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.

*In 2021 the Sapphire Stakes ran on the third Saturday of April with all race meetings of the autumn in Sydney from Slipper Day onwards postponed a week due to the weather.

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.

This event should not be confused with the $500,000 Group 3 Queensland Sapphire Stakes (1600m) held during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival at Eagle Farm each June.

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).

Following the Sapphire Stakes, the best contenders may opt to back-up into the Group 1 All Aged Stakes with Atlantic Jewel (2012) the double.

The latest edition of the Sapphire Stakes ran on Saturday April 17, 2021 and was won by the Joe Pride-trained Fasika. 

Sapphire Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 17, 2021
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Fillies & Mares – Set Weights + Penalties
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $300,000
• First Run: 1998

2021 Sapphire Stakes Results

The complete Sapphire Stakes Race Results 2021 and finishing order will be available below once the race takes place on Saturday April 17, 2021.

• 1st: #6 Fasika
• 2nd: #3 Entriviere
• 3rd: #11 Wandabaa

The Joe Pride-trained Fasika made an excellent return to racing, the mare racing for the first time in six months and holding on for a narrow victory over New Zealander Entriviere who ran a close second in the 2021 Sapphire Stakes results.

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.

Any mares dropping in grade off an earlier Group 1 race in the autumn are also usually kept safe in Sapphire Stakes betting.

2021 Sapphire Stakes Betting

The autumn’s top Sapphire Stakes 2021 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.

2021 Sapphire Stakes Field

The official Sapphire Stakes 2021 Final Field & Barriers will be available below once final acceptances close on the Wednesday of race week.

Jamie Richards’ flying New Zealand-trained mare Entriviere is favourite to beat home the locals in Saturday’s 2021 Sapphire Stakes field despite drawing the outside alley in the card closer on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’.

• Scratchings: #Evalina (14)

2021 Sapphire Stakes Nominations

The early Sapphire Stakes 2021 nominations are taken by Racing NSW on the Monday leading-up to Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day and will be published in full below.

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.

Mares who have contested previous editions of the Sapphire Stakes are also worth considering in tipping. For example, in 2020 White Moss celebrated back-to-back wins in the race having also run third in 2018.

2021 Sapphire Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ expert Sapphire Stakes 2021 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: #11 Wandabaa ($6.50 at time of publish) 

A number of form lines to consider and no doubt the Kiwi has been flying back home, but like the lead-up runs by Wandabaa who presents fit third-up and will relish a Soft track at Randwick. Her two lead-up performances at Rosehill have been good when a half-length back fourth first-up in the Group 3 Maurice McCarten and then third to seasons in the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes last time out. Last start this track / distance she was narrowly beaten by Positive Peace last October on a Heavy (8) and looks a big chance.

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.

2021 Sapphire Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Sapphire Stakes 2021 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 dual champion White Moss (2019-20), Two Blue (2016), Avoid Lighting (2015), Cosmic Endeavour (2014), Atlantic Jewel (2012) and Court (2009).

Sapphire Stakes Winners