Winx Stakes 2024 Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2024

Hello Spring! The Winx Stakes officially kicks off the Spring Racing Carnival and is the first Group 1 race in a couple of months after the Tattersall’s Tiara in June. There’s no doubt that the Winx Stakes is one of the biggest Group One races on the calendar and is also named after one of the best racehorses ever, Winx.

The Winx Stakes is a historic Group 1 thoroughbred race held at Randwick Racecourse since 1923. The inaugural champion was Sunburst, and since then, the Winx Stakes has seen some of Australia’s greatest-ever champions traverse the Randwick Racecourse track seeking victory. 

More recently, we’ve seen the likes of Anamoe and Fangirl win the Winx Stakes. Be sure to keep your calendars open, so that you do not miss out on the Winx Stakes at Randwick Racecourse. It’s going to be an unmissable race, that’s for sure.

The Winx Stakes kicks things off as the Spring Racing Carnival is the biggest event on the calendar. Throughout the Spring Racing Carnival, we see a huge amount of racing take place at Randwick Racecourse, which is one of the top tracks in the country.

OnlyRacing.com.au’s Winx Stakes page has every aspect of the race covered. If you want tips for the race, you can find them here. If you want to know more about the results of the race, you can find them here. No matter what you are looking for, OnlyRacing is your go-to!

The Winx Stakes has been a major beneficiary of Racing New South Wales’s pledge at the beginning of 2023 to increase their prize money by over $20 million. The Winx Stakes reflects this pledge as there has been a drastic increase in prize money from the 2023 Winx Stakes onwards. Since 2023, there will be a total of $1 million on offer for the competitors.

Check out the prize money breakdown below:

Group 1 racing is back, baby! And you know what that means? Tipping for Group 1 racing is back. We are excited to be providing free horse racing tips for all the Group 1 races on the calendar, including the Winx Stakes. We are so excited to get stuck back into tipping Group 1 races.

We don’t want to jump the gun though. Our experts are waiting until race week and when the final field is announced to provide their tips. We take Winx Stakes tips very seriously and therefore our experts need to have all the key information available to them. Once they know the final field, they will analyse every runner and provide their tips.

While you wait for our expert to provide their 2024 Winx Stakes tips, check out what our experts put together for the 2023 race below:

Winx Stakes Best Bet - Zaaki

According to the market, it’s a two-horse race - Fangirl ($5.00) and Zaaki ($4.80), with only one other runner listed in single digits, at the time of writing, Mo’unga ($9.00). I’m splitting hairs here really, but I’m going with Zaaki as my best bet for the Winx Stakes. The England import has won 11 races in Australia so far and almost $10 million in prize money!

Trainer Annabel Neasham has come out and said she thinks Zaaki is better than ever, so competitors beware! The Randwick track is right up his alley, as is the 1,400m distance. Jamie Kah gets the ride and the draw is perfect. Zaaki as my narrow best bet for the Winx Stakes.

Winx Stakes Next Best - Fangirl

It could have gone either way, in my opinion, but I’ve got Fangirl as my next best. Fangirl could very well go one better this year after running second to Anamoe. She has barely put a foot wrong since her debut and is now a Group 1 winner, after claiming victory in the Vinery Stud Stakes. 

She hasn’t won a race in a while, but her performances and the effort she puts in tell me she isn’t too far off. Her fresh record is great and I really do think it will come down to her and Zaaki in the closing stages of this one. Let’s see if Fangirl can kick off her Spring campaign with a bang.

Winx Stake Best Roughie - Think It Over

I enjoy tipping Think It Over as my best roughie because he loves to win races at double-digit odds, which is what he’ll have to do here, currently listed at $11. We haven’t seen Think It Over for a long time, two Autumns ago when he won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

He has overcome the injury, from what I hear and it was great to see him back in action in a trial. He might need a run under his belt before going on to bigger and better things, but I just can’t ignore those double-digit odds. So, I’ll be putting a little something on for Think It Over to place in the Winx Stakes.

We hope that was some good reading for you. Don’t forget that our 2024 Winx Stakes tips will be available during race week, so check back here then!

Betting on the Winx Stakes might be stressful to some, but not to others. That is why we, at OnlyRacing, have two separate schools of thought on how to select a bookmaker for a Group 1 event such as the Winx Stakes. We break it down for you and like to keep things simple when it comes to choosing the best betting apps going around.

Bet With Your Heart

The tried and tested method of betting on big races with the bookie you feel most comfortable with. If we were to ask you to check the odds for the Winx Stakes, where would you automatically go? Bet365? Unibet? PlayUp? Well, this is the bookie you feel safest placing your money with and you know where to find what you’re looking for.

Why overcomplicate selecting a bookmaker when you can just see the betting promotions from your favourite bookmaker and use those, or even just take the fixed price and be equally satisfied that your bet is on? Similarly, you do not know what you are missing out on if you are tunnel-visioned in on a specific bookmaker. Blissful ignorance!

So, our suggestion as to why you should use this method for betting on the Winx Stakes is because it is the least time-consuming and you are guaranteed to feel comfortable where you are putting your money. You don’t need to go through all the different Australian betting sites out there.

Bet With Your Head

This method is more time-consuming, however, it will yield a much better ROI on average than betting with your heart. Some of the other benefits include better promotions and betting sites bonuses. We will use the Winx Stakes as an example below.

You have selected your favourite market to bet on for the Winx Stakes, a Fixed Win bet. This method involves scouring the available horse racing betting sites and comparing the odds of your preferred market across as many of these Aussie bookies as you can. 

To see a list of all of the best betting apps available that offer markets on Group 1 thoroughbred races in the country such as the Winx Stakes, check out our “Betting Sites” section above. We’ve got over 20 bookies for you to sink your teeth into.

Want to know which runners will be lining up for the Winx Stakes in 2024? Well, we are all going to have to wait until race week, because that’s when the final field is announced. While we don’t yet know which runners will be in the final field, we do know it will feature quality runner after quality runner, as we have seen in recent years.

If you want some guidance on which runners might be targeting the Winx Stakes, you can check out the odds. The runners that have shorter odds are more likely to feature in the race and we will provide all the odds in our “Odds” section on this page, once they are available.

So, until we know which runners will line up for the race in 2024, check out the Winx Stakes field for 2023 below:

For the 2023 Winx Stakes, we see a field of 16 runners confirmed, with three emergencies listed as well, just in case there are any last-minute scratchings. In the end, we did see two pre-race scratchings of Arapaho and Going Global. This meant that the first two emergencies, King Colorado and Nanajo Peak gained entry into the race.

Scratchings happen all the time in horse racing. All it takes is a quick look at any given day’s horse racing fields to see how common it actually is. Even in races like the Winx Stakes where there is a lot of prize money on the line, scratchings still happen. Scratchings can happen at any time and for several different reasons, so you should keep your eyes peeled.

You’ll notice that when looking at the field table, each runner is assigned a barrier. The barrier that each runner jumps from is assigned randomly and it can have a fairly significant influence on how the race plays out. Some runners prefer an inside or outside barrier and as well as this, some barriers have been more successful in the history of the Winx Stakes.

There are a few steps involved when it comes to putting together the Winx Stakes form guide. The most important thing is going through all the relevant data and stats to find patterns in the type of runners that have won the race. Doing all this can take up a lot of your time.

You don’t have to do it yourself though, the team here at OnlyRacing is here to help! We look through all the data and have put together some key form indicators that you should know before you place your bets. Keep reading to know all that we know!

While the Winx Stakes is the first Group 1 of the Spring, it acts as a springboard to other races throughout the season. Runners always want to get off to the best start possible in the most important season of the year. Winx herself used this race as a warm-up for other key races like the Cox Plate.

With all this being said, you must understand where each runner is at, fitness-wise. The Winx Stakes can sometimes be difficult to judge, as this is the first time in a while you have seen some runners step out in race conditions. This just adds an extra layer of intrigue to the race!

While there isn’t much Group 1 racing happening until the Winx Stakes, there is still quality racing going on. One of the lead-up races you should look into for the Winx Stakes is the Missile Stakes (Group 2), which is held two weeks before the Group 1.

In the last 32 years, we have seen 13 favourites win the Winx Stakes. Winx won the race three years in a row from 2016 to 2018 and she was the heavy favourite each time. Anamoe was the last favourite to win the Winx Stakes, which was in 2022.

There has been a little bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the age of the Winx Stakes winner in the last 32 years, but the age group that takes the cake is 5YOs, with 11 wins. After 5YOs, it’s 6YOs with eight wins and 7YOs and 4YOs both having five wins each to their name.

Mares have an okay record in the Winx Stakes, winning on nine occasions in the last 32 years. The most recent mare to win the Winx Stakes was Fangirl in 2023. Along with this, the majority of winners attack the Winx Stakes first up, with 24 winners in the last 32 years.

It’s the first Group 1 of the Spring and we see the best Winx Stakes horses compete to get their Spring off to the best start possible. Over the years, only the best horses have managed to win the Winx Stakes and this section is dedicated to them.

We take a step back in time and find some of the best horses to ever win the Winx Stakes and talk about what makes them so special. While we’d like to include all the horses in this section, we only have room for a handful. Hopefully, you agree with the choices we’ve made! Check out the details below:

Limerick - 1927-1929

Well, it didn’t take long until we got our first three-time winner of the Winx Stakes, now did it?! Limerick had a very healthy strike rate, winning 29 of the 59 races he competed in, also placing in an additional 14 of them. Some of the other key races he won included; the Chipping Norton Stakes, the All Aged Stakes and the Ranvet Stakes.

Flight - 1944

Flight captured the hearts of many Australians during what was a very difficult time, during World War II. The mare was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2007 and even has a Group 1 race named after her, the Flight Stakes. Some of the other notable races she won included; the Cox Plate, the CF Orr Stakes and the Champagne Stakes.

Kingston Town - 1980-1982

Not to be outdone by Limerick, Kingston Town also won the Winx Stakes three years in a row. Not only did Kingston Town win the Winx Stakes three years in a row, but he also won the Cox Plate in the same three years. He was named the 1980 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.

Lonhro - 2001 & 2003

Lonhro couldn’t win the Winx Stakes three years in a row, but did win the race twice, which is good enough if you ask us! The stallion won 26 races throughout his career and this helped him amass a whopping $5,790,510 in prize money. He won races like the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Australian Cup and the George Ryder Stakes.

Winx - 2016-2018

Like we’re going to have a section on the best ever Winx Stakes horses and not mention the horse the race is named after! Winx won over $26 million in prize money throughout her career and tied for the title of the World's Best Racehorse in 2018. There’s even a Winx Grandstand at Randwick as well as statues at Moonee Valley and Rosehill.

Verry Elleegant - 2020

The 2020/21 Australian Racehorse of the Year won the Winx Stakes in 2020 and gained a total of $14,643,244 in prize money throughout her career. She most famously won the Melbourne Cup in 2021, but she also won the Caulfield Cup and the George Main Stakes, just to name a few.

The Winx Stakes odds are a very important piece of the puzzle. You’ll notice that well before the Winx Stakes race is due to take place, odds markets will open up at all the best horse racing betting apps in Australia, including the likes of PlayUp. This means you can get your bets sorted sooner than you may have originally thought.

It’s important to note though, that from the moment the horse racing markets are live until the race jumps, there will be fairly considerable changes in the odds. Several factors influence this and you’ll even notice that different bookies have different odds for the same market or runner!

If you’re thinking about betting on the Winx Stakes, we think the best time to do so is when the market is listed as “Before Noms”. This is because you’ll get your stake back if your chosen runner doesn’t end up taking part in the race. 

If you bet when the market is listed as “All-In” you don’t get this luxury (unless your horse makes the final field and then is scratched). Along with this, the sooner you bet the more likely you are going to get higher odds for your choice. The odds are usually high weeks out from the event because there is a lot that can happen between that time.

Come back here soon as we will showcase all the Winx Stakes odds below. We will keep an eye on PlayUp and when their market is live, the odds will be displayed!

To fully appreciate the Winx Stakes, we must first look back on the milestones throughout the history of the race that have led us to the feature race we know and love today. The Winx Stakes was previously known as the Warwick Stakes, but the name was changed in 2018 to honour the great mare.

The Winx Stakes officially kicks off the Spring Racing Carnival, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest horse racing carnivals throughout the year in Australia. The Winx Stakes has undergone many changes since its inaugural race in 1923 and we have highlighted these changes below.

Distance Changes

For the first seven years of racing, the Winx Stakes was run at a distance of seven furlongs. For the following eight years, the Winx Stakes was run at a one-mile distance before returning to its original seven-furlong distance in 1938 where it remained for over 30 years until the 1971 Winx Stakes.

Following the introduction of the metric system for Australian horse racing, the Winx Stakes raced at 1,400m until 1999 and at 1,300m for two years over the turn of the millennium. Finally, we reach the 2002 Winx Stakes which was run at 1,400m where it stands today.

Venue Changes

The venue for the Winx Stakes has gone back and forth between Warwick Farm Racecourse and Randwick Racecourse since its inception with a sprinkle of Canterbury Park Racecourse in 2000. To highlight these venue changes see the list below.

• 1923-1939: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 1940-1950: Randwick Racecourse
• 1951-1992: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 1993: Randwick Racecourse
• 1994-1999: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 2000: Canterbury Park Racecourse
• 2001-2002: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 2003: Randwick Racecourse
• 2004: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 2005-2006: Randwick Racecourse
• 2008: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 2009: Randwick Racecourse
• 2010-2013: Warwick Farm Racecourse
• 2014-Present: Randwick Racecourse

Grade Changes 

The Winx Stakes wasn’t always a Group 1 race, up until 1978 the race was under Principal status. From 1979 until 2017, the race was run under Group 2 status. In 2018, when the race name was changed to honour Winx, the race was upgraded to Group 1 status.

The Winx Stakes is just one of the many races that us Aussies can sink our teeth into each year. If you want to learn a little bit more about some of the other races on the calendar, you can do so by checking out our Group One races list.

No matter the time of the year, are you ready to relive all the action that went down in the latest Winx Stakes? Well, we’ve got all the details you’re looking for, so you’ve come to the right place. If you want to know where the runner you bet on finished the race, or just would like to know out of interest, we’ve got all the details in this section.

The 2023 Winx Stakes was taken out by the narrow second-favourite, Fangirl. The Chris Waller-trained Fangirl finished just 0.3L in front of Princess Grace, who is also trained by Chris Waller. Princess Grace was the surprise pack of the Winx Stakes, jumping with odds of $21 to win the race.

Zaaki, who was the pre-race favourite, finished in third place, 0.48L off the pace. The race, as always, was run at a decent clip, in a time of 1:24.11 and there was a total of 7.22L that separated the entire field.

Check out the finishing order of all the runners in the Winx Stakes results below:

You know where each runner finished, now check out how the race unfolded below:

There can only be one winner in the Winx Stakes each year (unless we see a head heat). Take a look at the table below for a list of all the recent Winx Stakes winners:

Who doesn’t love some FAQs to wrap things up?! Check out all the common Winx Stakes FAQs we’ve put together below: