The latest edition of the Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes ran on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at Caulfield Racecourse on Manikato Stakes Day and saw the Lucy Yeomans-trained Changing Colours ($3.80) handle a rise in grade to post her fourth win on the trot.
The Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 is a key mares’ mile of the spring, and with Moonee Valley closed for redevelopment in 2026, the race heads to Caulfield Racecourse on Sunday for a fresh look at the proven and emerging stars of the division. Run under set weights + penalties for mares aged four and up, the Stocks Stakes consistently attracts high‑quality runners building toward major Group 1 targets later in the carnival. Punters get an early read on class, progression, and tactical speed at the mile, making the Stocks Stakes a must‑watch contest for anyone chasing spring form lines, futures angles, and race day value.
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Results
The official Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 race results and finishing order will be provided below once the race takes place on Sunday, September 27, 2026.
- #5 Changing Colours
- #1 Sass Appeal
- #2 Too Darn Discreet
Changing Colours ($3.80) announced herself as a genuine spring carnival player with a dominant victory in the 2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes results, giving punters a new mare to follow heading towards the major Group 1 targets. The progressive six-year-old delivered trainer Lucy Yeomans her maiden Group 2 success, sprinting clear under a perfectly judged ride from Blake Shinn to defeat hot favourite Sass Appeal ($2.15) by a length over the Caulfield mile. Too Darn Discreet ($5.50) battled on well for third, a further 1¼ lengths away. The daughter of The Autumn Sun has continued her rapid rise through the grades, and her biggest career victory to date now has her firmly in the mix for some of the spring’s premier mares’ races. Both the Toorak Handicap (1600m) on Caulfield Guineas Day and the Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington are now firmly on the radar after another polished performance. Punters were quick to react and so were the markets, with Ladbrokes trimming Changing Colours’ Empire Rose Stakes odds from $15 into $11 following her breakthrough success. She also firmed from a $15 into $10 chance in Toorak Handicap betting, highlighting her emergence as one of the most exciting mares in training and a horse capable of making her presence felt at Group 1 level this spring.
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Race Replay
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Odds & Finishing Order
The season’s best Stocks Stakes 2026 betting odds and links to our markets will be provided right here the week of the race so stay tuned for the top Melbourne racing odds this spring followed by the official finishing order after the event.
Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 Results
| 5. Changing Colours (8) 55kgx4111 | |||
| 1. Sass Appeal (2) 58kg1×144 | |||
| 2. Too Darn Discreet (9) 56kg011×2 | |||
| 3. Private Legacy (5) 56kgx901x | |||
| 12. Moonlight Circus (3) 55kgx60x6 | |||
| 4. Sea What I See (6) 55kg243×9 | |||
| 10. Glasgow Lass (1) 55kg0x352 | |||
| 6. After Summer (4) 55kg6230x | |||
| 11. Charisse (7) 55kg247×0 | |||
| 7. Astral Flame (1)SCRATCHED: | |||
| 8. Perfect Ten (2)SCRATCHED: | |||
| 9. Gold Medallist (12)SCRATCHED: | |||
Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Tips
Good WH Stocks Stakes betting tips to take in the spring include looking at mares with ability at the track and distance, previous Group winners, past winners over the mile distance and those coming off lead-up runs in the Let’s Elope Stakes.
Single figure hopefuls have a dominant recent record in the race, so another useful tip is to pick a runner in the top half of the markets. Any mares coming down in class off an earlier Group 1 spring race also make for a nice Stocks Stakes winning tip.
Ladbrokes Tip: The Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes is a good betting guide for the Empire Rose Stakes during the spring
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Predictions & Best Bets
Our Ladbrokes’ insider WH Stocks Stakes tips and Melbourne Group 2 betting selections will be detailed below the week of the race so bookmark this page for the mares to get behind in the race this spring.
| 5. Changing Colours (8) 55kgx4111 |
| 2. Too Darn Discreet (9) 56kg011×2 |
| 8. Perfect Ten (2)SCRATCHED: | |||
The W.H. Stocks Stakes – currently known as the Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes – is a Group 2 race for mares contested on Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes Day in late September or early October during the annual Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
Traditionally run at Moonee Valley, the 2026 edition of the Stocks Stakes moved from The Valley which was closed for redevelopment to Caulfield.
Racing at the meeting is headlined by the Group 1 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m) for sprinters. Other key races on the card including the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) for the Cox Plate hopefuls, Group 2 Stutt Stakes (1600m) for Caulfield Guineas types, the Group 3 Scarborough Stakes for potential Coolmore Stud Stakes-bound fillies and the Group 3 JRA Cup (2000m).
Offering $300,000 in total prize money, the Stocks Stakes is run over 1600m (1514m in 2024 & 1500m in 2025) under set weights plus penalties conditions and makes a nice lead-up to other mares-only races in the spring including Flemington’s Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) on Victoria Derby Day.
Pride Of Jenni improved on a second in the 2023 Stocks Stakes to complete that spring’s Empire Rose Stakes – Champions Mile double over the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
She also further franked the Stocks Stakes form with a big autumn in 2024 headlined by her 6.5 length victory in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in Sydney.
WH Stocks Stakes Race Facts
- Date: Sunday, September 27, 2026
- Track: Moonee Valley Racecourse (Caulfield Racecourse in 2026)
- Distance: 1600m (1514m in 2024 & 1500m in 2025)
- Conditions: Mares – Set Weights Plus Penalties
- Status: Group 2
- Prize Money: $300,000
- First Run: 1973
2026 STOCKS STAKES PREVIEW
2026 STOCKS STAKES ODDS
Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Betting
Stocks Stakes odds are led by in-form mares with form against similar company with proven ability at weight-for-age and over the mile. Runners that have winning form at the distance and previous experience at the track also sit high up the Stocks Stakes odds.
Betting also favours graduates of earlier Melbourne lead-up runs for the mares like Caulfield’s Group 3 Cockram Stakes (1200m), which is now known as the Courtza Stakes, and the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) at Flemington a fortnight before the race.
Amelia’s Jewel (2023) was the last mare to complete the Let’s Elope Stakes – Stocks Stakes double.
In 2024 the Stocks Stakes winner, Alsephina, improved on a lead-up Let’s Elope Stakes third to win the Group 2 while that year’s Let’s Elope winner Grinzinger Belle finished third in the Stocks Stakes trifecta as the beaten favourite.
Splash Back (5th in 2025) was the last Let’s Elope graduate to win the Stocks Stakes.
Amelia’s Jewel ($1.35 in 2023) was the last Stocks Stakes favourite to salute for the punters.
Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Field
The Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes race field attracts a quality field of older mares with ability over the mile.
Many come into the race on the back of a lead-up run earlier in the spring in something like the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) at Flemington.
The WH Stocks Stakes nominations close the Monday before the race runs on the Sunday, while the final field and barriers are out on the Wednesday.
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Field
The official Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 Final Field & Barrier Draw will be available right here once acceptances are taken on the Wednesday of race week so stay tuned to see the mares set to face off in the Group 1 lead-up.
The Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 field features a quality line-up of potential Empire Rose Stakes-bound mares including the flying Changing Colours up in grade chasing a fourth win on the trot and the widely drawn Too Darn Discreet coming off a narrow Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes second at blowout odds.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Sass Appeal
J: Damian Lane
T: Danny O’brien |
11×144 | M | 2 | 58kg | |
|
2. Too Darn Discreet
J: Declan Bates
T: Dan O’sullivan |
5011×2 | M | 9 | 56kg | |
|
3. Private Legacy
J: Ben Melham
T: Gregory Hickman |
lx901x | M | 5 | 56kg | |
|
4. Sea What I See
J: Craig Williams
T: Danny O’brien |
3243×9 | M | 6 | 55kg | |
|
5. Changing Colours
J: Blake Shinn
T: Lucy Yeomans |
7×4111 | M | 8 | 55kg | |
|
6. After Summer
J: Billy Egan
T: Dominic Sutton |
x6230x | M | 4 | 55kg | |
| 7. Astral Flame (1) Scratched: | |||||
| 8. Perfect Ten (2) Scratched: | |||||
| 9. Gold Medallist (12) Scratched: | |||||
|
10. Glasgow Lass
J: Daniel Stackhouse
T: Matt Laurie |
x0x352 | M | 1 | 55kg | |
|
11. Charisse
J: Patrick Moloney
T: Gerard Moloney |
1247×0 | M | 7 | 55kg | |
|
12. Moonlight Circus
J: Ethan Brown
T: Michael Kent |
6x60x6 | M | 3 | 55kg | |
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Nominations
The WH Stocks Stakes Nominations for 2026 close on the Monday leading-up to Manikato Stakes Day.
Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Form Guide
The WH Stocks Stakes form guide features all the essential race information including the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the mares in the field. Group 1 form to follow into the Group 2 can come via the Memsie Stakes (1400m) held the month before as Atlantic Jewel completed that Group 1 spring double in 2013.
The Stocks stakes form has also stacked up in other elite level races including when Atlantic Jewel (2013) ran second next start in Caulfield’s Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) before a win in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) that October.
The Stocks Stakes 2024 form was franked with the winner Alsephina running a good next-up third in that spring’s Toorak Handicap.
The 2025 Stocks Stakes winner Splash Back would eventually go on to become a Group 1 winner in Brisbane’s Tatt’s Tiara the following winter. The 2025 form was further franked with the runner-up Abounding winning the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes at her next start.
2026 Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes Form Guide
A link to our comprehensive Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.
Past Stocks Stakes Results
The WH Stocks Stakes race results have been dominated over the past decade by classy Melbourne-trained mares coming off a run in the Let’s Elope Stakes.
Notable recent Stocks Stakes winners include the odds-on favourite Amelia’s Jewel (2023), dual champion I Am A Star (2017-18), Fenway (2015), Dear Demi (2014), Atlantic Jewel (2013), Zarita (2009), and Tuesday Joy (2008).
Amelia’s Jewel holds the current WH Stocks Stakes race record at Moonee Valley winning over 1600m in 2023 in a time of 1 minute 34.37 seconds.
In 2024 the Stocks Stakes ran over a lesser distance of 1514m and was won by Alsephina in a time of 1 minute 32.33 seconds.
The 2025 Stocks Stakes took place over 1500m and saw Splash Back win in 1 minute 31.42 seconds.
Recent Stocks Stakes Winners
Recent WH Stocks Stakes winners and placegetters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Third | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Changing Colours | Sass Appeal | Too Darn Discreet | 1:36.41 (1600m at Caulfield) |
| 2025 | Splash Back | Abounding | Molly Bloom | 1:31.42 (1500m) |
| 2024 | Alsephina | Lady Jones | Grinzinger Belle | 1:32.33 (1514m) |
| 2023 | Amelia’s Jewel | Pride Of Jenni | Deny Knowledge | 1:34.37 (R) |
| 2022 | Daisies | Elusive Express | Lady Of Honour | 1:40.0 |
| 2021 | So You Assume | Magna Bella | Quantum Mechanic | 1:36.3 |
| 2020 | Mystic Journey | Perfect Jewel | One More Try | 1:37.6 |
| 2019 | Princess Jenni | Rondinella | Oceanex | 1:37.6 |
| 2018 | I Am A Star | Mrs Gardenia | Samovare | 1:37.3 |
| 2017 | I Am A Star | Flying Jess | Hell Or Highwater | 1:37.3 |
| 2016 | Don’t Doubt Mamma | Kaniana | Miss Rose De Lago | 1:38.7 |
| 2015 | Fenway | May’s Dream | Scratchy Bottom | 1:34.9 |
| 2014 | Dear Demi | Solicit | Commanding Jewel | 1:37.8 |
| 2013 | Atlantic Jewel | Oasis Bloom | Oriental Ruby | 1:36.8 |
| 2012 | Oasis Bloom | Spirit Song | Chateau Margaux | 1:36.9 |
| 2011 | King’s Rose | Pinker Pinker | Lady Lynette | 1:37.0 |
| 2010 | Avienus | Belscenica | Lady Lynette | 1:38.3 |
| 2009 | Zarita | Cats Whisker | Soul Diva | 1:37.0 |
| 2008 | Tuesday Joy | Devil Moon | Bird of Fire | 1:36.3 |
| 2007 | Devil Moon | Brom Felinity | Hidden Strings | 1:36.4 |
| 2006 | Astrodame | Brockman’s Lass | Belle Bizaare | 1:36.1 |
| 2005 | Flowerdrum | Honest Politician | Taken | 1:38.5 |
| 2004 | She’s Archie | Annie La Vie | Zumanity | 1:41.9 |
| 2003 | Sunday Joy | Liberty Rose | Monde Special | 1:36.8 |
| 2002 | Gold Lottey | Tyrolean | Visage | 1:38.7 |
| 2001 | Lady Marion | Tickle My | Tyrolean | 1:38.7 |
| 2000 | Hula Wonder | Camarena | Mrs Bentley | 1:38.4 |