Southern Cross Stakes 2024

The Southern Cross Stakes is a 1200m sprint held in early February at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The quality handicap event currently offers $250,000 in prize money and was moved forward from Apollo Stakes Day to its own Rosehill feature meet ahead of the 2024 edition.

2023 Southern Cross Stakes winner Quantico. Photo: Steve Hart.

The other key races on the Southern Cross Stakes Day card are the Group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) and the Group 3 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) for two-year-olds heading towards the coveted Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m).

The race, which has been conducted at various racecourses around Sydney, was inaugurated in 1940 and gained its current Group 3 status in 1989.

Plenty of nice horses have won the Southern Cross Stakes over the years including San Domenico (1950), that year’s subsequent Melbourne Cup champion Evening Peal (1956), gun miler Gunsynd (1972), Danewin (1996), Le Romain (2017), and Lost And Running (2022).

The race attracts many horses that may return in the spring for a shot at the world’s richest turf race – the $20 million The Everest (1200m) held at Randwick in October.

The latest edition of the Southern Cross Stakes ran on Saturday February 3rd, 2024 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse and was won in emphatic fashion by the Annabel Neasham-trained favourite Lady Laguna ($2.25F).

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Results

2024 Southern Cross Stakes winner Lady Laguna was too strong the closing stages saluting for the punters. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #3 Lady Laguna
• 2nd: #6 Hard To Say
• 3rd: #2 Malkovich

Annabel Neasham’s four-year-old Overshare mare, Lady Laguna ($2.25F), continued her winning ways, taking her streak to three with a dominant victory in Sydney’s 2024 Southern Cross Stakes results at Rosehill. This triumph follows her impressive million-dollar win in the Magic Millions Fillies & Mares on the Gold Coast just last month, solidifying her status as a force to be reckoned with ahead of the autumn majors.

The full Southern Cross Stakes 2024 results and finishing order of the Rosehill Group 3 sprint for Group 1-bound gallopers will be detailed below once the race takes place as a Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival lead-up.

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Odds

The Southern Cross Stakes 2024 odds will be published below as soon as markets on the Group 3 event are released so stay tuned for the top early autumn racing odds online this season.

Southern Cross Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday February 3rd, 2024
• Track: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap – 3YOs & Upwards
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $250,000
• First Run: 1940

Southern Cross Stakes Betting

Widden Southern Cross Stakes betting opens at bookies around the country after the field of final acceptors and barriers are out the Wednesday of race week.

Special Reward ($3 in 2020), Masked Crusader ($2.25 in 2021), Lost And Running ($2.20 in 2022), and Lady Laguna ($2.25 in 2024) are the latest favourites in Southern Cross Stakes betting to win.

Southern Cross Stakes Field

The Southern Cross Stakes race field features a line-up of good sprint types eyeing runs in tougher autumn features over the coming months.

Following a run in the Southern Cross Stakes field horses may target upcoming features including the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick during April’s ‘The Championships’.

Southern Cross Stakes nominations close the Monday before the race runs on the Saturday with the final field and barrier draw out on the Wednesday.

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Field

The official Southern Cross Stakes 2024 field of final acceptors and barriers will be published right here once released so stay tuned.

Last start Magic Millions Fillies & Mares winner Lady Laguna headlines a small but quality Southern Cross Stakes 2024 final field in Sydney this weekend.

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Nominations

The early Southern Cross Stakes 2024 Nominations are taken on the Monday of race week with the full list of pre-field entries to be made available below once announced.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Southern Cross Stakes Tips

Good Southern Cross Stakes tips include looking for in-form Sydney horses that have previous Group form, ran well last time out if not first-up for the autumn season, are drawn well in the Rosehill race and have winning form over at least 1100m.

Another key Southern Cross Stakes betting tip is to stick with the favourite with the top elects boasting a strong recent record in the event.

Sticking with the more seasoned horses is also a solid betting tip for the Southern Cross Stakes as no three-year-old has won since Vital Flyer (2009).

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Tips

Our insider Southern Cross Stakes tips 2024 will be published below once the field is confirmed and betting markets released on the Group 3 sprint.

• To Win: #3 Lady Laguna ($2.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

The Annabel Neasham-trained Overshare mare looks a hard to beat favourite with the bonny four-year-old chasing a third win on the trot. She is well tried with five wins from 21 starts to date and is proven at the Rosehill track. Lead-up wins have been good Queensland performances including a last start $1 million Magic Millions Fillies & Mares triumph at the Gold Coast. Midfield barrier seven draw with James McDonald in the saddle. Handles the softer tracks and is well-weighted to salute for the punters. 

Southern Cross Stakes Form Guide

The Southern Cross Stakes form guide details essential facts and stats like the lead-up runs of the horses in the field, their jockeys / trainers, and records at the track / distance.

In recent years the Southern Cross Stakes form has held up in bigger and better autumn races including in 2017 when the winner Le Romain went on to take out that year’s Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) on Randwick Guineas Day.

The 2021 Southern Cross form was franked with the winning horse, Masked Crusader, finishing third in that year’s Canterbury Stakes trifecta before victory in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) and second in the TJ Smith Stakes. He returned for a big spring including running second to Nature Strip in that year’s The Everest horse race.

2024 Southern Cross Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Southern Cross Stakes 2024 Form Guide will be provided below following final acceptances.

Southern Cross Stakes Results

The Southern Cross Stakes race results and finishing order are known when the Group 3 is run and won at Rosehill in early February and have been dominated by the best in betting in recent years.

Lady Laguna (2024) was the last Southern Cross Stakes winning mare.

 Vital Flyer (2009) was the last three-year-old Southern Cross Stakes winner.

Gunsynd holds the record of most weight carried to victory in the Southern Cross Stakes when carting in 9 st 7lbs (approx. 60.5 kg) in 1972.

Past Southern Cross Stakes Winners

Recent Southern Cross Stakes winners and place-getters going back to 2000 are detailed in the below table. 

This page and the written content within it were partially generated using AI or automated technology and edited and verified by our editorial team.