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Overview
This page was last updated on February 5, 2026
The 2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes runs on Saturday the 28th of February during the opening Group 1 race meeting of the autumn in Sydney.
- Race Date: 28/02/2026
- Race Status: Group 1
- Race Conditions: Weight-for-Age
- Race Venue: Randwick, NSW
- Prize Money: $1,000,000
- Distance: 1600m
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) 2026 Odds
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1. Autumn Glow
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2. Sir Delius
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3. Ceolwulf
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4. Aeliana
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5. Antino
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6. Fangirl
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7. Gringotts
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8. Lindermann
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9. Pericles
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10. Lady Shenandoah
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11. Pier
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12. Tom Kitten
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13. Trinity College
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14. Pride Of Jenni
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15. Buckaroo
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16. Carl Spackler
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17. Evaporate
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18. Leica Lucy
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19. Willydoit
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20. Yorkshire
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2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Results
Stay tuned for the official 2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes results and finishing order at Randwick on Saturday February 28, 2026.
- 1st: TBD
- 2nd: TBD
- 3rd: TBD
Winning Margin: TBD
Winning Time: TBD
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Tips
Stay tuned for our insider Verry Elleegant Stakes 2026 Tips on the Sydney autumn Group 1 renamed this season from the Chipping Norton Stakes.
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) News
- Via Sistina Wins 2025 Ranvet Stakes
- Via Sistina Wins 2025 Verry Elleegant Stakes, Beats Fangirl and Lindermann
- 2025 Verry Elleegant Betting Update: Ceolwulf Scratched; Waller Mares Firm in Markets
- Via Sistina Heads 2025 Verry Elleegant Stakes Field & Odds
- Fangirl Goes Back-to-Back in Apollo Stakes 2025 Results
The Chipping Norton Stakes – renamed in 2024 as the Verry Elleegant Stakes – is a Group 1 weight-for-age race held at Royal Randwick Racecourse during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. It is one of Sydney’s first Group 1 races of the year and offers $1 million in prize money as of 2024.
The Verry Elleegant Stakes is run over 1600m and is open to all horses aged 3 years and older.
It was renamed ahead of the 2024 as the Verry Elleegant Stakes in honour of Chris Waller’s brilliant mare and two-time winner of the race (2021-22), Verry Elleegant.
Sadly, Verry Elleegant passed away soon after when in foal for the first time but forever remembered for the champion racehorse she was.
Run on Chipping Norton Stakes Day / Verry Elleegant Stakes Day in late February or early March, the best lead up race is the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) which is held two weeks earlier at Royal Randwick.
Winx completed the Apollo Stakes – Chipping Norton Stakes double twice in 2016 and 2017. Winx returned in the 2018 Chipping Norton Stakes first-up and recorded an incredible seven length win to become a three-time champion of the race. In her final preparation before retirement, Winx also completed the Apollo Stakes – Chipping Norton Stakes double in 2019.
Anamoe (2023) was the last horse to complete the Apollo Stakes – Chipping Norton Stakes double before the latter was renamed in 2024.
In 2025 trainer Chris Waller trained the same three horses to run the trifecta in both the Apollo Stakes (Fangirl, Lindermann, Via Sistina) and the Verry Elleegant Stakes (Via Sistina, Fangirl, Lindermann).Â
There are five other Group status support acts on Chipping Norton Stakes Day / Verry Elleegant Stakes Day with the Surround Stakes (1400m) elevated to Group 1 status for the 2018 edition, Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m), Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m), Group 2 Guy Walter Stakes (1400m), and the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) all hosted by the Australian Turf Club (ATC).
The 2021 Chipping Norton Stakes was won by Chris Waller’s ill-fated Verry Elleegant, subsequent winner of that year’s Melbourne Cup and this race’s now namesake.
Verry Elleegant retired from racing a 16-time race winner and 11-time Group 1 champion from her 40 career starts for total prizemoney of nearly $14.9m. She ranks her fourth on the all-time list of prize money earners behind former stablemates Winx ($26.4m) and Nature Strip ($20.7m), and dual The Everest winner Redzel ($16.4m).
Waller won his 10th Chipping Norton Stakes with Verry Elleegant going back-to-back in 2022.
Anamoe franked the 2023 Chipping Norton Stakes form going on to win the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at his next start before a third in that year’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes results. The form was further franked with the runner-up Fangirl also finishing second in the George Ryder ahead of her spring return that included wins in the Group 1 Winx Stakes and $5 million King Charles III Stakes.
Waller was denied an emotional 11th victory in the Verry Elleegant Stakes in 2024 with his odds-on favourite, Fangirl, running second to impressive upset champ Think It Over.
The 2024 Verry Elleegant Stakes form was franked with the runner-up Fangirl winning that year’s $1 million 7 Stakes in the spring.
Fangirl returned to run second in the Verry Elleegant Stakes results for the third straight year in 2025.
The 2025 Verry Elleegant Stakes winner, Via Sistina, went on to win the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes later that autumn before returning in the spring for a trio more Group 1 wins including the 2025 Cox Plate before her retirement.
2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Betting
The latest Verry Elleegant Stakes 2026 betting odds on the weight-for-age autumn hopefuls in the race formerly known as the Chipping Norton Stakes will be available at Ladbrokes.com.au and also published here at Races.com.au.
Te Akau Shark ($2.80 in 2020), the ill-fated Verry Elleegant ($2.30 in 2021 and $2.50 in 2022), Anamoe ($1.60 in 2023), and Waller’s 11th winner Via Sistina ($1.60 in 2025) are the latest favourites in Chipping Norton Stakes / Verry Elleegant Stakes betting to win.
In 2024 Fangirl went around as the odds-on favourite in Verry Elleegant Stakes betting at $1.30 but only managed to run second to $8.50 pop Think It Over.
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Field
2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Form
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2026 VERRY ELLEEGANT STAKES FORM GUIDE
2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Nominations
Nominations for Verry Elleegant Stakes are taken the Monday of race week and will be updated in full below.
2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Field
The Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) field features a host of smart autumn milers and is released on the Wednesday before the race.
The official 2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes field and barriers are released on the Wednesday of race week and will be published below on the race previously known as the Chipping Norton Stakes.
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) History
The Chipping Norton Stakes (now the Verry Elleegant Stakes) was a Group 2 race between 1980 and 1985 and was also occasionally run at Randwick where it will take place in 2017. Originally hosted at Warwick Farm Racecourse, the Stakes was won by Tie The Knot over four consecutive years from 1999 to 2002. Even the legendary Phar Lap won the Chipping Norton Stakes in 1930.
Other notable Chipping Norton Stakes winners before the race was renamed in 2024 include Danleigh (2011), Shoot Out (2012-13), and of course the world’s best mare Winx (2016-19) who posted four straight wins in the race including a seven-length romp home in 2018.
Chris Waller prepared his tenth Chipping Norton Stakes winner in 12 years with Verry Elleegant going back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
Verry Elleegant, who was Horse of the Year in 2021-22, became the event’s namesake in 2024 when the Chipping Norton Stakes was officially renamed as the Verry Elleegant Stakes by the Australian Turf Club (ATC).
She would later pass away in February of 2024 in foal making for an emotional first running of the race now named in her honour.
In 2023 the previous spring’s Cox Plate hero Anamoe won the Chipping Norton Stakes as the $1.60 odds-on favourite.
Waller won the Verry Elleegant Stakes for the 11th time in 2025 with Via Sistina defeating stablemates Fangirl and Lindermann.
See below for the Chipping Norton Stakes / Verry Elleegant Stakes winners dating back to 2000.
Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) Previous Race Winners
| Year | Place | Horse | Time |
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| 2026 Verry Elleegant Stakes |
1st | TBD | TBD |
| 2nd | TBD | ||
| 3rd | TBD | ||
| 2025 Verry Elleegant Stakes |
1st | Via Sistina | 1 minute 33.62 seconds |
| 2nd | Fangirl | ||
| 3rd | Lindermann | ||
| 2024 Verry Elleegant Stakes |
1st | Think It Over | 1 minute 34.88 seconds |
| 2nd | Fangirl | ||
| 3rd | Lindermann | ||
| 2023 Chipping Norton Stakes |
1st | Anamoe | 1 minute 34.99 seconds |
| 2nd | Fangirl | ||
| 3rd | Mo’unga | ||
| 2022 Chipping Norton Stakes |
1st | Verry Elleegant | 1 minute 39.64 seconds |
| 2nd | She’s Ideel | ||
| 3rd | Angel Of Truth | ||
| 2021 Chipping Norton Stakes |
1st | Verry Ellegant | 1 minute 35.49 seconds |
| 2nd | Colette | ||
| 3rd | Avilius | ||
| 2020 Chipping Norton Stakes |
1st | Te Akau Shark | 1 minute 33.87 seconds |
| 2nd | Verry Elleegant | ||
| 3rd | Fierce Impact | ||
| Verry Elleegant Stakes (Chipping Norton Stakes) 2026 | |
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| Date: | Saturday February 28, 2026 |
| Track: | Royal Randwick Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1600m |
| Race Type: | 3YO+ Weight-For-Age |
| Status: | Group 1 |
| Prize Money: | $1,000,000 |
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