Gilgai Stakes

The Gilgai Stakes is a Group 2 race held at Flemington Racecourse in October as part of Turnbull Stakes Day as a possible lead-up to the VRC Champions Sprint.

2023 Gilgai Stakes Results

  • 1st: #2 Star Patrol
  • 2nd: #11 Triple Missile
  • 3rd: #14 C'est Magique



The Gilgai Stakes is a Group 2 event worth $300,000 held at Flemington Racecourse on a Saturday in early October during the heart of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival as part of Turnbull Stakes Day.

A sprint race over 1200m contested under set weights plus penalties, the Gilgai Stakes attracts plenty of first-up runners kicking off their spring or horses out of earlier lead-ups like the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) over more metres at Caulfield in August.

Hosted on a massive day of racing for Turnbull Stakes Day, the Gilgai Stakes shares the race card with a host of other black type events including the:

Proven Flemington straight track performers tend to dominate the Gilgai Stakes field and those horses that perform well often move on to similar events later in the Spring carnival, such as the Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic (1200m) – now known as the VRC Champions Sprint on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. In 2015 Chautauqua won the Gilgai Stakes for the second time before victory in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley next start.

The Gilgai Stakes also now serves as a potential lead-up to the world’s richest turf race, the $20 million The Everest (1200m) held at Randwick a fortnight later.

The 2020 Gilgai Stakes winner Zoutori franked the form winning the next year’s Group 1 Newmarket Handicap during the autumn.

The 2022 Gilgai Stakes form was franked with the winner Private Eye running a next-up second in The Everest quinella before taking out that year’s $3 million Winners Stakes. The form was further franked with the second-placed mare in the Gilgai, Roch ‘N’ Horse, heading to Flemington for an upset win in the Group 1 Champions Sprint down the straight while Baller ran third in both the Gilgai and Champions Sprint that spring.

The Gilgai Stakes 2023 ran on Saturday October 7, 2023 at Flemington on Turnbull Stakes Day and was won by the Clinton McDonald-trained favourite Star Patrol ($2.50F). 

Gilgai Stakes
Date: Saturday October 7, 2023
Track: Flemington Racecourse
Distance: 1200m
Race Type: Open Set Weights + Penalties
Status: Group 2
Prize money: $300,000

2023 Gilgai Stakes Results

  • 1st: #2 Star Patrol ($2.50F)
  • 2nd: #11 Triple Missile
  • 3rd: #14 C’est Magique

Clinton McDonald’s in-form Flemington specialist Star Patrol ($2.50F) continued his ace form at headquarters backing-up from a win in the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality to salute for the punters in the 2023 Gilgai Stakes results carrying plenty of weight to a standout one-length victory.

Finish No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Bar. Weight Penalty Starting Price
1 2 STAR PATROL Clinton McDonald Ben Melham 10 59kg $2.50F
2 11 TRIPLE MISSILE Lindsey Smith Ms Jamie Kah 1L 13 57kg $8.50
3 14 C’EST MAGIQUE Grahame Begg Michael Dee 2.25L 6 55kg $3.60
4 12 CAUSE FOR CONCERN Shawn Mathrick Ben Allen 3.75L 1 57kg $26
5 1 JIGSAW Cindy Alderson Daniel Moor 3.85L 4 59kg $8
6 7 ZOUTORI Mathew Ellerton Damian Lane 3.95L 2 57kg $12
7 8 SHELBY SIXTYSIX Danny Williams Craig Newitt 4.05L 7 57kg $101
8 9 FENDER Brett Cavanough Jamie Mott 6.05L 5 57kg $151
9 5 ASHFORD STREET Ken Elford Teo Nugent 6.25L 11 58kg $31
10 13 ROCKET TIGER Scott Spackman Chad Schofield 6.45L 8 57kg $51
11 10 ON THE LEAD Richard & Will Freedman Damien Oliver 7.45L 12 57kg $26
12 3 SNAPPER (NZ) Michael Moroney Jye McNeil 11.7L 3 58.5kg $61
13 6 OUTLAWS REVENGE Daniel Bowman Craig Williams 23.7L 9 58kg $31
4 SHOWMANSHIP (NZ) John Leek (Jnr) Mark Zahra 0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Gilgai Stakes Betting Odds

The season’s latest Gilgai Stakes 2023 betting odds on the Flemington Group 2 sprint race this Turnbull Stakes Day will be available below as soon as markets at Ladbrokes.com.au are available.

Private Eye ($4.80 in 2022) and Star Patrol ($2.50 in 2023) are the latest favourites in Gilgai Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 GILGAI STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Gilgai Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 GILGAI STAKES FORM GUIDE

2023 Gilgai Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Gilgai Stakes 2023 Tips on the lead-up sprint showdown at Flemington this spring.

  • To Win: #2 Star Patrol ($2.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Happy to stick with the favourite again here with the Clinton McDonald-trained five-year-old narrowly saluting first-up on September 16 in the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality at this track and trip. Strips fitter second-up at his pet track (5:3-1-0) where the genuine Flemington specialist will look to win again with Ben Melham continuing associations. Right course and distance, but does need to be improving going up notably in weight from 54.5kg to 59kg. Looks the class runner with the fitness edge however so should be able to get there.

2023 Gilgai Stakes Field

The Gilgai Stakes field attracts a good quality field of sprinters each year, many racing first-up after tougher runs in the autumn.

The Gilgai Stakes 2023 field and barriers are released on the Wednesday of race week and will be provided in full below once announced by Racing Victoria.

The 2023 Gilgai Stakes final field features a line-up of smart Group 1-bound sprinters led in betting by last start Bobbie Lewis Quality winner Star Patrol and the returning six-furlong specialist Jigsaw out to add to his imposing first-up record.

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 67x111101x JIGSAW Cindy Alderson Daniel Moor 4 59kg 106
2 12x3x160x1 STAR PATROL Clinton McDonald Ben Melham 11 59kg 102
3 8917140×40 SNAPPER (NZ) Michael Moroney Jye McNeil 3 58.5kg 95
4 1111x3x10x SHOWMANSHIP (NZ) John Leek (Jnr) Mark Zahra 5 58.5kg 102
5 65616×4364 ASHFORD STREET Ken Elford Teo Nugent 12 58kg 93
6 x74x22219x OUTLAWS REVENGE Daniel Bowman Craig Williams 10 58kg 94
7 65x05x50x5 ZOUTORI Mathew Ellerton Damian Lane 2 57kg 104
8 2x898800x8 SHELBY SIXTYSIX Danny Williams Craig Newitt 8 57kg 89
9 538531×870 FENDER Brett Cavanough Jamie Mott 6 57kg 92
10 4251226×76 ON THE LEAD Richard & Will Freedman Damien Oliver 13 57kg 89
11 x411x42x7x TRIPLE MISSILE Lindsey Smith Ms Jamie Kah 14 57kg 97
12 3×45112173 CAUSE FOR CONCERN Shawn Mathrick Ben Allen 1 57kg 79
13 x0602615x3 ROCKET TIGER Scott Spackman Chad Schofield 9 57kg 82
14 1262×4 C’EST MAGIQUE Grahame Begg Michael Dee 7 55kg 96

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Gilgai Stakes Nominations

Early nominations for the Gilgai Stakes in 2023 close the Monday leading-up to the race and will be published below once confirmed.

Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Ballot Weight True Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 67x111101x JIGSAW G 5 Cindy Alderson 1 59kg 106
2 6x11117x16 I AM ME M 5 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 2 57kg 106
3 12x3x160x1 STAR PATROL G 5 Clinton McDonald 3 59kg 102
4 1111x3x10x SHOWMANSHIP (NZ) G 8 John Leek (Jnr) 4 58.5kg 102
5 x241423134 IT’SOURTIME G 6 Danny O’Brien 5 58.5kg 99
6 8917140×40 SNAPPER (NZ) G 6 Michael Moroney 6 58.5kg 95
7 x74x22219x OUTLAWS REVENGE G 6 Daniel Bowman 7 58kg 94
8 47×6642224 UMGAWA G 5 Leon & Troy Corstens 8 58kg 93
9 65616×4364 ASHFORD STREET G 6 Ken Elford 9 58kg 93
10 65x05x50x5 ZOUTORI G 8 Mathew Ellerton 10 57kg 104
11 x411x42x7x TRIPLE MISSILE G 6 Lindsey Smith 11 57kg 97
12 1262×4 C’EST MAGIQUE M 4 Grahame Begg 12 55kg 96
13 538531×870 FENDER G 7 Brett Cavanough 13 57kg 92
14 4251226×76 ON THE LEAD G 6 Richard & Will Freedman 14 57kg 89
15 2x898800x8 SHELBY SIXTYSIX G 7 Danny Williams 15 57kg 89
16 01110412×7 SHE DANCES M 4 Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman 16 55kg 85
17 x0602615x3 ROCKET TIGER G 5 Scott Spackman 17 57kg 82
18 3×45112173 CAUSE FOR CONCERN G 4 Shawn Mathrick 18 57kg 79

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Gilgai Stakes History

The Gilgai Stakes was inaugurated in 1984, with Royal Troubador seizing victory in the first edition of the race. Since that day, the Gilgai Stakes has been run annually without fail. Plenty of horses have gone on from the Gilgai Stakes to other great results. In 2008, Swick went from a victory in the Gilgai Stakes to win the Patinack Farm Classic (now the VRC Darley Champions Sprint). In 2009, All Silent won the same race after placing second in the Gilgai Stakes results.

Redelva had a streak of three second places in 1989, 1990 and 1991, all faster than his only win in 1988. Temple Of Boom won with a great run in 2011, and Spirit Of Boom was able to maintain the pedigree’s success with a third in 2012 and a second in 2013.

Notable winners of the Gilgai Stakes include Placid Ark (1987), Redelva (1988), Hareeba (1994), Hay List (2010), Chautauqua (2014 – 2015), class mare Sunlight (2019), and Private Eye (2022).

Gilgai Stakes results since 2000 can be found below.

Gilgai Stakes Results

Year Place Horse Time
2023
Gilgai Stakes
1st Star Patrol 1 minute 9.87 seconds
2nd Triple Missile
3rd C’est Magique
2022
Gilgai Stakes
1st Private Eye 1 minute 8.33 seconds
2nd Roch ‘N’ Horse
3rd Baller
2021
Gilgai Stakes
1st Kementari 1 minute 10.57 seconds
2nd Zoutori
3rd Kemalpasa
2020
Gilgai Stakes
1st Zoutori 1 minute 8.38 seconds
2nd Dollar For Dollar
3rd Kemalpasa
2019
Gilgai Stakes
1st Sunlight 1 minute 9.42 seconds
2nd Santa Ana Lane
3rd Zoutori
2018
Gilgai Stakes
1st I Am Excited 1 minute 9.11 seconds
2nd Edurado
3rd Bons Away
2017
Gilgai Stakes
1st Keen Array 1 minute 9.28 seconds
2nd Sold For Song
3rd Malibu Style
2016
Gilgai Stakes
1st The Quarterback 1 minute 9.07 seconds
2nd We’ve Got This
3rd Durendal
2015
Gilgai Stakes
1st Chautauqua 1 minute 9.8 seconds
2nd Delectation
3rd Knoydart
2014
Gilgai Stakes
1st Chautauqua 1 minute 8.3 seconds
2nd Bounding
3rd Final Crescendo
2013
Gilgai Stakes
1st Platelet 1 minute 10.2 seconds
2nd Spirit Of Boom
3rd Steps In Time
2012
Gilgai Stakes
1st Hallowell Belle 1 minute 08.8 seconds
2nd King’s Rose
3rd Spirit Of Boom
2011
Gilgai Stakes
1st Temple Of Boom 1 minute 10.5 seconds
2nd Sistine Angel
3rd Response
2010
Gilgai Stakes
1st Hay List 1 minute 08.2 seconds
2nd Catapulted
3rd Chasm
2009
Gilgai Stakes
1st All Silent 1 minute 09.8 seconds
2nd First Command
3rd Light Fantastic
2008
Gilgai Stakes
1st El Cambio 1 minute 10.1 seconds
2nd Swick
3rd Murtajill
2007
Gilgai Stakes
1st Stanzout 1 minute 10.4 seconds
2nd Shadoways
3rd Valedictum
2006
Gilgai Stakes
1st Fast N Famous 1 minute 08.3 seconds
2nd Shadoways
3rd Dance Hero
2005
Gilgai Stakes
1st Falkirk 1 minute 07.9 seconds
2nd Glamour Puss
3rd Recapitalize
2004
Gilgai Stakes
1st Recapitalize 1 minute 09.2 seconds
2nd Falkirk
3rd Amtrak
2003
Gilgai Stakes
1st Bomber Bill 1 minute 09.7 seconds
2nd Mr. Magoo
3rd Red Labelle
2002
Gilgai Stakes
1st Cosmic Strike 1 minute 09.3 seconds
2nd Strategic Image
3rd Rubitano
2001
Gilgai Stakes
1st Belle Du Jour 1 minute 10.4 seconds
2nd Point Danger
3rd Gold Class
2000
Gilgai Stakes
1st Bomber Bill 1 minute 08.6 seconds
2nd Sports
3rd Umrum

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