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Chris Waller‘s boom mare Autumn Glow puts her undefeated record on the line when resuming at Randwick on Saturday as the odds-on elect in a star-studded Apollo Stakes 2026 field in Sydney.

While Group 1 racing for the year returns further safe with the sprinters facing off at HQ in the Black Caviar Lightning, we’ve got plenty of ace horses also getting their autumn underway across a stacked Royal Randwick card in NSW.

The meeting’s feature race is the Group 2 $300,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m), a race dominated by Waller-trained runners in recent history.

The master horseman has prepared seven Apollo Stakes winners including back-to-back wins by Fangirl (2024-25), and he is well represented again on Saturday saddling up six of the 10 final acceptors.

Heading the Apollo Stakes betting markets at $1.60 through Ladbrokes.com.au is four-year-old The Autumn Sun mare Autumn Glow who comes in with a flawless eight-from-eight career record.

She went to another level in the spring posting her sole Group 1 win to date in the Epsom Handicap over the Randwick mile before capping off her latest prep with an effortless $10 million Golden Eagle win over Sepals.

A four-time Randwick winner, she’s done everything right so far and is deserving of her short quote in the markets to kick off where she left off from gate nine with James McDonald aboard.

Despite Waller’s dominant hand the danger occupying the second line of Apollo Stakes betting is from outside the stable with a touch of money coming early for an upset from the Joe Pride-trained Ceolwulf ($5.50).

The Tavistock five-year-old has amassed just shy of $11 million in prize money to date and was last seen winning Flemington’s Group 1 Champions Mile on Heavy going last November.

Prior to that he was a narrow Randwick winner in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes but is winless from his six first-up runs to date making him a risk this weekend with improvement expected as he progresses this campaign.

Two other runners are currently under double figure Apollo Stakes odds with Waller’s 2024 runner-up Lindermann ($8) out to go one better and the also Waller-trained Aeliana ($9).

Ultra-consistent Lonhro six-year-old Lindermann has had eight first-up starts without a win but remains a class horse with top three claims having closed out his spring prep with back-to-back wins in the Group 2 Hill Stakes and Group 3 Craven Plate.

Aeliana meanwhile had plenty of hype around her as a filly having run competitively in all the autumn three-year-old majors including beating home the boys by five lengths in the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m).

She remains winless since her Derby demolition job but was competitive in plenty over the spring with her latest run being a sixth in the time-honoured Ladbrokes Cox Plate five lengths off the subsequently retired Via Sistina in late October.

Better on her Sydney leg her Randwick record is solid (4:2-1-0) and she presents a touch of value in gate seven with Zac Lloyd to ride this weekend.

Punters chasing the value in this year’s Apollo Stakes field could benefit from looking at the form around $14 pop Stefi Magnetica who lines-up from the outside alley.

Bjorn Baker‘s five-year-old All Too Hard mare also has plenty of Randwick form to rely on (8:2-3-0) including her Doncaster Mile win last autumn and is one of the genuine 1400m specialists in the field.

Her latest turf triumph saw her carry a hefty 59.5kg to victory at this track and trip in the $2 million The Invitation before she finished a credible third to Ceolwulf in Flemington’s Champions Mile.

The 2026 Apollo Stakes is set to run as Randwick Race 8 at 4:30pm (AEDT) on the 10-race card in Sydney.

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