The Quokka 2025

The $5 million The Quokka race serves as a good lead-up to the summer’s Winterbottom Stakes race

The third edition of the $5 million The Quokka runs at Ascot Racecourse in Perth on Saturday April 26, 2025.

2025 The Quokka Odds

The updated The Quokka 2025 betting odds will be provided below once racing markets open for the multi-million dollar Perth race.

The Quokka is a new slot-race held at Ascot Racecourse in Perth for the first time in April of 2023 when won by the Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass in a thrillingly narrow upset.

The now $5 million feature is the richest race held in Western Australia and is a sprint event run over 1200m.

It is also Australia’s fifth richest horse race after increasing from $4 million to $5 million in stakes ahead of the second edition.

The Quokka Day takes place on a Saturday in late April on the same date South Australia hosts the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) and Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m).

The attention then heads west for The Quokka, which is a weight-for-age showdown.

The Quokka field is open to 14 slot holders at a cost of $200,000 each.

In a huge $5.5 million initiative by Perth Racing, The Quokka forms part of The Western Trilogy series, which brings thoroughbred, harness and greyhound races together for Australia’s first tri-code slot-racing event.

The race is named in honour of the quokka, dubbed the “happiest animal on Earth”, for which the state’s Rottnest Island is famous for.

The other races making up the massive autumn racing weekend are The Nullarbor (harness racing) and The Sandgroper (greyhounds).

The Quokka Day also features the Group 2 $500,000 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) for two-year-olds.

The Quokka joins a growing list of popular slot-racing events in Australia that have been boosted in popularity since Racing NSW introduced the now world-famous $20 million The Everest (1200m) which now holds Group 1 status.

Overpass successfully defended his The Quokka title in 2024 and so remains the sole winner of the event.

Overpass also went on to defend his Winterbottom Stakes title in 2024.

The Quokka Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 26, 2025
• Track: Ascot Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Special Conditions (Slot-Race)
• Prize Money: $5,000,000
• First Run: 2023

2025 The Quokka Results

The official The Quokka 2025 results and finishing order will be known on Saturday April 26, 2025 and published below.

• 1st: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

The Quokka Betting

The Quokka betting odds are dominated by Perth’s best sprinters and star interstate raiders travelling over for the now $5 million WFA feature.

Horses that perform well in the summer’s Perth Festival of Racing events including the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) sit higher up The Quokka markets for the autumn.

There was an upset in the inaugural edition in 2023 with Overpass saluting at The Quokka odds of $12.

Overpass (2023) completed The Quokka – Winterbottom Stakes double and also finished runner-up in that year’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 results in Brisbane.

Overpass returned to successfully defend his The Quokka title in 2024 at $6 defeating the beaten favourite Amelia’s Jewel for the second year in a row.

The Quokka Field

The Quokka race field features 14 sprinters with spots in the event open for slot holders at $200,000 each.

Horses that perform well in prominent Australian Group 1 races including the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m), Lightning Stakes (1000m), Oakleigh Plate (1100m), Newmarket Handicap (1200m), William Reid Stakes, and the VRC Classic (1200m) during the Melbourne Cup Carnival are likely to be considered for a The Quokka slot.

Another good guide to The Quokka field is Perth’s Group 3 $1.5 million The Gold Rush (1400m) run in December.

Potential lead-up races into The Quokka field include the local Group 3 Roma Cup (1100m) and Sydney’s Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m).

2025 The Quokka Race Field

The official The Quokka 2025 field of final acceptances and barriers will be published below once confirmed.

2025 The Quokka Slot Holders (Horse)

• Jack Lee-Steere Thoroughbreds
• Ladbrokes
• Lindsey Smith Racing
• Magic Bloodstock Racing
• Morton Racing
• Peters Investments
• RAM Racing Syndicate
• Rapid Equine Breeding
• Seacorp / Hallowell
• Sportsbet (I Am Me)
• TABtouch (Rope Them In)
• The Chief Racing Syndicate
• Trackside NZ / Perth Racing

Confirmed 2025 The Quokka Horses

Below punters can stay up to date with the latest confirmed The Quokka horses in 2025 that have secured a slot in the feature race at Ascot.

ROPE THEM IN

• Slot Holder: TABtouch
• Age & Gender: 4YO Gelding
• Breeding: by PLAYING GOD from LEAD ROPE
• Trainer: Steve Wolfe
• Jockey: TBD
• Barrier: TBD
• Owners: Mr S J Wolfe, Mr R P Webb, Mr J M Monterrubio, Mr T Fassom, Mr R Tan, Mr L A Putland, Mrs A L Jones, Mr B K Willison, Mr G C Dickie, Mr N W Carter, Mr P N Carter, Circle Of Trust

Playing God four-year-old Rope Them In is a confirmed runner in the 2025 Quokka field paying around $10 in the markets at time of publish to salute at his home track for trainer Steve Wolfe. He beat home Western Empire in the Group 3 Colonel Reeves over 1100m here last November before a close fourth when only 1.8 lengths behind dual The Quokka champ Overpass in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes. A close The Gold Rush fifth followed, and he kicked off this prep with a confidence boosting short distance win at Albany in mid-March.

I AM ME

• Slot Holder: Sportsbet
• Age & Gender: 6YO Mare
• Breeding: by I AM INVINCIBLE from MEFNOODA
• Trainer: Ciaron Maher
• Jockey: TBD
• Barrier: TBD
• Owners: Dynamic Syndications Racing, Sheikh M B K Al Maktoum, Mrs J M Crooks, B Ramsey Family, Mr P J Woollett, Mr G Rassos, Mr R J Gall, Mr R G Dawkins, Mr A W Robertson, Mr A Cranes, Mr A Mitchell, Mrs M Joyce, Mr M G Joyce, Mr S B Troughton, Mr D P Morton-Donnelly, Mr MJ Millner, Mr S Finnigan, Mr A D Vella

Ciaron Maher’s $4.7 million earner, six-year-old I Am Invincible mare I Am Me, was snapped up by Sportsbet to fill their slot in the 2025 The Quokka field. She’ll be rock hard fit by the end of April already having had a few runs this campaign, the last of which was a mid-field sixth when 2.5 lengths off the unbeaten colt Private Harry in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill on March 22. She won last year’s Group 2 The Shorts defeating the Stradbroke champ in Sydney, while her autumn last year in South Australia was competitive with back-to-back Group 1 fourths in The Goodwood and Robert Sangster. Yet to race over in the West but never runs a bad race and is being kept safe at around $7 in the markets at time of publish.

The Quokka Tips

The Quokka tips favour proven Group 1 sprinters, locals with a strong Ascot track record, and any graduates from the previous year’s Winterbottom Stakes.

2025 The Quokka Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive The Quokka 2025 racing tips will be detailed below a few days out from event so bookmark this page to see the sprinters to back and sack in the short-distanced clash.

• To Win: TBD

The Quokka Form Guide

The Quokka form guide reveals all the information needed to place a wager including the saddlecloth numbers, starting barriers, jockeys, trainers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

Overpass franked the 2023 The Quokka form with seconds in the Doomben 10,000 and The Shorts in Brisbane and Sydney respectively before returning to Perth in the summer to salute in the Winterbottom Stakes results.

He then returned to defend his title in 2024 before another Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes win in Perth that summer.

2025 The Quokka Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive The Quokka 2025 race Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

The Quokka Results

The inaugural The Quokka results saw the Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass win in 2023 for slot holders RAM Racing Syndicate.

Overpass returned to win The Quokka again in 2024 for the same slot holders.

The Quokka Winners

The Quokka winners and placegetters from the race’s inauguration in 2023 can be found in the below table.

FAQ

When is The Quokka 2025?

What is the prize money for The Quokka 2025?

$5,000,000

Where is The Quokka 2025?

Ascot Racecourse, Grandstand Road, Ascot, WA 6104