Spring Champion Stakes Tips & Betting Advice

Spring Champion Stakes 2019

SPRING CHAMPION STAKES BETTING SELECTIONS & TIPS

Our experts will have their pre-race predictions and Spring Champion Stakes betting selections available for the Group 1 race.

Some key Spring Champion Stakes pointers are:

• The Gloaming Stakes is the key lead up race
• Winners have had success contesting the Gloaming prior to the Spring Champion
• The race has been won by several future champions

WHERE TO BET ON THE SPRING CHAMPION STAKES

Bookmakers Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and Neds are some of the best places to bet on the Spring Champion Stakes and all Randwick races. They offer some of the best odds and promotions on the big race and also stream the race live online. Or take advantage of the top 5 bookmaker deals below.

SPRING CHAMPION STAKES HISTORY AND GUIDE

Staged during the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival, the Spring Champion Stakes is a Group 1 event run under set weights conditions for three-year-olds.

The inaugural running was won by Gay Icarus in 1971, when known as the Australasian Champion Stakes, before a name change occurred in 1978 when Lefroy won the event.

From 1979 onwards, the year that champion racehorse Kingston Town won the race, it was upgraded to Group 1 status.

It has been staged at Royal Randwick for all bar two editions of the event; Sir Dapper won the race at Warwick Farm in 1983 over 2100m and Viking Ruler claimed the 2001 edition when run on the Kensington track (inner track at Randwick) over 1800m.

Due to an outbreak of Equine Influenza, the Spring Champion Stakes and many other races for that matter, were not staged during 2007.

It was most recently won by the Chris Waller-trained Vanbrugh who scored by 1.3 lengths as the $2.50 favourite.

The key lead-up race to the Spring Champion Stakes is the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m) held at Rosehill Gardens two weeks earlier. This is the same race that Vanbrugh won on his way to success and five of the past six winners contested the Gloaming prior to the Spring Champion; three of them won it and two finished runner-up.

Carrying $500,000 in prizemoney, the Spring Champion Stakes attracts a number of star three-year-old stayers who have gone on to win some of Australia’s greatest races.

Following Kingston Town’s 1979 victory in the Spring Champion Stakes, he would go on to create a legendary career by winning the Cox Plate in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He would also win the AJC Derby (1980), Sydney Cup (1980), Queensland Derby (1980) and George Main Stakes (1981-82) amongst other feature wins. He is also in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

Tie The Knot would go on to dominate racing in Sydney following his win in the three-year-old feature in 1997. He would claim the Rosehill Guineas (1998), Sydney Cup (1998-99), Chipping Norton Stakes (1999, 2000-02), The BMW (1999 & 2000) and Ranvet Stakes (2000-01) in Sydney.

Notable winners of the Spring Champion Stakes include Taras Bulba (1975), Cheyne Walk (1976), Kingston Town (1979), Best Western (1971), Sir Dapper (1983), Beau Zam (1987), Stylish Century (1989), Danewin (1994), Nothin’ Leica Dane (1995), Tie The Knot (1997), Dignity Dancer (1998), Universal Prince (2000), Niello (2003), Savabeel (2004), Monaco Consul (2009), It’s A Dundeel (2012), Complacent (2013), Yankee Rose (2016), Ace High (2017) and Maid Of Heaven (2018).

Spring Champion Stakes Winners (Since 2000)

RANDWICK RACECOURSE TRACK DESCRIPTION

Randwick is the largest racetrack in New South Wales and all races are run in a clockwise direction. It is a sweeping track with a rise from the 300m mark to the winning post in the home straight.

As well as the main track, Randwick Racecourse contains a second track known as Kensington. Due to large rainfall in the area, Kensington has been reconstructed using the Strathayr racing surface which is similar to Moonee Valley.

Strathayr is a turf cover over a base of sand, this means it is a free draining track which can take a substantial amount of rain without affecting the rating.

RANDWICK RACECOURSE HISTORY

Originally known as the ‘Sandy Course,’ Randwick Racecourse was first used in 1833 where a private match race between two horses was held.

In 1840 the track was abandoned as a racecourse and used for training purposes before the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) moved its headquarters to Randwick and held a meeting in 1860.

The Queen Elizabeth II stand was opened to the public on August 4, 1969, and in 1992, Queen Elizabeth II visited Randwick and opened the new $30 million Paddock Grandstand.

The Australian Derby (2400m) remains one of the longest standing races to be held at Randwick after its inaugural running took place in 1861.

Randwick hosts some of Australia’s most iconic Group 1 races throughout the year, during both the spring and autumn carnivals in Sydney.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Doncaster Mile and TJ Smith Stakes are some of the elite races taking place at Randwick during the prestigious The Championships during the autumn.