Coolmore Stud Stakes Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2025

The Coolmore Stud Stakes is run each year at Flemington Racecourse, Victoria. There is a stack of racing that takes place each year at Flemington Racecourse, so there’s no doubt it is one of the top tracks in the country. For those who are new to racing or not yet familiar with the Coolmore Stud Stakes, registered as the Ascot Vale Stakes, it is worth explaining. 

The Coolmore Stud Stakes is a Group 1 race for 3YOs, run under set weights conditions and always takes place as part of the Melbourne Spring Carnival, specifically on the day of the Victoria Derby on the weekend before the Melbourne Cup, which could be the last Saturday in October or the first Saturday in November. First run over 160 years ago, this is a horse race with a long tradition. 

This race, for the speedsters, was originally an Autumn Carnival race for 2YOs, but after the 1965 race, this all changed, it was not run for four years. Then in 1969, it returned to the Victorian Spring meeting schedule as a race for 3YOs.  

The name Coolmore Stud pays reference/ homage to the headquarters of the world’s largest thoroughbred breeding business in Tipperary, Ireland. This operation has several branches, one being Coolmore Australia, which is in the Hunter Valley, NSW. 

Be sure to visit OnlyRacing.com.au closer to the meet as we will have you covered with all the latest information, like our tips, the runners who will be participating and the results after the race has been run. We update this page constantly throughout the year as more information comes in.

This is, of course, a race that puts the fast horses through their paces and with $2 million as the prize purse, it receives a lot of attention. The winner doesn’t walk away with all that $2 million though, check out the prize money breakdown below:

OnlyRacing is your home for free horse racing tips in Australia! We not only provide tips for each Group 1 race on the calendar but also provide Flemington tips, so there’s always something going on here at OnlyRacing. No matter the type of punter you are, you’ll find tips that suit your style.

Our Coolmore Stud Stakes tips for the race in 2025 aren’t available just yet. We are waiting until race week, when the final field is confirmed, before getting cracking on our tips. Race week is the perfect time because we will have more information on the recent form of the entire field.

While you wait for race week in 2025, you can check out all the Coolmore Stud Stakes tips for 2024 here:

Coolmore Stud Stakes Best Bet - Lady Of Camelot

Boy, there are some pretty good runners in this one, with the likes of Growing Empire and Traffic Warden, but for my best bet, I’m siding with Lady Of Camelot. Last time out, we saw Lady Of Camelot in The Everest, where she finished fourth by 1.4L. The filly is currently paying $6.50 to win, in what looks like a fairly open market.

She was a bit unlucky in The Everest, didn’t find herself in a very good position and was only able to do her best work late. She’s racing in Flemington for the first time, but I’m still expecting a lot of improvement from the Golden Slipper winner and she is one of only two in the field to carry just 55kg. Plus, she draws barrier four. Tick, tick!

Coolmore Stud Stakes Next Best - Growing Empire

Growing Empire does look in terrific nick, and if Lady Of Camelot doesn’t fire like I think she will, then Growing Empire will be the one to swoop in and pick up the spoils. PlayUp has Growing Empire the narrow $3.60 favourite at the time of writing and the colt will be tackling the Coolmore Stud Stakes fifth-up. 

I like that the colt is back fighting against his own age and we last saw Growing Empire finishing third in The Everest. He has had a great prep so far with two wins, a second place and a third place are his results so far. It would be quite surprising to me if he didn’t at least place in this one.

Coolmore Stud Stakes Best Roughie - Bodyguard

I’ve found myself a massive roughie that I think can really shake the race up. Maybe not good enough to win, but certainly good enough to run top three. Bodyguard is currently paying $51 to win the Coolmore Stud Stakes, which is, in fact, the highest odds on offer for runners in the race.

Things haven’t really gone to plan for the 3YO colt, but I’m hoping he gets some luck on his side on Saturday. I’m basing a lot of my thoughts on his two recent trials, which show just how good of a racehorse he can be. Hugh Bowman books the ride and Bodyguard gets winkers for the race. Let’s have a small throw at the stumps and see what he can do.

Betting on the Coolmore Stud Stakes should be a fun experience and if you can bank some extra coin in the process, more power to you! Over the years, the OnlyRacing team has developed a simple strategy for deciphering the complex world of picking a bookie. 

At the end of the day, it comes down to two things: 

• The bookie that is going to offer you the best value for betting with them on feature races such as the Coolmore Stud Stakes race.  
• Your preferred markets or bets that you wish to place on the race. 

There are plenty of horse racing betting sites around, so if you are trying to extract the most profit from your bets, there are heaps of racing promotions to take advantage of. Some may offer promotions like bonus bets on win odds for runners coming second, third or even fourth.

If you can find a promotion like this then you have some additional cover that could be worth exploring with the compromise of possibly lower odds being available from those bookmakers. Compare the odds from the best betting apps for your picks across as many available Australian bookmakers as you can. 

For reference, we have a bookmaker review page that includes a pros and cons list of all the best Australian bookmakers that offer racing markets. Additionally, our best horse racing betting sites feature in-depth reviews of specific bookmakers that we care to highlight. Some of these bookmakers include PlayUp, VicBet and Dabble.

Bet on whichever available Australian bookmaker offers you the best price for your preferred bets on races. Another option is to simply bet with whichever bookie you are used to, or rather, most comfortable with. They may or may not offer the best odds, but it is a bookmaker that you know well and you can easily navigate their website or app to place bets. 

Like clockwork, the field for the Coolmore Stud Stakes is released each year during race week. Until that time, we won’t know which runners will grace us with their appearance in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. As soon as we know who will feature in the field, we will bring you this information.

Sometimes it can pay to check with bookie websites as they may open futures markets and you can see which runners are more favoured in the market at any given time. This will give you an indication of which runners are more likely to be targeting the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

The 2025 Coolmore Stud Stakes field is not available just yet, but you can check out the runners who took part in the 2024 race here:

The 2024 Coolmore Stud Stakes featured 14 runners and while there weren’t any emergencies listed in the race, this didn’t matter in the end because there weren’t any pre-race scratchings. This meant that all the 14 original runners took their place in the starting barriers.

If you’re following the Coolmore Stud Stakes each year, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on any scratchings as it can have a major influence on the race, like if the favourite is scratched, for example. Scratchings can happen for any number of reasons and at any time before the race.

While you’re making note of things to watch out for, you should also add the barrier draw to that list! The barrier each runner jumps from is known to have a fairly significant influence over how the race plays out, especially if runners have to contest with a big field.

With a race that has been around for as long as the Coolmore Stud Stakes, there is plenty of data to sift through about the past winners. Having a lot of data is good because it means patterns can clearly be identified. It’s certainly not the easiest thing going through heaps of form guide data, so the team at OnlyRacing have done the hard work for you.

We’ve gone through all the data and found the little nuggets of gold that we think you should know about before you go off placing any bets on the Coolmore Stud Stakes. These form indicators don’t guarantee you will pick the winner, but it’s certainly better than randomly picking a runner! All the key Coolmore Stud Stakes form guide information is below.

We see the bulk of the field each year made up of colts as the Coolmore Stud Stakes is known as a stallion-making event. However, in recent years, we’ve seen more fillies make their way into the race, with a few even tasting Group 1 success here.

It is the only Group 1 sprint race for 3YOs on the Victorian calendar, so it becomes a critical race for connections who want their runner to make an early name for themselves. With so many runners potentially targeting this race, it usually means there are a lot of different form lines to follow.

Some of the ideal lead-up races you should look into include the Danehill Stakes (Group 2), the McNeil Stakes (Group 3), the Red Anchor Stakes (Group 3) and the Poseidon Stakes (Listed). In recent history, we’ve seen that the majority of winners of the Coolmore Stud Stakes have finished in the top four of their lead-up run.

Since 2006, when the Coolmore Stud Stakes became a Group 1 race, we’ve seen five fillies take out the race. Favourites have a decent enough record in the race, with five favourites (or equal favourites) winning the race since 2010. On the flip side, we’ve seen four double-digit odds winners since 2010, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

There are so many Coolmore Stud Stakes horses that we could include in this section because we’ve seen some of the best-even runners compete and win this race over the years. However, we only have room for five, so we’ve had to make some tough decisions. Don’t come at us if your favourite horse didn’t make our cut!

We’ve narrowed it down to five horses and talk more about their career including the other key races they won, their overall career prize money and any other achievements. Check out the five Coolmore Stud Stakes horses we’ve selected below:

Heroic  - 1924

With a career record of 51:21-11-4, Heroic is one of the best horses to win the Coolmore Stud Stakes. He was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2003 and won several Group 1 races including the likes of the Cox Plate, the Memsie Stakes, the Australian Derby and the Underwood Stakes.

Comic Court - 1948

Comic Court was a very successful racehorse of his era and he even tasted success in the greatest race of them all, the Melbourne Cup, in 1950. Just like Heroic, Comic Court has also been inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and the stallion won many other major races like the Turnbull Stakes and the CF Orr Stakes.

Surround - 1976

The 1977 Australian Racehorse of the Year, Surround, claimed victory in the Coolmore Stud Stakes in 1976. She also won races like the Cox Plate and the VRC Oaks (if you want to learn more about these races, check out our Group One races list). She even has a Group One race named after her, the Surround Stakes.

Manikato - 1978

Manikato was one of the best racehorses going around in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a 2YO, he managed to pull off the Blue Diamond Stakes - Golden Slipper Stakes double. He also had a stranglehold of the William Reid Stakes, winning the race five years in a row, from 1979 to 1983.

Weekend Hussler - 2007

With $3 million in prize money in the bank, Weekend Hussler was a very successful racehorse, including a victory in the 2007 Coolmore Stud Stakes. He was named the 2008 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year and won races like the Makybe Diva Stakes, the Newmarket Handicap and the Randwick Guineas.

Horse racing odds are a fickle thing, they change all the time and the changes can be quite dramatic! With a race like the Coolmore Stud Stakes, that draws more attention, you might see even more changes in the odds and this is why it’s a good idea to jump on board with your bets as soon as you see a price you like.

Every Aussie bookie will have heaps of horse racing markets up and running for the Coolmore Stud Stakes and you are likely to find different odds for the same runner. It can therefore pay to shop around before placing your bets, especially if you’re thinking of betting on a roughie!

We always go to PlayUp to check their odds first as they are known to have some of the best racing odds going around. At this stage, PlayUp’s odds markets for the Coolmore Stud Stakes aren’t available. This means you’ll have to hold off for a little bit if you’ve got any early hot tips. 

The best time to bet on the Coolmore Stud Stakes, we believe, is when the market is listed as “Before Noms”. This is because you will get your stake back if you bet on a horse that doesn’t end up making the final field. You are also more likely to get higher odds as there is still a reasonable amount of time between the “Before Noms” market and the race.

While we wait for closer to race day in 2025, you can check out the 2024 Coolmore Stud Stakes odds here:

*Odds correct as of 31/10/2024.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes has a long history covering three centuries with the first race in 1863 and an almost annual event ever since. Every race has been run at Flemington, but over varying distances and all races have been for the speedsters. 

The 1863 race started with five furlongs (1,006m), the length was increased to six furlongs (1,207m) in 1872 and then in 1972 with the metric system, it was shortened to 1,200m. The race has been this same distance ever since with one exception, in 1985, when it was shortened to 1170m. 

The Victoria Racing Club pulled the race from the calendar in 1966 (when the event was for 2YOs) and the race didn’t take place again until 1969, when rescheduled to take place in early Spring and became an event for 3YOs. Vain was the first runner to taste victory in the Coolmore Stud Stakes under these revised conditions.

Between 1969 and 2005 the race was run in the Spring, but in September. In 2006, it became part of the Spring Racing Carnival, which is undoubtedly one of the more important horse racing carnivals of the year. The race became a Group 1 race in 2006, before that, between 1979 and 2005, it was a Group 2. 

In 2006, when the race became a Group 1, we saw the old switch-a-roo take place. The Coolmore Stud Stakes swapped on the schedule with the Group 3 Danehill Stakes, which moved from Victoria Derby Day to September.

Each year a new winner is crowned in the Coolmore Stud Stakes! If you want to know which horse won the most recent edition of the Coolmore Stud Stakes, you’ve come to the right place. We go through all the details of the most recent race, providing details on where each runner finished along with a full race replay.

In 2024, we saw Switzerland take the chocolates in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. The 3YO colt jumped from barrier eight and had an excellent steer from jockey James McDonald. Switzerland finished 2.75L in front of Bellatrix Star, who finished in second place.

Wrapping up the final minor placing was the narrow pre-race favourite, Growing Empire. Growing Empire finished 3.1L off the pace. In the end, the 2024 Coolmore Stud Stakes was run in a time of 1:08.30 and there was a total of 21.38L that split the entire field.

Take a look at the full Coolmore Stud Stakes results below:

While the Coolmore Stud Stakes may be over for another year, you can still relive all the action! Check out the full race replay of the race below:

As the Coolmore Stud Stakes is exclusively for 3YOs, we won’t see any multiple winners of this race, but that means we get a new crop of excellent runners fighting it out for Group 1 glory. Check out the table below to see all the recent Coolmore Stud Stakes winners:

Before you’re a certified Coolmore Stud Stakes expert, we have one final section for you! We’ve gone through and answered all the most common questions people have about the race, which you can check out for yourself below.