This season the Flight Stakes 2026 ran on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at Royal Randwick on Epsom Handicap Day 2026 bringing the Princess Series to an exciting end with a close win by the progressive John Sargent-trained Global Goal ($3.30).
The Flight Stakes 2026 is set to spotlight the best up‑and‑coming fillies of the Sydney spring, with a sharp group of three‑year‑olds stepping up to the Group 1 mile at Royal Randwick. Early Flight Stakes odds are already shifting as Princess Series form takes shape, with punters watching closely for fillies showing genuine progression and strong late sectionals heading into the 1600m test. With tempo, barriers and the famous Randwick rise all playing a major role, Flight Stakes betting tips are heating up — and Ladbrokes keeps you ahead of the market with sharp insights, value angles and up‑to‑date analysis for one of the spring’s most exciting Group 1 contests for fillies.
2026 Flight Stakes Results
The official Flight Stakes 2026 Results & Finishing Order will be provided below when the race is run and won on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
- #3 Global Goal
- #5 De Armas
- #1 Bangkok Hottie
Global Goal ($3.30) cemented her status as one of the season’s standout three-year-old fillies with a determined victory in the 2026 Flight Stakes results at Randwick, giving trainer John Sargent a deserved elite-level success and putting major spring targets firmly on the radar. The daughter of Pinatubo, who had been building towards a breakthrough Group 1 win with placings in both the Silver Shadow Stakes and Tea Rose Stakes, justified her $3.30 quote when Dylan Gibbons produced a perfectly timed ride, sending her into the race early before she outstayed her rivals to score by a neck over De Armas, with Bangkok Hottie another half-neck away in third. Sargent revealed the filly had peaked at exactly the right time and said a decision would now be made between the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 17 and the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) back at Randwick on October 24, while also suggesting she may be even better in the autumn. The Flight Stakes triumph has already sparked a significant betting move, with Global Goal firming from $11 into $5 in futures 2026 Thousand Guineas betting at Ladbrokes, confirming her as one of the leading contenders for the spring’s remaining Group 1 fillies’ features.
2026 Flight Stakes Race Replay
2026 Flight Stakes Odds & Finishing Order
The top Flight Stakes 2026 betting odds and links to our markets for you to back in your Flight Stakes predictions at the hottest spring racing odds will be available below once open followed by the official finishing order after the event.
Flight Stakes 2026 Results
| 3. Global Goal (5) J: Dylan Gibbons 56kg 1×33 T: John Sargent | ||
| 5. De Armas (1) J: Zac Lloyd 56kg 1x4x5 T: Chris Waller | ||
| 1. Bangkok Hottie (3) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 56kg x3211 T: David Payne | ||
| 4. Queen’s Gamble (7) J: Tommy Berry 56kg 22116 T: Matthew Smith | ||
| 6. Sumac (6) J: Jason Collett 56kg 87×67 T: Lee & Cherie Curtis | ||
| 2. Striking Alibi (2) J: James McDonald 56kg 10×32 T: Chris Waller | ||
| 7. Parisest Magic (4) J: Rachel King 56kg 39×4 T: Alexandre Lemarie |
Flight Stakes Tips
Flight Stakes tips on the fillies to back in the mile feature are dominated every spring by the Tea Rose Stakes graduates.
The favourites have an outstanding record in the Group 1 making them the best tip to take with six Flight Stakes favourites from 2013-26 saluting for the punters.
Funstar ($1.75 in 2019) and Apocalyptic ($1.65 in 2025) are the latest favourites to get the job done in the Flight Stakes results.
Note that in 2016 Global Glamour ($6) won the race after that year’s top fancy Yankee Rose ($2.05) was disqualified. In 2017 the Flight Stakes favourite Alizee saluted for the punters absolutely bolting home in the mile feature.
In 2021 there was a huge upset with the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Never Been Kissed winning as a $41 outsider.
Another excellent Flight Stakes betting tip is to back fillies to complete the Tea Rose Stakes – Flight Stakes double with Apocalyptic (2025) the latest to win both events.
Wide barriers were previously a disadvantage when it comes to Flight Stakes tips with the last filly to jump from double digits being Secret Admirer (11 in 2010), before the back-to-back victories by Alizee (10 in 2017) and Oohood (11 in 2018) from out wide.
Ladbrokes Tip: The Tea Rose Stakes – Flight Stakes double is a popular one to take the bookies on with!
2026 Flight Stakes Predictions & Best Bets
Our Ladbrokes’ insider Flight Stakes 2026 betting tips and Group 1 Randwick racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the fillies to back and sack in the event this season.
| 2. Striking Alibi (2) J: James McDonald 56kg 10×32 T: Chris Waller |
| 1. Bangkok Hottie (3) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 56kg x3211 T: David Payne |
| 5. De Armas (1) J: Zac Lloyd 56kg 1x4x5 T: Chris Waller |
Latest Flight Stakes News
The Flight Stakes is a Royal Randwick Group 1 feature race run over the mile by three-year-old fillies on Epsom Handicap Day in late September or early October each Sydney Spring Racing Carnival. The 1600m classic has been held since 1947 making it one of the younger spring majors.
The set weights race is held on the same day as the Group 1 Epsom Handicap and the Group 2 The Metropolitan – and is worth $750,000 in total prize money as of 2021. Named in honour of Australian Hall of Fame mare Flight who won the Cox Plate in 1945 and 1946, it has held Group 1 status since 1985.
Notable Flight Stakes winners who took out the race during their three-year-old season include Global Glamour (2016), First Seal (2014), Streama (2011), More Joyous (2009), Samantha Miss (2008), Sunline (1998), Research (1988) and looking further back Wenona Girl (1960) who the Group 3 Wenona Girl Quality (1200m) run in March is named after.
Following a run in the Flight Stakes, fillies may go on the quick back-up into the following Saturday’s Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) with Montefilia making history doing the double in 2020. Montefilia returned on the same day 12 months later to win the Group 1 Epsom Handicap as a four-year-old. More recently the 2021 Flight Stakes winner Never Been Kissed finished second next-up in the Spring Champion Stakes.
The best fillies out of the Flight Stakes may also be part of the brand new, invitation-only event for fillies and mares – the $2 million The Invitation (1400m) run at Randwick for the first time in 2021.
In 2021 Gai Waterhouse celebrated her incredible 10th Flight Stakes win with Never Been Kissed (40/1) and 11th (third in partnership with Adrian Bott) in 2023 with Tropical Squall.
The Flight Stakes winner also earns a ballot exemption into the following year’s Doncaster Mile held the following autumn during Randwick’s The Championships in April.
Flight Stakes Race Info
- Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
- Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
- Distance: 1600m
- Conditions: 3YO Fillies – Set Weights
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $750,000
- First Run: 1947
Flight Stakes Betting
Flight Stakes betting odds are open well in advance of the field and are known as the all-in, ante-post or futures markets. While they offer nice value on the potential runners, there is a risk involved in backing a filly before she is confirmed to run.
Once the field is out the odds firm and sitting top of the markets are three-year-olds that came via the Flight Stakes traditional lead-up, the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes held at the same track in late September.
The Tea Rose Stakes has produced more Flight Stakes winners than any other lead-up race and the best out of the Group 2 dominate each season’s Flight Stakes odds online. Apocalyptic (2025), Zougotcha (2022), Funstar (2019) and Alizee (2017) were the last fillies to complete the Tea Rose Stakes – Flight Stakes double.
Flight Stakes Field
The Flight Stakes race field often runs under capacity attracting under 10 runners. The last time the field was run near its maximum was in 2006 when 19 fillies lined up and Cheeky Choice won for Gai Waterhouse.
Waterhouse has prepared 11 Flight Stakes winners over the years, most recently Speak Fondly (2015), Global Glamour (2016), Never Been Kissed (2021), and Tropical Squall (2023).
Her father Tommy Smith holds the Flight Stakes record having prepared 13 winners over his career.
2026 Flight Stakes Field
The official Flight Stakes 2026 Final Field & Barriers will be announced by Racing NSW on the Tuesday of race week and listed in full below so stay tuned to see what three-year-old fillies will face off in the Group 1 mile clash.
The Flight Stakes 2026 final field features just seven hopeful fillies including the David Payne-trained Furious Stakes – Tea Rose Stakes winner Bangkok Hottie chasing a hat-trick.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Bangkok Hottie
J: Kerrin Mcevoy
T: David Payne |
1×3211 | F | 3 | 56kg | |
|
2. Striking Alibi
J: James McDonald
T: Chris Waller |
10×32 | F | 2 | 56kg | |
|
3. Global Goal
J: Dylan Gibbons
T: John Sargent |
1×33 | F | 5 | 56kg | |
|
4. Queen’s Gamble
J: Tommy Berry
T: Matthew Smith |
x22116 | F | 7 | 56kg | |
|
5. De Armas
J: Zac Lloyd
T: Chris Waller |
11x4x5 | F | 1 | 56kg | |
|
6. Sumac
J: Jason Collett
T: Lee & Cherie Curtis |
587×67 | F | 6 | 56kg | |
|
7. Parisest Magic
J: Rachel King
T: Alexandre Lemarie |
39×4 | F | 4 | 56kg |
2026 Flight Stakes Nominations
The Flight Stakes nominations for 2026 are announced on Monday the 7th of September 2026 and will be published in full below.
The Flight Stakes 2026 nominations are now out featuring 48 hopeful three-year-old fillies including David Payne’s impressive Furious Stakes winner Bangkok Hottie and the progressive John Sargent-trained Global Goal who ran third in the Silver Shadow first-up.
Flight Stakes Form Guide
The Flight Stakes form guide has all the information on the starting fillies including their saddlecloth numbers, barrier positions, jockeys and trainers.
The Flight Stakes form often holds up in later Group 1 races. In recent years the form on the Flight Stakes winner was franked when in 2017 Alizee went on to run third in the Thousand Guineas next race before later elite level wins in the 2018 Queen Of The Turf Stakes and 2019 Futurity Stakes. The following year the 2018 Flight Stakes winner Oohood backed up with a third behind The Autumn Sun in the Caulfield Guineas.
In 2020 Montefilia completed the Flight Stakes – Spring Champion Stakes double and further franked the Flight Stakes form when third in Melbourne’sVRC Oaks trifecta that spring.
The 2021 Flight Stakes form was franked with the runner-up Hinged returning in 2022 to win the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) that autumn. The third-placed Startantes out of the Flight Stakes trifecta in 2021 also ran second in the Surround in 2022 before a win in that winter’s Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) in Brisbane.
The 2022 Flight Stakes runner-up She’s Extreme franked the form with a third next-up in the Spring Champion before heading south to take out the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) during Flemington’s famous Melbourne Cup Carnival.
The 2024 Flight Stakes form was firmly franked with the winner Lady Shenandoah returning the following autumn to win her next three starts on the trot including the Group 1 Surround Stakes and Group 1 Coolmore Classic in 2025.
Flight Stakes Form Facts
- Trainer Gai Waterhouse has prepared 11 Flight Stakes winners including Speak Fondly (2015), Global Glamour (2016), Never Been Kissed (2021), and Tropical Squall (2023) in recent years.
- The favourites in Flight Stakes betting have an excellent recent strike rate with the last to salute being Apocalyptic (2025).
- The Tea Rose Stakes is the best Flight Stakes form race to follow from the past 30 years.
- No Flight Stakes winner has taken out the race off a non-Sydney lead-up since Bounding Away (1986).
2026 Flight Stakes Form
A link to our comprehensive Flight Stakes 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.
Past Flight Stakes Results
The Flight Stakes race results and finishing order of all the fillies that line-up in the classic on Epsom Handicap Day are known when it runs as one of three Group 1 events on the program. As well as revealing the Flight Stakes winner the results show the quinella, trifecta and first four past the post for the exotic bets as well as the winning margin and the starting price of all the fillies.
Fillies short in the Flight Stakes odds have dominated the Group 1 mile results in the past decade and notable recent Flight Stakes winners include Apocalyptic (2025), Funstar (2019), Alizee (2017), Global Glamour (2016), First Seal (2014), Streama (2011), and More Joyous (2009).
Montefilia holds the current Flight Stakes race record winning over 1600m in 2020 in a time of 1 minute 33:04 seconds.
Recent Flight Stakes Winners
Recent Flight Stakes winners and placegetters dating back to the year 2001 are detailed in the below table.
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Winning Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Global Goal | De Armas | Bangkok Hottie | 1:37.37 |
| 2025 | Apocalyptic | Within The Law | Karinska | 1:35.88 |
| 2024 | Lady Shenandoah | Harlem Queen | Snow In May | 1:34.83 |
| 2023 | Tropical Squall | Kimochi | Tutta La Vita | 1:33.91 |
| 2022 | Zougotcha | She’s Extreme | North Star Lass | 1:39.36 |
| 2021 | Never Been Kissed | Hinged | Startantes | 1:34.04 |
| 2020 | Montefilia | Hungry Heart | Vangelic | 1:33.04 |
| 2019 | Funstar | Probabeel | Foxborough | 1:37.3 |
| 2018 | Oohood | Fiesta | Nakeeta Jane | 1:34.7 |
| 2017 | Alizee | Champagne Cuddles | Cellargirl | 1:34.8 |
| 2016 | Global Glamour | Yankee Rose (DQ) 2nd: Sezanne | 3rd: Skylight Glow (4th over, promoted) | 1:34.7 |
| 2015 | Speak Fondly | Honesta | Perignon | 1:35.9 |
| 2014 | First Seal | Winx | Thinking Of You | 1:34.7 |
| 2013 | Guelph | Sensibility | Bound For Earth | 1:36.2 |
| 2012 | Norzita | Longport | Dear Demi | 1:36.0 |
| 2011 | Streama | Hallowell Belle | Dowager Queen | 1:36.7 |
| 2010 | Secret Admirer | More Strawberries | Parables | 1:34.6 |
| 2009 | More Joyous | Sister Madly | Hurtle Myrtle | 1:40.0 |
| 2008 | Samantha Miss | Portillo | Kamillsy | 1:38.4 |
| 2007 | Race Not Run | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Cheeky Choice | My Lady’s Chamber | Fleur Royale | 1:36.0 |
| 2005 | Fashions Afield | Beauty Watch | Mnemosyne | 1:37.2 |
| 2004 | Lotteria | Cincinnati Gal | Covertly | 1:37.6 |
| 2003 | Unearthly | Santissima | Classy Dane | 1:36.6 |
| 2002 | Royal Purler | Victory Vein | Private Steer | 1:37.4 |
| 2001 | Ha Ha | Moonflute | Hosannah | 1:36.2 |
FAQs
How do I bet on the 2026 Flight Stakes?
Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at Ladbrokes. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods. Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.
Which horse will win the 2026 Flight Stakes?
The best way to pick which horse will win the Flight Stakes is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out Ladbrokes in the lead up to the race for full form information.
When is the Flight Stakes 2026?
The 2026 Flight Stakes is set to run on Saturday October 3 during the peak of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival on Epsom Handicap 2026 Day, which runs on the same date as Melbourne hosts Turnbull Stakes Day at Flemington. It is scheduled as Randwick Race 6 at 3:00pm (AEST) on the 10-race card.
What is the prize money for the Flight Stakes 2026?
The 2026 Flight Stakes prize money is set at $750,000 which is paid from 1st to 10th place including $430,000 going to the Flight Stakes winner.
Where is the Flight Stakes 2026?
The 2026 Flight Stakes is set to run at Sydney's Royal Randwick Racecourse, home to many iconic races including the world's richest turf race - The Everest - each October, and is located at Alison Road, Randwick, NSW 2031.
What distance is the Flight Stakes run over?
The Flight Stakes is run over 1600 metres, delivering a genuine Group 1 mile test for three‑year‑old fillies and a key betting highlight for Ladbrokes punters each spring.
How many horses run in the Flight Stakes?
The Flight Stakes typically draws a field of 12–16 fillies, depending on acceptances and the strength of the Princess Series form heading into the Group 1 mile — giving Ladbrokes punters a competitive line‑up to assess each spring.
Who won the 2026 Flight Stakes?
The 2026 Flight Stakes was won by three-year-old Pinatubo filly Global Goal who won third-up off back-to-back thirds in the Silver Shadow Stakes and Tea Rose Stakes to salute at $3.30 for trainer John Sargent. Jockey Dylan Gibbons was aboard on 56kg from barrier 5 to beat De Armas by 0.35 lengths in a time of 1:37.27 on a Soft (6) track.
Who won the 2025 Flight Stakes?
The 2025 Flight Stakes was won by three-year-old Extreme Choice filly Apocalyptic at $1.65 favouritism for trainer Michael Freedman with jockey Tommy Berry aboard on 56kg from barrier 7 to win by 1.18 lengths on a Good (4) track in a time of 1:35.88.