Ladbrokes Tip: The Birthday Card Stakes is the key lead-up form to follow into the Sapphire Stakes each autumn

The Sapphire Stakes is a Group 2 race for fillies and mares run at Royal Randwick Racecourse on the second Saturday in April each Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. Part of the action of Day 2 of ‘The Championships’, the Sapphire Stakes is contested over 1200m so is a sprint race run at set weights plus penalties.

Offering a total of $300,000 in prize money it is held on the same day as four elite level features: the Group 1 $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m), the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) and the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) that has been known in recent years as the Coolmore Legacy Stakes.

The key lead-up race into the Sapphire Stakes is the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) held at Rosehill Gardens a fortnight before and the latest to complete the double are Arinosa (2013) and Quilista (2018).

The latest edition of the Sapphire Stakes runs on Saturday April 11, 2020.

Sapphire Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 11, 2020
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Fillies & Mares – Set Weights + Penalties
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1998

2020 Sapphire Stakes Results

The complete Sapphire Stakes Race Results 2020 and finishing order will be available below once the race takes place on Saturday April 11, 2020.

• 1st: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

Sapphire Stakes Odds & Betting

Sapphire Stakes betting opens after the release of final acceptances the Wednesday before the race runs on Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day on the Saturday. Markets are usually led by the season’s handy fillies and mares coming off lead-up races over similar distance during the autumn in Sydney like the Birthday Card Stakes two weeks before.

Proven form at Randwick over 1200m and those gallopers that have been tested in tougher company also feature highly up the Sapphire Stakes odds each year.

2020 Sapphire Stakes Betting

The autumn’s top Sapphire Stakes 2020 odds will be available below the week of the race so stay tuned to view the price on your early Sapphire Stakes betting selections during ‘The Championships’ in Sydney.

Sapphire Stakes Field

The Sapphire Stakes field attracts a collection of classy sprinting fillies and mares coming out of the Birthday Card Stakes over the same distance at Rosehill Racecourse the month before. In 2014 the Birthday Card Stakes winner Avoid Lightning went on to run second to Cosmic Endeavour in the Sapphire Stakes before winning the latter the following season in 2015. Quilista (2018) was the last to do the Birthday Card – Sapphire Stakes double.

Many of the best out of the Sapphire Stakes field each autumn go on to contest the Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown (1300m) at the end of April including the 2016 Sapphire winner Two Blue who ran second at Hawkesbury next-up. Another possible lead-up race for the mares in the Sapphire Stakes is the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) run at the same track and distance the Saturday before on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’.

Sapphire Stakes nominations close the Monday before the race runs on the Saturday, the field and barriers out two days later on the Wednesday around 9am (local time).

The 2012 Sapphire Stakes winner Atlantic Jewel went on to win the Group 1 All Aged Stakes at her next start. Photo Credit: Race Horse Photos Australia.

2020 Sapphire Stakes Field

The official Sapphire Stakes 2020 Final Field & Barriers will be available below once final acceptances close on the Wednesday of race week.

The 2020 Sapphire Stakes attracted a capacity final field including The Galaxy graduate Savatiano dropping back in grade and Joe Pride’s well-backed Fasika out of the same Group 1 sprint.

2020 Sapphire Stakes Nominations

The early Sapphire Stakes 2020 nominations are taken by Racing NSW on the Monday leading-up to Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day and will be published in full below.

The 2020 Sapphire Stakes nominations attracted a bumper 29 entries including the ultra-consistent Rubisaki coming off five straight wins including the Group 2 Kewney Stakes – Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes interstate double.

Sapphire Stakes Tips

Good Sapphire Stakes betting tips include looking for the mares that ran well in the Birthday Card Stakes the month before at Rosehill, runners with a good 1200m strike rate and proven Sydney performers.

Favourites only have a fair recent record in the race so another solid Sapphire Stakes tip is to lay the favourite and get behind another single-figure hope with the right lead-up form.

2020 Sapphire Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ expert Sapphire Stakes 2020 betting tips and race selections on the Group 2 for fillies and mares at Royal Randwick this season will be detailed in full below the week of the race.

• To Win: #9 Manicure ($9.50) – BET NOW

Going for a bit of value and tipping the longer priced of the Godolphin mares, Exceed And Excel five-year-old Manicure looking to improve second-up off her eye-catching run behind Vegadaze in the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) a fortnight back. She’s had four Randwick runs for four runs in the money, and is a genuine specialist at the distance (9:3-4-0). Goes up a little in weight, but is drawn well again and has Kerrin McEvoy retaining the ride. Winning hope at a price.

Sapphire Stakes Form Guide

The Sapphire Stakes form guide details essential information like the trainers, jockeys, barriers and lead-up runs of the fillies and mares in the Group 2 race field. Looking at the Sapphire Stakes form guide for mares that ran in the Birthday Card Stakes last time out and for those with a proven strike rate in similar Sydney races are good tips.

The Sapphire Stakes form has stacked up in the subsequent Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown on Hawkesbury Gold Cup Day in recent years including Cosmic Endeavour who ran third in the latter after her 2014 Sapphire win.

2020 Sapphire Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Sapphire Stakes 2020 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Sapphire Stakes Results

Single-figure hopes but not the favourites have dominated the Sapphire Stakes results in recent years. Notable Sapphire Stakes winners from the past decade include Two Blue (2016), Avoid Lighting (2015), Cosmic Endeavour (2014), Atlantic Jewel (2012) and Court (2009).

Sapphire Stakes Winners