Spring Champion Stakes Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2025

The Spring Champion Stakes is a Group 1 2,000m race, for 3YOs over set weights that takes place at Randwick Racecourse. On the same day in Victoria, the Cox Plate is on the calendar. First run in 1971 as the Australasian Champion Stakes, this is a horse race with over 50 years of tradition. 

The race has attracted not only the best Australian thoroughbreds but also from overseas. Previous winners have also won the Cox Plate (for example Kingston Town, the 1979 Spring Champion, won the Cox Plate three times consecutively from 1980) and numerous Spring Champions have won the Victoria Derby in the same year. 

The Spring Champion Stakes is also on the same day as a newly minted invitation-only race, also worth $2 million and aptly named The Invitation. Other races on the same day include; the Group 2 Callander-Presnell and the Group 3 Craven Plate, so we look forward to a fantastic day of racing. 

Known as the Australasian Champion Stakes for the first seven years of the race. The Spring Champion Stakes has a long heritage of being a Group 1 race from 1979. There was no race in 2007 due to an outbreak of equine influenza. 

In 1983, for the one and only time, the race was not held at Randwick Racecourse but at Warwick Farm over 2,100m. From 1984 the race has been over 2,000m except the Warwick Farm event and in 2001 when it was 1,800m over the Kensington inner course at Randwick. Both Randwick and Warwick Farm are considered some of the top tracks in the country.

Due to the race only being for 3YOs, there have, of course, never been two-time winners but there have been successful trainers. Gai Waterhouse has trained four winners, only beaten by her father with five. 

OnlyRacing has you covered with everything you need to know about the race. No matter if you are looking for tips and horse racing betting information, or want general information about the field or results, we’ve got all the details.

The Spring Champion Stakes boasts a prize pool of $2 million, with over $1 million for the winner alone and is sure to attract some great horses. Take a look at the prize money breakdown for the race below:

If you want some of the best free horse racing tips in Australia, stop scrolling! We’ve got you covered with tips for every single Group 1 and key race on the calendar. On top of this, we also provide weekly Randwick tips, so even if there are no Group 1s on, you can still get your hit of high-quality tips.

For the Spring Champion Stakes, in particular, our tips aren’t available just yet. We are waiting until race week, when the final field is confirmed to get cracking on providing our best bet, next best and best roughie for the Spring Champion Stakes.

We know you like horse racing tips, you know you like horse racing tips, so we’ve left our 2024 Spring Champion Stakes tips for you to check out:

Spring Champion Stakes Best Bet - Henlein 

I’m siding with Henlein for the 2024 Spring Champion Stakes. It’s a pretty open market, with four of the 11 runners currently listed with odds of $6.00 or less. At this stage, Henlein sits on the third line of betting, with odds of $4.60. He never really got going in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes, but I think he’ll enjoy the rise in trip here.

If you haven’t already, watch his run before the Gloaming Stakes, in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes, where he was storming late from the back to finish second! Very lightly raced, with only five races under his belt, but he puts in a good performance pretty much every time. He gets the visors on for the first time, so that should keep him sharp.

Spring Champion Stakes Next Best - Swiftfalcon

I like Swiftfalcon enough to pop him in as my next best, but he didn’t get the top spot for me because he has drawn the widest barrier of them all and I’m not 100% happy with that. The market doesn’t seem to care though, PlayUp currently has Swiftfalcon as the narrow $3.60 favourite to win the Spring Champion Stakes.

The 3YO had an excellent race last time out, coming from near the back of the field to finish second in the ideal lead-up race, the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes by 1.8L. The winner of that race was El Castello, who is currently on the second line of betting. Jockey Jay Ford retains the ride and he’ll need to use all his skills in this one.

Spring Champion Stakes Best Roughie - Rag Queen

Not a massive field, so not a lot of contenders for my best roughie, but I think I’ve found something with Rag Queen. One of four fillies in the race, she’ll carry 2kg less than the boys. With three runs under her belt so far this prep I think she’s peaking now, just at the right time and she is paying $16 to win with PlayUp, at the time of writing.

Trainer David Payne has had some success in this race before, winning with Ace High in 2017 and Montefilia in 2020. Montefilia was the last filly to get the chocolates in this race. Rag Queen gets the blinkers again and she most recently finished fourth in the Gloaming Stakes behind El Castello. Has a good platform for a solid run here.

Are you thinking of placing a bet (or two) on the Spring Champion Stakes? Well, we have put together a simple strategy for deciphering the complex world of picking a bookie. There are so many betting sites in Australia, but at the end of the day it comes down to two things: 

1. The bookie that is going to offer you the best value for betting with them on feature races such as the Spring Champion Stakes race. Things like bonus offers will likely come into play here.
2. Your preferred markets or bets that you wish to place on the race. 

We all want to extract the most value for money and get the greatest profit from our bets. This is why promotions are so important and you’ll quickly notice that different bookies have slightly different promotions. Opening accounts with different bookies means you can easily take advantage of all the extra value on offer.

Compare the odds for your picks across as many available Australian bookmakers as possible. If you aren’t sure where to start, our bookie review page has you covered with all the top bookies in Australia.

Additionally, we feature in-depth reviews of specific bookmakers that we care to highlight. Some of these bookmakers include PlayUp, Dabble and PuntCity. Bet on whichever available Australian bookmaker offers you the best price for your preferred bets on races. 

Even if you are looking for one of the best new betting apps in Australia, we can help you as well. Our bookie reviews section is as comprehensive as they come and we are always adding new information to the section.

Another option is to simply bet with whichever bookie you are 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. This is perfectly fine, but remember that you could be missing out on easy value by not shopping around.

Each year, we see the Spring Champion Stakes field confirmed during race week. This means that for the Spring Champion Stakes, the field is not yet confirmed. We will keep an eye on things for you and bring you all the Spring Champion Stakes field information as it comes to hand.

Throughout the year, if you want an idea of the runners who may line up, you can check out the odds for the race. If they are available, you’ll see all the runners that are more favoured in the market and therefore more likely to make an appearance. Remember though, nothing is set in stone and things can change quickly in horse racing.

We have to wait until race week for the final field, but you can check out the field that took part in the Spring Champion Stakes in 2024 here:

For the Spring Champions Stakes for 2024, we saw a small-ish field of 11 runners confirmed. There weren’t any emergencies listed either, so with the pre-race scratching of Duvana, this cut the field down to 10 runners that took part in the race.

Scratchings happen quite regularly in horse racing and it’s something you’ll get used to pretty quickly. Even in races like the Spring Champion Stakes, where there is $2 million in prize money up for grabs, scratchings can still happen. Sometimes a runner is scratched as they are a dual acceptor in two races on the same day or due to a vet’s advice.

In any horse race, it’s also a good idea to check out the barrier draw. The barrier each horse jumps from can have a pretty significant influence on how the race plays out. The influence of the barrier draw also depends on the track layout. The barrier draw is much more critical on tracks with sharper turns.

It’s always a good idea to check out the Spring Champion Stakes form guide before finalising any bets on the race. There is a lot of data to go through for the race and if you look in the right place, you’ll find that patterns emerge, which can help point you in the direction of the next potential winner.

If putting together the Spring Champion Stakes form guide seems like a daunting task for you, then you’ve come to the right place! Keep reading below as we have found all the key form indicators that you need to know about the Spring Champion Stakes.

It’s important to remember that the Spring Champion Stakes is a race only for 3YOs and in the past, we’ve seen that these young racehorses can improve dramatically from race start to race start. This means that you can’t really discount a runner just because their previous race start was poor.

For the Spring Champion Stakes, the ideal lead-up race is the Gloaming Stakes, which is held over a distance of 1,800m, run two weeks before this race. Fillies might also come through the Flight Stakes as well, so that’s another race to consider.

For the Gloaming Stakes, we have seen it produce 11 Spring Champion Stakes winners since 2010. In this time, there have been seven that have successfully completed the Gloaming Stakes - Spring Champion Stakes double, with the most recent being El Castello in 2024.

A wider barrier shouldn’t be a major deterrent either as we have seen several winners jump from an outside barrier. Since 2005, we have seen seven winners jump from barrier seven or greater, with the most recent being El Castello, who jumped from barrier seven in 2024.

The record for the favourite isn’t too crash hot, so it could pay to check out some of the others. Since 2002, we have only seen seven favourites win the Spring Champion Stakes. Since 2008, we have seen three winners who jumped with double-digit odds, including in 2009 when Monaco Consul with odds of $51.

It’s worth looking into runners who have had some success in their previous race. Since 1993, we haven’t seen a Spring Champion Stakes winner finish lower than third in their previous race start. Although, as already mentioned, 3YOs can improve greatly from race to race, so don’t completely ignore runners who didn’t see success in their previous run.

The Spring Champion Stakes is one of the biggest races on the Australian calendar and with $2 million in prize money on the line, we see some of the best 3YOs compete in the race. We’ve gone through the entire history and found the top Spring Champion Stakes horses that have ever won the race.

It was a difficult process as there have been many top-notch horses that have won the race over its history and we only have room for a handful of horses in this section. Keep reading below to see the horses that we chose (hopefully, you agree with the horses we picked) :

Kingston Town - 1979

Kingston Town is probably the biggest name to ever win the Spring Champion Stakes. He is most known for winning three Cox Plate’s in a row from 1980 to 1982 and he was also named the 1980 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year. Some of the other key races he won included; the Winx Stakes, Queensland Derby and the King Charles III Stakes.

Beau Zam - 1987

With a career record of 28:11-5-2, Beau Zam won five Group 1 races throughout his career, including the 1987 Spring Champion Stakes. Some of his biggest victories included; the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Tancred Stakes and the Australian Derby. For more information on these races, be sure to visit our Group One races list.

Stylish Century - 1989

Stylish Century won the Spring Champion Stakes in 1989. He finished his career with a record of 58:11-8-7, which helped him earn almost $3 million in prize money. Other than the Spring Champion Stakes, he won two additional Group 1s; the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Victoria Derby.

Tie The Knot - 1997

The 1997 winner of the Spring Champion Stakes, Tie The Knot, finished his career with a record of 62:21-9-8. He was named the 2000 Australian Champion Stayer and has been inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Some of Tie The Knot’s biggest wins came in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (won four times) and the Sydney Cup (won twice).

It's A Dundeel - 2012

Winner of the Australian Triple Crown, It’s A Dundeel had a very successful career, which also included winning the 2012 Spring Champion Stakes. He won many different awards throughout his career as well, including the 2014 New Zealand Champion Racehorse of the Year and the 2014 Australian Champion Middle Distance Racehorse.

The Spring Champion Stakes odds will tell you which runners are more favoured in the market. While a runner might be classified as the favourite, it doesn’t guarantee they will win the race, as we spoke about in our form guide section, the favourite doesn’t actually have a good record in the Spring Champion Stakes!

As soon as the odds are released, you’ll notice that they are constantly changing. They might even change as you are looking at them on a bookie’s website or app. So, why do the odds change all the time? Well, each bookie has a whole stack of ranking factors that influence the odds, so a minor change in the ranking factor can result in an odds change.

The first horse racing market to open up will be the Fixed Win/ Place market. On the week of the race, more horse racing markets will open up, so if you’re into more exotic types of bets (like a First Four or Quinella), that is the time for you.

As the odds are always changing, it’s a good idea to get your bets sorted as soon as you see a price you like. If not, you risk the odds shortening and not getting as much value for your bet. In saying that, the odds could also increase as well, so that’s something to keep an eye on.

The Spring Champion Stakes odds aren’t available for the 2025 race just yet, but you can take a look and see how the 2024 field stacks up in terms of their odds:

*Odds correct as of 24/10/2024.

The Spring Champion Stakes has over 50 years of history having first been run in 1971. One of the ideal lead-up races is the Gloaming Stakes, a Group 3 race run in September. The Group 3 Gloaming Stakes is seen as the lead-up race and horses successful in this 1,800m race usually look to enter the Spring Champion Stakes.

In fact, the winner of the Gloaming Stakes has an exemption from the ballot for the Spring Champion Stakes. Profondo is famous for winning the Spring Champion Stakes in 2021 in only his third start, what is usually forgotten is that he came second in his second-ever race, the Gloaming Stakes, two weeks earlier. 

The Spring Champion Stakes takes place each year during Sydney’s Spring Racing Carnival, which is one of the biggest horse racing carnivals in Australia. Over recent years, Racing NSW has added more races and additional prize money to Sydney’s Spring Racing Carnival, to better compete with Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.

Almost every Spring Champion Stakes race has been run at Royal Randwick Racecourse albeit over varying distances. The 1971 race started with 10 furlongs (2,011m), the next year, 1972 with the metric system, it was shortened to 2,000m.

The race distance increased to 2,100m for the sole 1983 Warwick Farm event. Then from 1984 onwards (except for 2001, when the race was run at 1,800m on the shorter Kensington inner course) it finally settled on 2,000m. 

Both fillies and colts have won the race, the first filly being in 2016 with Yankee Rose. The famous Kingston Town won the 1979 Spring Champion Stakes and went on to win three consecutive Cox Plates in the following three years. 

In this millennium, successful jockeys have included two-time winners Hugh Bowman (2010 and 2022), Josh Parr (2014 and 2019), Corey Brown (2002 and 2008) and Jay Ford (2005 and 2009). If you are looking at successful trainers, although T J Smith trained five winners, his daughter Gai Waterhouse is not far behind on four. 

If you want to know who won the Spring Champion Stakes in 2025, you’ll have to wait until after the race! But as soon as the race has been run and won, we will provide all the results information you’ve been looking for including the full finishing order of the field along with a race replay.

For the Spring Champion Stakes in 2024, we saw the pre-race favourite, El Castello, take the victory by 0.4L. The 3YO colt won the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes before taking out the Spring Champion Stakes. Henlein finished in second place and wasn’t too far off the pace.

Firm Agreement, a $21 chance before the race, finished in third place a further 1.8L off the leader. In the end, the 2024 Spring Champion Stakes was run in a time of 2:03.05 and there was a total of 8.5L that split the first and last runners across the finishing post.

Take a look at the table below as we go through the full finishing order of the entire Spring Champion Stakes field:

We always see an action-filled Spring Champion Stakes, so it’s understandable that you want to relive everything. Check out the full race replay below:

If you’re interested in knowing all the recent winners of the Spring Champion Stakes, this section is for you. We have listed all the Spring Champion Stakes winners from 2010 up to now. Check out the table below:

The Spring Champion Stakes is one of the biggest races on the Australian calendar, so it’s only natural that people have lots of questions about the race. We’ve gone through and found all the most common questions people have about the Spring Champion Stakes and answered them below: