WJ Healy Stakes 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: A number of Sydney-trained horses have won the WJ Healy Stakes in recent years.

The WJ Healy Stakes is held on the final Group 1 race meeting of the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival – Tattersall’s Tiara Day – taking place on a Saturday in late June at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Racecourse.

2022 WJ Healy Stakes winner Juan Diva (pictured in Melbourne). Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

A quality handicap sprint contested over 1200m, the event was first run in 1979 and gained Group 3 status in 1997.

The WJ Healy Stakes currently offers a total of $200,000 in prize money and attracts a strong line-up of winter sprinters each year. It takes place on the same day as the $700,000 Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) for fillies and mares and the $200,000 Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup (2400m) for the stayers.

A good lead-up race is the Group 2 Moreton Cup (1200m) run at the same track and distance earlier in the carnival, with Brave Song (2019) and Prince Of Boom (2023) the latest horses to do the double.

The WJ Healy Stakes winner is also exempt from ballot for the upcoming Listed Ramornie Handicap (1200m) at Grafton with Big Money (2014) the last sprinter to do the double.

The latest edition of the WJ Healy Stakes ran on Saturday June 29th, 2024 at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Racecourse and was won by Ramornie Handicap-bound Zarastro ($10) in a nice local upset.

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Results

The official WJ Healy Stakes 2024 Results & Finishing Order will be available below once the Group 3 Brisbane race is run and won on Saturday June 29th, 2024.

• 1st: #5 Zarastro
• 2nd: #8 Ghaanati
• 3rd: #20e Hatchet

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Odds

The latest WJ Healy Stakes 2024 betting odds will be provided below as soon as markets on the end-of-carnival event in Brisbane over the winter are announced.

WJ Healy Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday June 29th, 2024
• Track: Eagle Farm Racecourse
• Distance: 1200m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $200,000
• First Run: 1979

WJ Healy Stakes Betting

The WJ Healy Stakes betting markets are dominated by in-form winter sprinters coming off good lead-up runs in events such as the Group 2 Moreton Cup (1200m) or even the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).

Favourites have a solid strike-rate in the race with Brave Song ($3 in 2019) and Prince Of Boom ($2.25 in 2023) the latest to salute for the punters.

There was a double-figure upset in 2024 however when the local Tony Gollan-trained Zarastro won at WJ Healy Stakes odds of $10.

WJ Healy Stakes Field

The WJ Healy Stakes race field draws a quality line-up of winter sprinters from both local and interstate stables.

Runners may come via a number of different lead-up races including the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes for fillies and mares that last produced a WJ Healy Stakes winner in Spright (6th in 2018).

WJ Healy Stakes nominations close the Monday of race week with final acceptances revealing the field released on the Wednesday before the race runs on the Saturday.

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Field

The official WJ Healy Stakes 2024 field of final acceptors is announced by Racing Queensland  on the Wednesday of race week and will be published below along with the confirmed jockeys and barriers.

The 2024 WJ Healy Stakes final field features a capacity line-up of sprinters with markets led by the Tony Gollan-trained All That Pizzazz, to be ridden by James McDonald, who finished a good fourth in the Group 2 Moreton Cup last time out.

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Nominations

Early WJ Healy Stakes 2024 Nominations close the Monday leading-up to Tattersall’s Tiara Day, which is the last major event of the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival, and will be provided in full below.

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

WJ Healy Stakes Form Guide

The WJ Healy Stakes form guide lists for punters all the crucial pre-betting information like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the female sprinters in the field.

Runners trained outside of Brisbane have a credible recent record the race, so looking at the interstate runners with a lead-up run in Queensland is essential when doing the WJ Healy Stakes form.

Single-figure fancies have had a big run of wins in the event too so look on the form for runners under $10 with a good Brisbane lead-up run and single-digit barrier draw.

The WJ Healy Stakes form was subsequently franked in 2021 with the winning filly Away Game going on to perform highly in a number of tougher races including Group 1 seconds in Melbourne’s Oakleigh Plate and the Robert Sanger Stakes in Adelaide the following year.

The 2021 WJ Healy Stakes third placed Bella Nipotina further franked the form with placings in events including the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (2nd) and Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic (3rd) in Melbourne that spring.

In 2022 WJ Healy Stakes Ranges improved on his third to win Grafton’s Listed Ramornie Handicap next start.

In 2023 The Big Goodbye ran second in the WJ Healy before his Ramornie Handicap victory.

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Form

A link to our comprehensive WJ Healy Stakes 2024 form guide and race betting preview will be provided for punters below the week of the event.

WJ Healy Stakes Tips

WJ Healy Stakes tips include looking for in-form winter sprinters coming off a win in a Brisbane race, graduates that finished in the money in the Dane Ripper Stakes or Moreton Cup and tipping single-figure fancies drawn in barrier seven or below.

Avoiding the three-year-old historically has been a solid WJ Healy Stakes betting tip with Away Game (2021) the first three-year-old to win since Natural Destiny (2006).

2024 WJ Healy Stakes Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive WJ Healy Stakes 2024 betting tips on the Group 3 race at the end of the Brisbane winter racing season will be detailed below the week of the race so, stay tuned for those to back and sack this season.

• To Win: #12 Tashi ($9 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Good price for Team Snowden’s consistent Sebring mare, Tashi, who looks a big chance to win the last on Tiara Day. The bonny four-year-old has been racing well and gets conditions to suit on Saturday in Brisbane. Brave last time out narrowly denied by Semillion in the Listed Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) at Newcastle back in May. She’s been freshened up since that effort on a Heavy (9) and will relish the Slow (not mud!) at Eagle Farm now. Top record at the distance (12:3-5-2) and has form around some very nice types. Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes second in the autumn behind subsequent Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes winner Chain Of Lightning. Well weighted and should put on a lovely show. 

WJ Healy Stakes Results

The WJ Healy Stakes race results show a strong mix of both locally-trained and visiting interstate winners.

Horses allocated heavy weights have also had a strong recent record with wins by the likes of Zarastro (58kg in 2024), Prince Of Boom (60kg in 2023), Brave Song (58kg in 2019), Dothraki (58kg, 2015) and Howmuchdoyouloveme (60kg in 2013).

Note: There was no 2020 WJ Healy Stakes held with a reduced Brisbane Winter Carnival that season due to COVID-19. 

Juan Diva (2022) was the last WJ Healy Stakes winning mare.

Natural Destiny (2006) was the last three-year-old WJ Healy Stakes winner.

Hay List holds the current 1200m WJ Healy Stakes race record winning in 2010 in a time of 1 minute 08:68 seconds.

Past WJ Healy Stakes Winners

Recent WJ Healy Stakes winners dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.