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The  ATC Sapphire Stakes – not to be confused with Melbourne’s Group 3 Blue Sapphire Stakes – is a quality Group 2 race held towards the tail end of the esteemed Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’ at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Run on the second Saturday of April the Sapphire Stakes is a 1200m sprint run under set weights plus penalties by a field of fillies and mares. Offering $300,000 in prize money the race is conducted on the same day as four Group 1 autumn features.

The autumn’s richest race – the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) – headlines the meeting and is joined by the Sydney Cup (3200m), ATC Oaks (2400m), the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) plus a host of Group 2 and 3 status support races.

Female sprinters may come into the Sapphire Stakes field via an earlier autumn run in the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) held at Rosehill in March on Golden Slipper Stakes Day. Held on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’ just a week before the Sapphire Stakes, the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) is another good lead-up.

The Birthday Card Stakes – Sapphire Stakes double was most recently completed by Quilista (2018) and Zapateo (2023).

A nice next-up option for Sapphire Stakes graduates could be the Group 3 Hawkesbury Crown (1300m) later in the month, a race the 2016 Sapphire Stakes winner Two Blue finished runner-up in. Fillies and mares may also come back and contest a harder race like the Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m) over the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival or head to Adelaide for the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m). Secret Agenda (2017) was the last mare to do the Sapphire Stakes – Robert Sangster Stakes double.

The form of the 2021 Sapphire Stakes was franked with the runner-up Entriviere going on to win the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) in Sydney that spring and the New Zealand’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) the following January.

The 2022 Sapphire Stakes form was franked with the winner Bella Nipotina returning in the spring to win the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.

The Sapphire Stakes 2023 winner Zapateo went on to run third in both the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes and Group 1 The Goodwood results in Adelaide at her next two starts. She went on to run well in a host of other events including her Group 1 The Galaxy victory in Sydney in the autumn of 2024.

The ATC Sapphire Stakes 2024 ran on Saturday April 13, 2024 at Royal Randwick as part of Day 2 of The Championships and was won in style by the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained Wee Nessy ($4.80). 

2024 Sapphire Stakes
Date:	Saturday April 13, 2024
Track:	Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Distance:	1200m
Conditions:	Fillies & Mares, Set Weights + Penalties
Status:	Group 2
Prizemoney:	$300,000
Inaugurated:	1998

2024 Sapphire Stakes Results

• 1st: #3 Wee Nessy ($4.80)
• 2nd: #15 Ballroom Bella
• 3rd: #7 Miss Hellfire

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	3	WEE NESSY	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Ms Jamie Kah		3	54kg		$4.80
	2	15	BALLROOM BELLA	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Zac Lloyd (a)	1.16L	14	53kg		$21
	3	7	MISS HELLFIRE	Peter & Paul Snowden	Michael Dee	1.74L	7	54kg		$17
	4	2	C’EST MAGIQUE	Grahame Begg	Tim Clark	1.8L	8	54kg		$9
	5	1	RED CARD	James Cummings	Adam Hyeronimus	2.78L	13	55kg		$4.40F
	6	4	TASHI	Peter & Paul Snowden	Tom Sherry	4.19L	10	54kg		$4.80
	7	12	EVERYONE’S A STAR	Marc Chevalier	Louis Beuzelin	4.6L	5	54kg		$101
	8	6	PIPPALI	Jason Coyle	Tyler Schiller	4.69L	6	54kg		$81
	9	14	SALTAIRE	John O’Shea	Craig Williams	4.94L	2	53kg		$5
	10	8	DALCHINI	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	5.45L	1	54kg		$31
	11	11	MISS FABERGE	John Sargent	Ms Rachel King	6.67L	11	54kg		$81
	12	9	MIRRA VIEW	Peter & Paul Snowden	Andrew Adkins	7.27L	9	54kg		$81
	13	10	RAINBIEL	Joseph Pride	Tommy Berry	7.7L	4	54kg (cd 54.5kg)		$19
	14	13	WOLVES	Benjamin Smith	Dylan Gibbons (a)	9.11L	12	54kg		$151
		5	MUMBAI MUSE	Michael Freedman	Tommy Berry		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 Sapphire Stakes Betting Odds

The latest Sapphire Stakes 2024 betting odds on the Randwick Group 2 for fillies and mares this autumn will be available below as soon as released by Ladbrokes.com.au.

Zapateo ($2.30 in 2023) was the last Sapphire Stakes favourite to win.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2024 SAPPHIRE STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2024 Sapphire Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 SAPPHIRE STAKES FORM GUIDE

2024 Sapphire Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Sapphire Stakes 2024 Tips on the Randwick sprint this April.

• To Win: #4 Tashi ($6.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Open Sapphire Stakes field and Tashi present an attractive value bet based on her current form. Team Snowden’s four-year-old Sebring mare has been remarkably consistent, placing two two in her last six starts and boasting a strong record at Randwick. She’s fresh off a victory at this track and distance two back, followed by a narrow second in the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes. While this is a step up in class, the form from that race has proven strong, with the winner going on to win the prestigious Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes in a significant upset. Tashi carries a bit more weight this time around, but her ability suggests she can handle it. Look for her to be a contender.

2024 Sapphire Stakes Field

The ATC Sapphire Stakes field attracts a class line-up of fillies and mares looking to see out their prep with a lucrative Group 2 win or wind-up for a Group 1 target in Brisbane over the winter.

The official Sapphire Stakes 2024 field and barriers will be published in full below on the Wednesday of race week so stay tuned.

The 2024 Sapphire Stakes final field features a bumper line-of of sprinting fillies and mares led in betting by the James Cummings-trained Red Card chasing a hat-trick after back-to-back Group 3 Rosehill wins in the lead-up.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	11x1476x11	RED CARD	James Cummings	Adam Hyeronimus	14	55kg			105
2	x43957x329	C’EST MAGIQUE	Grahame Begg	Tim Clark	9	54kg			93
3	82224x0x33	WEE NESSY	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Ms Jamie Kah	3	54kg			93
4	23412×1212	TASHI	Peter & Paul Snowden	Tom Sherry	11	54kg			92
5	5x43911x04	MUMBAI MUSE	Michael Freedman	Tommy Berry	6	54kg			87
6	0300x6498x	PIPPALI	Jason Coyle	Tyler Schiller	7	54kg			87
7	7122×33126	MISS HELLFIRE	Peter & Paul Snowden	Michael Dee	8	54kg			85
8	7903x5375x	DALCHINI	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	1	54kg			84
9	514881356x	MIRRA VIEW	Peter & Paul Snowden	Andrew Adkins	10	54kg			83
10	x8264x6348	RAINBIEL	Joseph Pride	Jason Collett	4	54kg			83
11	20×1521144	MISS FABERGE	John Sargent	Ms Rachel King	12	54kg			80
12	3×31928311	EVERYONE’S A STAR	Marc Chevalier	Louis Beuzelin	5	54kg			71
13	49×3249212	WOLVES	Benjamin Smith	Dylan Gibbons (a)	13	54kg	54kg		66
14	624x7223x3	SALTAIRE	John O’Shea	Craig Williams	2	53kg			84
15	7x1122x433	BALLROOM BELLA	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Zac Lloyd (a)	15	53kg	53kg		78

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 Sapphire Stakes Nominations

The Sapphire Stakes 2024 nominations are taken on the Monday of race week with the full list of early entries to be published below.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	True Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	11x1476x11	RED CARD	M	4	James Cummings	1	55kg			105
2	92x14821x4	GHAANATI	M	4	Peter & Paul Snowden	2	54kg			99
3	x27415x078	QUEEN OF THE BALL	M	4	Michael Freedman	3	55.5kg			96
4	x43957x329	C’EST MAGIQUE	M	4	Grahame Begg	4=	54kg			93
5	82224x0x33	WEE NESSY	M	4	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	4=	54kg			93
6	23412×1212	TASHI	M	4	Peter & Paul Snowden	6	54kg			92
7	5x43911x04	MUMBAI MUSE	F	3	Michael Freedman	7=	54kg			87
8	0300x6498x	PIPPALI	M	6	Jason Coyle	7=	54kg			87
9	7122×33126	MISS HELLFIRE	M	4	Peter & Paul Snowden	9	54kg			85
10	7903x5375x	DALCHINI	M	5	Lee & Cherie Curtis	10=	54kg			84
11	624x7223x3	SALTAIRE	F	3	John O’Shea	10=	53kg			84
12	514881356x	MIRRA VIEW	M	5	Peter & Paul Snowden	12=	54kg			83
13	x8264x6348	RAINBIEL	M	6	Joseph Pride	12=	54kg			83
14	20×1521144	MISS FABERGE	M	4	John Sargent	14=	54kg			80
15	11x61548x6	SHESALLSHENANIGANS	F	3	Simon Zahra	14=	53kg			80
16	7x1122x433	BALLROOM BELLA	F	3	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	16	53kg			78
17	3×31928311	EVERYONE’S A STAR	M	4	Marc Chevalier	17	54kg			71
18	49×3249212	WOLVES	M	5	Benjamin Smith	18	54kg			66

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Sapphire Stakes History

First run in 1998 the inaugural Sapphire Stakes was won by What Can I Say. It began as a Listed race run over 1200m. The event gained Group 3 status in 2002 and not long after reached Group 2 status in 2006. Up until 2016 it ran as a Group 2 race before being downgraded back to a Group 3 autumn event for 2017, and then returned to Group 2 status for 2018.

Plenty of quality mares have won the Sapphire Stakes including Court (2009), Atlantic Jewel (2012) and Cosmic Endeavour (2014).

In 2020 White Moss continued her excellent record in the race, the 2018 third place-getter and 2019 champion becoming the second two-time Sapphire Stakes winner in the race’s history.

Sapphire Stakes Records:
Race Record:	1:08.9 set by Atlantic Jewel in 2012
Most Successful Jockey:	R.S. Dye claimed three successive Sapphire Stakes with What Can I Say (1998), Little Pattie (1999) and Spinning Hill (2000).
Multiple Winners:	Spinning Hill (2000 & 2001), White Moss (2019 & 2020)

Recent Sapphire Stakes Winners

See below for a full list of Sapphire Stakes winners and results going back to 2000.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2024 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Wee Nessy	1 minute 9.04 seconds
	2nd	Ballroom Bella
	3rd	Miss Hellfire
2023 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Zapateo	1 minute 11.28 seconds
	2nd	Never Talk
	3rd	Princess Grace
2022 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Bella Nipotina	1 minute 14.55 seconds
	2nd	Tricky Gal
	3rd	Belluci Babe
2021 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Fasika	1 minute 9.88 seconds
	2nd	Entriviere
	3rd	Wandabaa
2020 Sapphire Stakes	1st	White Moss	1 minute 11.81 seconds
	2nd	Fasika
	3rd	Bangkok
2019 Sapphire Stakes	1st	White Moss	1 minute 9.02 seconds
	2nd	Irithea
	3rd	Winter Bride
2018 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Quilista	1 minute 9.38 seconds
	2nd	Ravi
	3rd	White Moss
2017 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Secret Agenda	1 minute 13.2 seconds
	2nd	Missrock
	3rd	Artistry
2016 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Two Blue	1 minute 10.8 seconds
	2nd	Secret Agenda
	3rd	Brook Road
2015 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Avoid Lightning	1 minute 12.12 seconds
	2nd	Griante
	3rd	Fine Bubbles
2014 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Cosmic Endeavour	1 minute 10.72 seconds
	2nd	Avoid Lightning
	3rd	Belle De Coeur
2013 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Arinosa	1 minute 10.5 seconds
	2nd	Miss Stellabelle
	3rd	Forarainyday
2012 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Atlantic Jewel	1 minute 08.9 seconds
	2nd	Mid Summer Music
	3rd	Lady’s Angel
2011 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Hurtle Myrtle	1 minute 10.6 seconds
	2nd	Kimillsy
	3rd	Marquardt
2010 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Renaissance	1 minute 10.5 seconds
	2nd	Beaded
	3rd	Jersey Lily
2009 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Court	1 minute 10.84 seconds
	2nd	Belong To Many
	3rd	Cajou
2008 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Belong To Many	1 minute 11.15 seconds
	2nd	Tenant?s Tiara
	3rd	Fritz?s Princess
2007 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Fire Song	1 minute 12.98 seconds
	2nd	Whoever
	3rd	Splashing Out
2006 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Coolroom Candidate	1 minute 10.61 seconds
	2nd	Imana
	3rd	Shalimar Sky
2005 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Glamour Puss	1 minute 12.02 seconds
	2nd	With My
	3rd	Wild Queen
2004 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Recurring	1 minute 10.47 seconds
	2nd	Fair Embrace
	3rd	Cataclysm
2003 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Fatoon	1 minute 11.43 seconds
	2nd	Provokes
	3rd	Miss Helterskelter
2002 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Fair Embrace	1 minute 9.23 seconds
	2nd	Spinning Hill
	3rd	Hot Riff
2001 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Spinning Hill	1 minute 10.3 seconds
	2nd	Nanny Maroon
	3rd	Marlina
2000 Sapphire Stakes	1st	Spinning Hill	1 minute 9.79 seconds
	2nd	Snippets? Lass
	3rd	Heather

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