Spring Champion Stakes 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: The Gloaming Stakes is the best Spring Champion Stakes lead-up race 

The Spring Champion Stakes is a key Group 1 race for three-year-old staying types held on a Saturday in late October during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

2022 Spring Champion Stakes winner Sharp 'N' Smart

2022 Spring Champion Stakes winner Sharp ‘N’ Smart. Photo: Steve Hart.

Attracting youngsters that could head to Melbourne for a shot at the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington a few weeks later, the Spring Champion Stakes offers $2 million in prize money having had its stakes doubled in 2022 and is contested over 2000m at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

The last Spring Champion Stakes winners to go on to win the Victoria Derby were Monaco Consul (2009) followed by Ace High (2017), while in 2015 the Spring Champion Stakes third placed Prized Icon went on to win that year’s VRC Derby. Run at set weights, the Spring Champion Stakes finishes-up Group 1 racing for the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival.

In 2022 the Spring Champion Stakes winner Sharp ‘N’ Smart ran a next-up second in the Victoria Derby results.

Spring Champion Stakes Day now takes place on the same Saturday that Melbourne hosts the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).

The key lead-up into the Randwick Group 1 is the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m) at Rosehill earlier in the spring and the Gloaming Stakes – Spring Champion Stakes double has been achieved most recently by El Castello (2024), Sharp ‘N’ Smart (2022), Shadow Hero (2019), Ace High (2017), and Vanbrugh (2015).

The world’s richest turf race, the $20 million The Everest feature race, takes place two weeks before Spring Champion Stakes Day in 2024.

Spring Champion Stakes Day now also features the now Group 2 $2 million The Invitation (1400m) race for fillies and mares as well as the new-look Group 2 $1 million Callander-Presnell (1600m) – formerly known as the Stan Fox Stakes.

In 2020 Spring Champion Stakes winner Montefilia made history as the first Flight Stakes winning filly to back-up and do the double. She further franked the Spring Champion Stakes form when running third in the VRC Oaks that spring and finishing third in the following autumn’s Rosehill Guineas.

The following year’s Flight Stakes winner Never Been Kissed finished second next-up in the 2021 Spring Champion Stakes results.

The latest edition of the Spring Champion Stakes ran on Saturday, October 26, 2024 in Sydney on the same day Melbourne hosted the $5 million Cox Plate at The Valley and was won in an impressive performance by the Derby-bound favourite El Castello ($3F) for three-time winning trainer Anthony Cummings. 

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Results

The full Spring Champion Stakes 2024 Results & Finishing Order will be published here once the Group 1 takes place on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

  • 1st: #1 El Castello 
  • 2nd: #3 Henlein
  • 3rd: #4 Firm Agreement

The Group 1 Victoria Derby on November 2 could be on the spring agenda for the flying Anthony Cummings-trained El Castello ($3F) who made it four straight wins with a powerful victory for the punters in the Spring Champion Stakes 2024 results at Randwick.

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Odds

The season’s updated Spring Champion Stakes 2024 betting odds and links to our Randwick Group 1 racing markets will be available right here once out so stay tuned for access to the best odds on the hopeful three-year-old stayers.

Early market betting odds on the 2024 Spring Champion Stakes will be displayed below once available. Odds are subject to fluctuation. For current odds on all of our live markets, please visit ladbrokes.com.au.

Spring Champion Stakes Race Info

  • Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024
  • Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
  • Distance: 2000m
  • Conditions: 3YOs – Set Weights
  • Status: Group 1
  • Prize Money: $2,000,000
  • First Run: 1971

Spring Champion Stakes Betting

Spring Champion Stakes betting is open soon after the nominations are taken with all-in odds offered before the final field is officially announced. The Spring Champion Stakes odds firm once the field is released and offer punters a safer option at a more conservative price.

Spring Champion Stakes odds are usually dominated by the best performers in the Gloaming Stakes a few weeks earlier, and the Gloaming Stakes – Spring Champion Stakes betting option is a popular one.

Three-year-olds proven at 1800m or further with good Sydney spring form are top Spring Champion Stakes betting options, but the favourites have a poor recent record in the race.

Before Vanbrugh (2015) saluted for the punters, the last Spring Champion Stakes favourite to win was the Gai Waterhouse-trained Platinum Scissors (2002). The punters’ pick were back in winning form in the 2017 Spring Champion Stakes results however with the success of Ace High (2017) and again with Shadow Hero (2019).

Montefilia ($2.70 in 2020), Profondo ($2.80 in 2021), Tom Kitten ($2.50 in 2023), and El Castello ($3 in 2024) are the latest favourites to salute with the punters’ picks back in form over the past few years.

Spring Champion Stakes Field

The Spring Champion Stakes race field attracts a line-up of the best three-year-olds showing staying potential during the carnival. The largest Spring Champion Stakes field in recent history was 14 starters in 2013 when Complacent scored from the inside alley, while the smallest recent field attracted just eight runners when Tie The Knot won in 1997.

Most of the runners in the Spring Champion Stakes come off an earlier Sydney run in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes run at Rosehill a few weeks before over 200m shorter.

The Gloaming Stakes produced eleven Spring Champion Stakes winners from 2010 – 2024. Seven achieved the double with It’s A Dundeel (2012), Complacent (2013), Vanbrugh (2015), Ace High (2017), Shadow Hero (2019), Sharp ‘N’ Smart (2022), and El Castello (2024). 

Spring Champion Stakes Field & Form Guide - Ladbrokes.com.au

Yankee Rose (2016) made history upsetting the boys in that year’s Spring Champion Stakes results. Photo Credit: Steve Hart.

Spring Champion Stakes nominations close on the Monday of race week followed by final acceptances two days later.

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Field

The official Spring Champion Stakes 2024 Final Field & Barriers will be available for punters below once announced on the Wednesday leading-up to the race so stay tuned to see what early Victoria Derby hopefuls line-up in the event.

The 2024 Spring Champion Stakes field features 11 potential Derby hopes with Gloaming Stakes winner El Castello after his fourth on the trot this prep while the runner-up in that key lead-up, Swiftfalcon, if favourite from the outside alley to turn the tables.

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Nominations

The nominations for the Spring Champion Stakes 2024 close the Monday leading-up to the Group 1 and will be available below once announced.

2024 Spring Champion Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am – 22/10/2024.

  Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Hcp Rating
1 38219×839 DUE CALZINI G 3 Danielle Seib 59
2 5388×510 DUVANA C 3 Chris Waller 66
3 328×111 EL CASTELLO C 3 Anthony Cummings 85
4 213 FIRM AGREEMENT G 3 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 73
5 6x8x683 FLYING ARGENTO G 3 Gary Portelli  
6 34×112 HARLEM QUEEN F 3 Nathan Doyle 86
7 13×626 HENLEIN C 3 Anthony & Sam Freedman 75
8 8×74218 KOSUKE C 3 Gregory McFarlane 60
9 8×2112 NOISES F 3 Brad Widdup 66
10 412 PLEASURE ARTIST F 3 Richard & Will Freedman 70
11 13x6x074 RAG QUEEN F 3 David Payne 71
12 521×112 SWIFTFALCON G 3 Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes 80
13 4897×26115 TENBURY WELLS C 3 Brad Widdup 69

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Spring Champion Stakes Tips

The best Spring Champion Stakes tips are to take the three-year-olds coming out of a top three run in the Gloaming Stakes with proven form over 1800m.

The Gloaming Stakes has produced more Spring Champion Stakes winners than any other lead-up race, and the double has been achieved plenty of times in the past 30 years.

Horses that ran top three in their lead-up runs have the best record in the race.

No Spring Champion Stakes winner had run worse than third last start since Fraternity (Gloaming Stakes 5th) back in 1993 before the filly Maid Of Heaven (2018) improved on her lead-up sixth in the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) to beat home the boys in an upset Spring Champion Stakes result.

In 2016 Yankee Rose finished second in the Flight Stakes leading to her upset win over the boys in the Spring Champion Stakes but was subsequently disqualified from the former.

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Spring Champion Stakes 2024 betting tips and Group 1 selections on the three-years-old event at Randwick Racecourse will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the young stayers to back and sack.

  • To Win: #1 El Castello ($4.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

There’s plenty of money on Swiftfalcon up over 2000m to turn the tables but happy to stick with the airborne El Castello who continues to impress chasing a fourth win on the trot. This in-form Anthony Cummings-trained colt made it a hat-trick last time out with 1.82 lengths to spare on the line in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m). That race has proved the superior form line heading into the Spring Champion and I see nothing to suggest El Castello can’t keep the victories coming and do the double. He has form around Broadsiding, a livewire chance in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Cox Plate, from the autumn and gets the run of the race in a small field from barrier eight giving him options. Josh Parr knows him well and retains the ride. Ticks plenty of boxes.

Spring Champion Stakes Form Guide

The Spring Champion Stakes form guide details all the must know info on the field including the saddlecloth numbers, barriers, jockeys and lead-up form of the runners.

Only one Spring Champion Stakes runner has won from wider than barrier 9 in the past decade when Hotel Grand scored from 10 of 11 in 2005, so looking for horses drawn near the inside on the form guide is a good tip.

Last start winners have a dominant record in the race, so check the lead-up form for a lead-up win in the Gloaming Stakes, which is the key Spring Champion Stakes guide.

The 2021 Spring Champion Stakes form was franked with the third placegetter Alegron running a next-up second in the VRC Derby. He also finished third in the following year’s ATC Derby results.

The 2022 Spring Champion Stakes winner Sharp ‘N’ Smart franked the form with a VRC Derby second next before heading to New Zealand the following February where he completed a Group 1 double that included the NZ Derby in 2023. He also placed fourth in the 2023 Australian Derby.

The Spring Champion 2022 form was also franked by the third-placed filly She’s Extreme who won that year’s Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m).

Spring Champion Stakes Form Facts

  • The Gloaming Stakes produced eleven Spring Champion Stakes winners from 2010-24 including six to do the double, most recently El Castello (2024). 
  • Yankee Rose (2016), Maid Of Heaven (2018) and Montefilia (2020) are the only Spring Champion Stakes winning fillies in history.
  • Favourites in Spring Champion Stakes betting have been back in good form of late with wins by Vanbrugh (2015), Ace High (2017), Shadow Hero (2019), Montefilia (2020), Profondo (2021), Tom Kitten (2023), and El Castello (2024). 

2024 Spring Champion Stakes Form Guide

A link to our insider Spring Champion Stakes 2024 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Spring Champion Stakes Results

The Spring Champion Stakes race results have been dominated by Gloaming Stakes graduates and last start winners in the past decade.

Favourites have a solid record in the past 10 years or so but upset Spring Champion Stakes results are not uncommon and the longest-priced winners in recent history include Hampton Court ($16 in 2014), Monaco Consul ($51 in 2009) and Teranaba ($51 in 2006).

Hampton Court holds the current Spring Champion Stakes race record winning in 2014 in a time of 2 minutes 0.19 seconds.

Past Spring Champion Stakes Winners

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

Year Winner 2nd 3rd Time
2024 El Castello Henlein Firm Agreement 2:03.05
2023 Tom Kitten Cap Ferrat Ganbare 2:01.28
2022 Sharp ‘N’ Smart Elliptical She’s Extreme 2:07.5
2021 Profondo Never Been Kissed Alegron 2:01.7
2020 Montefilia Lion’s Roar Bucharest 2:01.4
2019 Shadow Hero Castelvecchio Battenburg 2:00.7
2018 Maid Of Heaven Aramayo Thinkin’ Big 2:05.5
2017 Ace High Tangled Sully 2:03.9
2016 Yankee Rose Swear Prized Icon 2:02.4
2015 Vanbrugh I’m Belucci Man Of Choice 2:02.8
2014 Hampton Court First Seal Sweynesse 2:00.1
2013 Complacent Criterion Savvy Nature 2:03.3
2012 It’s a Dundeel Proisir Honorius 2:02.6
2011 Doctor Doom Darci Be Good Sangster 2:05.8
2010 Erewhon Retrieve Praecido/Shootoff 2:02.9
2009 Monaco Consul Gathering Viking Legend 2:09.9
2008 Sousa Predatory Pricer Excelltastic 2:06.2
2007 Race Not Run
2006 Teranaba All Black Gold He’s No Pie Eater 2:04.5
2005 Hotel Grand Pendragon Duelled 2:04.8
2004 Savabeel Outback Prince Cedar Manor 2:07.2
2003 Niello November Dreaming Tsuimai 2:03.4
2002 Platinum Scissors Soprana Maskerado 2:04.3
2001 Viking Ruler Evander Silver Baron 1:49.5
2000 Universal Prince Falls The Shadow Go Bint 2:05.1

FAQ

Who won the 2024 Spring Champion Stakes?

The 2024 Spring Champion Stakes was won by the Anthony Cummings-trained favourite El Castello at $3 with Joshuar Parr in the saddle.

When is the Spring Champion Stakes 2024?

Saturday, October 26, 2024

What is the prize money for the Spring Champion Stakes 2024?

$2,000,000

Where is the Spring Champion Stakes 2024?

Royal Randwick Racecourse, Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031.