Ladbrokes Tip: The Villiers Stakes form often stacks-up in the summer Boxing Day races

The Villiers Stakes is an end-of-year Group 2 Sydney showdown run in early-mid December at Royal Randwick Racecourse. The Summer Racing Carnival in Sydney features a number of top stakes races including the Villiers Stakes, which is the headline event at the meeting that also features the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) for sprinters and the Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) for staying types.

The Villiers Stakes offers $250,000 in prize money, is contested over 1600m and is an open handicap clash. Winners of the race often go on to perform well in the next year’s Sydney and Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival features and the Villiers Stakes winner earns a ballot exemption for the next year’s Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) at the same track and distance.

The last Villiers Stakes winner to finish in the money in the following year’s Doncaster Mile was upset champ Sense Of Occasion (2016) who took out the Group 2 at $31 odds before a third to It’s Somewhat in the 2017 Doncaster two runs later at an even bigger price.

The latest edition of the Villiers Stakes ran on Saturday December 12, 2020 and saw the mare Greysful Glamour win in a new race record time of 1:33.47. 

2020 Villiers Stakes Results

• 1st: #4 Greysful Glamour
• 2nd: #2 Best Of Days
• 3rd: #15 Criaderas

Jockey Rachel King and trainer Mark Newnham combined to take out their second straight Villiers Stakes in 2020 with the mare Greysful Glamour breaking her Randwick drought. It was the grey’s 11th start at the track and her first win, the in-form five-year-old leading all-the-way to hold off the fast-finishing Godolphin-raced stablemates Best Of Days (2nd) and beaten favourite Criaderas (3rd).

Villiers Stakes Race Facts

• Date: Saturday December 12, 2020
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 1600m
• Conditions: 3YO&Up – Quality Handicap
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $250,000
• First Run: 1892

Villiers Stakes Betting

Horses under $10 in Villiers Stakes betting have a strong recent record including the back-to-back wins by the favourites Sky Boy ($3.20 in 2018) and Quackerjack ($3.80 in 2019) in the mile showdown.

There have been a number of upsets however with the latest winners to salute at double-figures odds being All Legal ($17 in 2012) and  Sense Of Occasion ($31 in 2016).

The Villiers Stakes odds favour the in-form end-of-spring types getting in on the lower weights.

2020 Villiers Stakes Betting

The latest Villiers Stakes 2020 betting odds and Sydney summer racing carnival market links will be available below as soon as released so stay tuned for the best prices on your Villiers Stakes selections.

Villiers Stakes Tips

Top Villiers Stakes tips include backing the season’s Festival Stakes graduates that are backing-up in the Group 2, proven performers over the Randwick mile and the better weighted runners in the handicap clash.

Favourites didn’t have the best strike rate in the race over the past decade, so looking at in-form runners further down the markets was a good Villiers Stakes betting tip until the successive wins by Sky Boy (2018) and Quackerjack (2019) for the punters.

When doing the Villiers Stakes tips it is also crucial to back the boys over the girls with Dances On Waves (2010) was the last mare to salute before the 2020 success of Greysful Glamour a decade later, while Monton (58) is the only horse to have carried more than 54.5kg to victory since Utzon (57.5kg in 2006).

2020 Villiers Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Villiers Stakes 2020 betting tips and Sydney summer racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so bookmark this page for the runners to back in the $250,000 clash this December.

• To Win: #7 Royal Celebration ($9 at time of publish) 

Wide open edition of the Villiers and happy to say the 2021 Doncaster ballot exemption could be won in an upset by Royal Celebration coming off that close second in the Group 3 Festival Stakes. The Ron Quinton-trained five-year-old hasn’t won since April but presents rock hard fit here. Will enjoy a return to Randwick where his record is strong and is proven over the mile. Looks okay weight-wise and can definitely improve on the lead-up.

Villiers Stakes Field

The Villiers Stakes field is made up of promising end-of-season milers that have had a freshen-up off a spring campaign or that missed the spring majors in favour of a later summer – autumn campaign.

Happy Clapper (2015) is one of the standout Villiers Stakes winners in recent history. Photo By: Steve Hart.

One of the premier Sydney Summer Racing Carnival clashes, the Villiers Stakes field features a host of gallopers coming off a lead-up run in the Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill a fortnight earlier.

In 2015 It’s Somewhat placed in both the Festival Stakes (2nd) and Villiers Stakes (3rd). The previous year the Festival Stakes winner I’m Imposing finished second to Rudy in the 2014 Villiers Stakes. Also in 2014 Strawberry Boy ran third in both the Festival Stakes and Villiers Stakes.

Villiers Stakes graduates often back-up in either the Sydney or Gold Coast Boxing Day races on December 26 like the Group 3 Summer Cup (2000m) at Randwick won in 2014 by the runner-up I’m Imposing.

The nominations close the Monday of race week with the final field of acceptances and barrier draw out on the Wednesday.

2020 Villiers Stakes Field

The official Villiers Stakes 2020 Final Field & Barrier Draw will be available below as soon as announced by Racing NSW so stay tuned to see what summer milers make the starting line-up in the lucrative Group 2 showdown.

The 2020 Villiers Stakes field offers a ballot exemption into the 2021 Doncaster Mile and features a quality line-up of mainly local milers including the Group 3 Festival Stakes winner Outrageous chasing a third win on the trot.

• Scratched: #6 Phaistos (12); #14 Mr Marathon Man (1) 

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2020 Villiers Stakes Nominations

The official Villiers Stakes 2020 nominations close the Monday of race week and will be provided in full below once released.

Hawkes Racing’s Group 3 Festival Stakes winner last start Outrageous heads the 21 nominations for the 2020 Villiers Stakes this weekend in Sydney.

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

Villiers Stakes Form Guide

The Villiers Stakes form guide lists all the need-to-know information like the jockeys, trainers, barriers, track / distance records and lead-up runs of the milers in the Group 2 race field. In recent seasons the Villiers Stakes form has stacked-up the following autumn in the Group 1 features.

In 2016 the upset Villiers Stakes winner Sense Of Occasion went on to run third in both the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) and Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick the following April during Sydney’s The Championships.

The year before Happy Clapper (2015) won the Villiers Stakes before a second in the following season’s Doncaster Mile and third to super mare Winx in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Happy Clapper also ran second in the 2017 Doncaster Mile and that September’s George Main Stakes before a win in the Epsom Handicap over the Randwick mile and subsequent Emirates Stakes second during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

2020 Villiers Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Villiers Stakes 2020 Form Guide will be available right here the week of the race.

Villiers Stakes Results

The Villiers Stakes results have been dominated in the past decade by Sydney gallopers coming off a lead-up run in the Festival Stakes.

Notable recent winners include Happy Clapper (2015), Ninth Legion (2013), Monton (2011) and Dances On Waves (2010).

In 2016 Sense Of Occasion ($31) became the longest-priced Villiers Stakes winner in the past decade.

In 2020 the Villiers Stakes winner Greysful Glamour won in a race record time of 1 minute 33.47 seconds.

Villiers Stakes Winners