The Australian Guineas

Australian Guineas – 1600m

Date: Saturday 4th March 2023
Time: 4:20pm AEDT
Prize Money: $1 million AUD

With such a lucrative prize pool associated with the Australian Guineas this year, it is no wonder the event has drawn some of Australia’s best three-year-old horses to Flemington Racecourse to compete. Perhaps none are more well-known than Mick Price and Michael Kent’s Jacquinot, who is favourite going into the race and will be tough to beat. Below is a current snapshot of the field for the 2023 Australian Guineas, including their most important details, as well as the odds they are currently sitting at on PlayUp.

Please Note: All odds are provided by PlayUp.

What a stacked field we have in store for the 2023 Australian Guineas event! At OnlyRacing, we are so excited to be able to offer you two sets of tips for the Australian Guineas at  Flemington Racecourse for 2023. One set will be available below, in this preview to the Australian Guineas 2023, and the other will be available on OnlyRacing’s Tips Page where a full card of tips will be posted for the meet at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday the 4th of March 2023.

As is the norm on OnlyRacing, I will provide a best bet for the 2023 Australian Guineas, alongside tips for my next best runner, as well as a roughie pick for the 2023 Australian Guineas race. I hope this tips assist you in deciding what punts to place for the 2023 Australian Guineas but be sure to check the OnlyRacing Tips Page for even more insights and analysis on the competitive field of horses.

Once again, don’t forget to visit OnlyRacing’s Tips Page for another take on the Australian Guineas coming soon!

Jacquinot - EARLY BEST BET
The overwhelming favourite for the 2023 Australian Guineas is Jacquinot, and he has seen plenty of money back him in to claim victory this year at the Australian Guineas. A career 5-0-1 from 10 races, Jacquinot is a highly skilled Colt out of Warrnambool with serious speed.

Calling Rubick and Ponterro his parents, Jacquinot is coming off back-to-back victories at Sandown Hillside Racecourse. Can Jacquinot replicate his recent success? Well, his ROI from those 10 career starts sits at an almost foolish 129%. Be sure to factor in Jacquinot regardless of who you think will win the 2023 Australian Guineas event.

Elliptical - EARLY NEXT BEST
Sired by the famous It’s a Dundeel (see our preview to the Randwick Guineas 2023 for more information on It’s a Dundeel), Elliptical is set to start the 2023 Australian Guineas as second favourite, and he is still too long for my money! Having already claimed over $1 million AUD in his short career as a three-year-old, the potential $600,000 prize for winning the 2023 Australian Guineas looks on the cards here for Elliptical.

Having won his previous racec at Flemington Racecourse coming into the 2023 Australian Guineas, Blake Shinn will be critical in getting Elliptical over the line in first place. I will be including Elliptical in my multiples for the 2023 Australian Guineas, and I suggest you do too!

Holymanz - EARLY ROUGHIE PICK
This roughie for the 2023 Australian Guineas has not seen much discussion from the horse racing community going into the Australian Guineas, however I believe this three-year-old Gelding is great value to place. Having placed in 4 out of a possible 5 career races (with two wins to his name), Holymanz is very long compared to my book, and I see him causing real trouble to the favourites.

Look for Mark Zahra to make a huge impact on Holymanz as he has done in the past at Look for Mark Zahra to make a huge impact on Holymanz as he has done in the past at The Valley (where they claimed victory on the 3rd of February 2023). Hopefully you join me in backing Holymanz as a huge underdog going into the Australian Guineas 2023.

Now that we have a rough idea of the field of runners, the favourites, and who is value for money to me, we should investigate where to place your bets for the 2023 Australian Guineas. You could go with the safe choice of betting with your usual Australian bookmaker; however, you could be missing out on value!

Let’s say you are keen to join me in betting on Holymanz for the 2023 Australian Guineas race. You usually punt with Bet365, however the odds on PlayUp are $19.00 compared to $17.50 on Bet365. This is a no brainer; you place your money on the market where you get better returns!

My suggestion for the 2023 Australian Guineas is to figure out what markets you wish to place a bet on, and then compare the odds across all available Australian bookmakers to see where you are getting the best value for money.

For insights into some of the major, as well as newer, Australian bookmakers, head to our Bookmaker Reviews page for a full review of many Aussie bookies. Additionally, our Bookmaker Reviews page contains a full list of every available Australian bookmaker you can use for the 2023 Australian Guineas. As a taster, I have included 5 pros & cons tables for certain bookmakers. All these bookmakers (PlayUp, Midasbet, Winnersbet, PalmerBet, and Unibet) have full reviews available for free on our Bookmaker Reviews page.

We have now taken a deep dive into Flemington Racecourse to provide a precursor to the race history of the Australian Guineas. Hopefully this has provided context for the track that will play host to the 2023 Australian Guineas. If you did not read the above section of this Australian Guineas preview, I implore you to scroll up and immerse yourself in the history of Flemington Racecourse before we talk about the history of the Australian Guineas.

Let’s begin with the key background information for the Australian Guineas, including the changes that have occurred to the Australian Guineas over the years, the many years. To start with, the name for the race, the Australian Guineas, is only 12 years old this year. This pales in comparison to the racecourse at which it is run, which opened in 1840 (see our Flemington Racecourse review page at OnlyRacing). 

Before 2011, the Australian Guineas went by a few names. For one year in 2010 the Australian Guineas was known as the Crown Guineas, after being changed from the Cadbury Guineas (2005 – 2009). Before then, the Australian Guineas went by a name for almost twenty years, beginning at its inception, the Australasian Guineas. 

In terms of the distance that the Australian Guineas runs at, it has pretty much always been at the one-mile marker (1600m), except for three years at the turn of the century (1998 - 2000) when the Australian Guineas, then the Australasian Guineas, was raced at a distance of 2000m. 

The Australian Guineas is a Group 1 race, it is undoubtedly one of the more prestigious races on the Victorian and Australian racing calendar, however for its first year of running in 1986, the Australasian (Australian) Guineas was a Group 3 race! The very next year this was changed to Group 1 and has remained at that elite status ever since. It also must be noted that in 2007, the Australian Guineas (then Cadbury Guineas) was run at Caulfield Racecourse due to construction at Flemington Racecourse. 

That should have provided you with enough background information of how we have come to get the Australian Guineas in the form we know today. Now let’s take a deep dive into the minutiae of the Australian Guineas that racing fans should undertake to know.

The Australian Guineas race is a Group 1 race for thoroughbred horses that are three years old. The Australian Guineas is run at 1600m around the famous Flemington Racecourse. Since its inception in 1986, the Australian Guineas has been a race marked on jockeys’ and trainers’ calendars during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Calendar. 

On a personal note, the 1600m distance, as is run in the Australian Guineas, is my favourite. I think the mile length requires the best horses to strike a balance between speed and longevity. Ultimately, I believe it to be the best test for the nation’s elite racers. 

The Australian Guineas is seen by many as a sort of lead-up race to the Doncaster Mile and the Cox Plate. Being regarded as one of the premier three-year-old horse races around Australia, the 2023 Australian Guineas promises to be a spectacle for all racing fans. Be sure to tune in on the 4th of March 2023 so you do not miss out on the Australian Guineas race at Flemington Racecourse. 

The prestigious Flemington Racecourse is considered a jewel of Australian racing, claimed by Victoria’s capital city, Melbourne. The Australian Guineas might be one of the more notable races during Melbourne’s Autumn Racing Carnival, however Flemington Racecourse is known around the world for one specific race… the Melbourne Cup! Fondly nicknamed the ‘Home of the Melbourne Cup’, Flemington Racecourse has played host to the famous event since 1861, the first year it ran.

The Australian Guineas also shares a home with some other highly distinguished races across Australia’s thoroughbred racing calendar. One of these events is the Victoria Derby, the oldest horse race continuously run in Australia (since 1855!). There is a real theme when discussing Flemington Racecourse, and that is the rich history that comes with all events that take place at the famed track. 

In addition to the ancient Victoria Derby, Flemington Racecourse also plays host to the VRC Oaks, first run in 1861, the Newmarket Handicap, one of Australia’s premier sprint races (first run in 1874), and the Australian Cup, a middle-distance classic with weight-for-age restrictions, first run in 1863. The fact that Flemington Racecourse has been around since its opening in 1840, allows for such a grand history to build up and create a truly special venue.

So, Flemington Racecourse has a storied past, that is not up for debate, but what makes the home of the Australian Guineas, Melbourne Cup, and Australian Cup special? How does Flemington Racecourse differentiate itself from the other host of state-of-the-art racecourses around the country? To start with, Flemington Racecourse is considered a left-handed racecourse, with the full length around the track measuring around 2300m. 

In the almost 40-year history of the Australian Guineas, there have been many notable winners. Keep scrolling down to view some of these famous winners and how they claimed victory in the Australian Guineas event. I have emboldened four of these champions that we will look into in the next part of this preview to the 2023 Australian Guineas.

Below is a list of all of the victors for the Australian Guineas, Australasian Guineas, Crown Guineas, and Cadbury Guineas. See how many champions you know!

• 2022 - Hitotsu
• 2021 - Lunar Fox
• 2020 - Alligator Blood
• 2019 - Mystic Journey
• 2018 - Grunt
• 2017 - Hey Doc
• 2016 - Palentino
• 2015 - Wandjina
• 2014 - Shamus Award
• 2013 - Ferlax
• 2012 - Mosheen
• 2011 - Shamrocker
• 2010 - Rock Classic
• 2009 - Heart Of Dreams
• 2008 - Light Fantastic
• 2007 - Miss Finland
• 2006 - Apache Cat
• 2005 - Al Maher
• 2004 - Reset
• 2003 - Delago Brom
• 2002 - Dash For Cash
• 2001 - Mr. Murphy
• 2000 - Pins
• 1999 - Dignity Dancer
• 1998 - Gold Guru
• 1997 - Mouawad
• 1996 - Flying Spur
• 1995 - Baryshnikov
• 1994 - Mahogany
• 1993 - Kenny's Best Pal
• 1992 - Jolly Old Mac
• 1991 - Triscay
• 1990 - Zabeel
• 1989 - King’s High
• 1988 - Flotilla
• 1987 - Military Plume
• 1986 - True Version

Notable Past Winners of the Australian Guineas 

Given the fame, prestige, and prize money associated with a race like the Australian Guineas, there are a host of memorable and notable winners from previous iterations of the Australian Guineas. I will go through four past winners of the Australian Guineas, citing their victory and other career accomplishments.

• Zabeel in 1990: In 1990’s edition of the Australian Guineas, then called the Australasian Guineas, a New Zealand based horse by the name of Zabeel claimed victory. This is a notable Australian Guineas win due to the fact that Zabeel went on to claim first prize by a whopping six lengths! Zabeel had a great career of his own, but the true mark he left on the sport of horse racing was his offspring. After victory in the 1990 Australian Guineas, Zabeel went on to sire some of Australia’s greatest champions that won copious Group 1 events.

• Mahogany in 1994: Four years after Zabeel won the 1990 Australian Guineas by a landslide, Mahogany stole the show in one of the closest Australian Guineas to date. Surviving a late push from competitors in the field, Mahogany won the 1994 Australian Guineas by a nose. Mahogany followed this up by winning 18 other races in his career, totalling over $2.5 million AUD in winnings.

• Miss Finland in 2007: A dominant win by Miss Finland in the 2007 Australian Guineas saw her become the first and only filly to claim victory in the Australian Guineas race. Winning in similar fashion to Zabeel 17 years prior, Miss Finland also boasts six other Group 1 victories over her storied career. But we will always remember her brilliant display in the 2007 Australian Guineas.

• Alligator Blood in 2020: A more recent champion of the Australian Guineas, Alligator Blood was one of the most hyped-up horses in recent memory in Australia. A victory that mirrors Mahogany in the 1994 Australian Guineas, Alligator Blood won the 2020 Australian Guineas by just a nose against Superstorm. In a disappointing turn of events, Alligator Blood was retired during the 2021 season as a result of injuries. However, alongside the 2020 Australian Guineas win, Alligator Blood won 9 other races across his 13 career starts.

The 2023 Australian Guineas promises to be an exciting spectacle for all racing fans. Be sure to read this full preview of the 2023 Australian Guineas so you are prepared for Saturday the 4th of March at Flemington Racecourse.