting as he has a strong recent record in the race with victories from the likes of two-time champion Hawkspur (2013-14), Winx (2017) and Unforgotten (2018). 

Upsets are not uncommon however and the last double-figure winners were Complacent ($31 in 2015) and Navajo Peak ($41 in 2023).

In 2020 Waller celebrated his sixth win in nine years with Mister Sea Wolf ($5EF) becoming the latest Chelmsford Stakes favourite to salute leading an all-Waller trifecta in the event.

Waller won the Chelmsford for a seventh time overall in 2024 with Buckaroo who started at Chelmsford Stakes odds of $8. 

Chelmsford Stakes Field

The Chelmsford Stakes race field attracts a line-up of the season’s exciting milers and middle-distance weight-for-age performers.

Winx (2017) is the best-known Chelmsford Stakes winner in recent history. Photo: Steve Hart.

The traditional lead-up to the race is the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) run at Randwick a fortnight earlier.

Hartnell (2016) ran second in the then Group 2 Warwick Stakes before his Chelmsford success and would continue on to finish third in the Melbourne Cup trifecta that spring. The next spring the world’s best mare did the Warwick Stakes – Chelmsford Stakes double, before in 2018 her stablemate Unforgotten improved on a lead-up sixth in the Winx Stakes to take out the Group 2.

In 2019 Samadoubt became the latest horse to complete the Winx Stakes – Chelmsford Stakes double.

Other recent Chelmsford Stakes winners to come off a Winx Stakes run include dual champion Hawkspur (7th in 2013 and 5th in 2014), Danleigh (3rd in 2012), Trusting (5th in 2011), and Theseo (5th in 2010).

In 2018 the Warwick Stakes was renamed the Winx Stakes and elevated to a Group 1 event in honour of the race’s multiple champion Winx.

It remains an excellent lead-up into the Chelmsford Stakes field having produced the 2018 winner with another Chris Waller-trained mare, Unforgotten, improving on a lead-up sixth to her star stablemate in the Group 1 to win the Chelmsford for the stable.

More recently the 2021 Chelmsford Stakes winner Think It Over improved on a lead-up Winx Stakes sixth, while in 2023 Navajo Peak ran 13th in the Winx Stakes before a massive Chelmsford upset at $41 with Think It Over third that year.

Buckaroo (8th in 2024) is the is the last Chelmsford Stakes winner to come via a lead-up Winx Stakes run. 

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Field

The official Chelmsford Stakes 2024 Final Field & Barriers will be announced by Racing NSW on the Wednesday of race week, the full list of runners to be published below.

The 2024 Chelmsford Stakes field features a smart line-up of mainly resuming spring hopefuls with markets led by VRC Oaks winner Zardozi coming off a first-up Winx Stakes run. 

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Nominations

The early Chelmsford Stakes 2024 nominations close the Monday of the race and will be announced below as soon as released.

Chelmsford Stakes Tips

Good Chelmsford Stakes betting tips include looking at the form coming out of the Winx Stakes, runners that have good records over the mile, proven weight-for-age performers, and horses with a liking for the Randwick track.

Backing in-form Chris Waller-trained mares and any Group 1 performers dropping in grade are other top Chelmsford Stakes betting tips to take to the bookies this spring.

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Tips

Our exclusive Ladbrokes’ Chelmsford Stakes 2024 tips with the runners to back and sack in the feature race on Chelmsford Stakes Day will be detailed below following final acceptances the week of the race.

• To Win: #10 Zardozi ($2.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Far from a vintage edition of the Chelmsford and hard to knock the James Cummings-trained favourite Zardozi who meets a few of these fitter for her first-up run in the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) here in tougher company. Down in grade, the four-year-old daughter of Kingman chases her first Randwick win at start number six at the track. She’ll relish the mile now as a Group 1 VRC Oaks winner over 2500m, has class and can win this ahead of longer distanced features this prep. 

Chelmsford Stakes Form Guide

The Chelmsford Stakes form guide gives punters all the information they need to place a well-informed wager on the race like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

Over the years the Chelmsford Stakes winner has come off a Warwick Stakes – now the Winx Stakes – run more than any other lead-up race. Chris Waller has prepared more horses to finish in the Chelmsford Stakes trifecta in the past decade than any other trainer.

The Chelmsford Stakes form has stacked up in other bigger races during the Spring Carnival in Sydney in recent years.

The 2021 Chelmsford Stakes winner Think It Over ran a next-up third in the George Main Stakes trifecta before winning a host of other races that spring and the following autumn including the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in 2022.

The Chelmsford Stakes 2022 form held with the winner Knights Order running third later that spring in Melbourne’s Caulfield Cup, while the third placed No Compromise went on to win The Metropolitan on Epsom Day at elite level.

Think It Over failed to defend his title running third in 2023 but still franked that year’s Chelmsford form with a next-up $1 million win in the new 7 Stakes race.

2024 Chelmsford Stakes Form

A link to our detailed Chelmsford Stakes 2024 form guide and betting preview will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Chelmsford Stakes Results

Local Sydney-trained gallopers under $10 for the win have dominated the Chelmsford Stakes race results in the past 10 years.

Notable recent Chelmsford Stakes winners include Think It Over (2021), Winx (2017), Hawkspur (2013-14), Danleigh (2012), Theseo (2010), and Lonhro (2002-03).

Unforgotten (2018) was the last Chelmsford Stakes winning mare.

Buckaroo holds the current Chelmsford Stakes race record winning in 2024 in a time of 1 minute 33.76 seconds. Winx previously held the record of 1 minute 34:11 seconds in 2017. 

Past Chelmsford Stakes Winners

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

FAQ

When is the Chelmsford Stakes 2024?

What is the prize money for the Chelmsford Stakes 2024?

$300,000

Where is the Chelsmford Stakes 2024?

Randwick Racecourse, Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031.