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Group 1 racing for the spring is underway in Sydney on Saturday and Races.com.au have you covered with our full Winx Stakes 2026 field preview, tips and best bets as we welcome back a host of turf stars.
Named after one of Australian racing’s immortals, the Group 1 $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m) serves as a key launchpad for the season’s weight-for-age greats, and this year’s field looks elite.
The bulk of the money in Winx Stakes betting at Ladbrokes is, unsurprisingly, on Chris Waller‘s resuming mare Autumn Glow who will kick off her campaign as the heavily backed odds-on favourite.
The now five-year-old daughter of The Autumn Sun lost few admirers when suffering her sole loss to date, stretched to 2000m for the first time in the autumn’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes and failing to keep her flawless record intact.
After winning her opening 11 starts on the trot, including a trio of elite level victories, she could only manage to cross the line third behind Sir Delius.
Fresh last time in she was emphatic at this track and trip beating Aeliana home by 2.66 lengths in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes, after which she went on to claim the Verry Elleegant / George Ryder double.
Her two recent lead-up trials suggest she’s ready to bounce back from the only blip on her glowing CV and do what she does best, win a big race at Randwick.
With a hot speed predicted, this mighty mare should track the pace midfield with master hoop James McDonald aboard and flash home.
Waller’s mares have become a genuine force in the Winx Stakes, and the stable’s strike-rate has been exceptional in recent years with Fangirl breaking through in 2023 after finishing runner-up the season prior, and Via Sistina going back-to-back in 2024 and 2025 to extend Waller’s dominance.
Despite the class of this season’s 14-horse Winx Stakes field, just one other runner is currently under double-figures for the win, and she isn’t part of the dominant eight-strong Waller contingent.
Sheza Alibi sits on the second line of betting at $3.20 looking to rain on Autumn Glow’s parade, and there’s plenty of money rolling in for Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman‘s Doncaster Mile queen to do just that.
Last prep as a filly this still untapped daughter of Saxon Warrior did some incredible things including stringing together five straight turf triumphs.
Living up to the hype in her first Group 1 test, she showed the boys how it’s done claiming the Randwick Guineas with a three-length romp home over Autumn Boy.
But, it didn’t stop there.
At her latest she went out in the time-honoured Doncaster Mile as the odds-on favourite and didn’t just win, she destroyed them, running away to destroy her older rivals by over four lengths to become the first filly in 27 years to win.
Those are some pretty huge credentials; she’s won fresh in the past and is undefeated at Royal Randwick making her clash with Autumn Glow one to definitely tune in for.
Outside the dominant duo, the next best in Winx Stakes betting at a far more generous prices are two hopes under $20 – Waller’s pacesetter Beiwacht ($17) who’ll hit the lead and take some serious running down and his classy stablemate Lady Shenandoah ($19) looking to break a notable winning drought.
Nash Rawiller rides Bivouac entire Beiwacht from gate four and the now four-year-old he’s aboard is looking to make it a perfect three-from-three over the 1400m.
Beiwacht went out a Group 1 All Aged Stakes winner, looked the goods in his recent Warwick Farm trials and shouldn’t be discounted if he doesn’t go too hard out in front.
As for Lady Shenandoah, this always honest Snitzel mare hasn’t secured a 1st place trophy since completing the Group 1 Surround Stakes / Coolmore Classic double in the autumn last year.
Yes, it’s been a while between drinks, but she is never far away, knows how to match motors with these rivals and runs for the first time since her Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes second to Idle Flyer over the mile here at her pet track.
Looking for value even further down the markets? Quite a few punters are tipping an upset and that’s caused Gringotts to emerge as our early Winx Stakes market mover backed into $23 at time of publish.
The Ciaron Maher-trained Per Incanto seven-year-old was second to Autumn Glow at big odds in the George Ryder before rounding out his autumn with a fourth to Sheza Alibi.
So, can he turn the tables on the better fancied mares on the weekend?
While it looks unlikely, we never say never in the world of horse racing, and this tough old warrior was outstanding winning his lead-up trial over Beiwacht at the start of the month in a warning he’s not done just yet.
The fact we then have Waller’s honest dual 7 Stakes winning mare Fangirl, winner of this race back in 2023, making her eight-year-old debut at around $23 after a strong winter campaign in Brisbane that finished with her close Stradbroke fourth and the stable’s resuming Ranvet / Tancred Stakes double champ Aeliana first-up at $26 just goes to show the depth of this year’s race.
The 2026 Winx Stakes is set to run as Randwick Race 9 at 4:30pm (AEST) as the penultimate event on the 10-race card.
Winx Stakes 2026 Tips & Best Bets
To Win: No. 8 Autumn Glow
AUTUMN GLOW (3) again commands top billing, and it’s no surprise she’s gone up odds-on to kick off her spring with a win in the first Group 1 of the season. Even in a Winx Stakes field stacked with depth, it’s incredibly hard to oppose Waller’s triple Group 1-winning mare, who has built one of the most formidable records of any modern Randwick performer. The daughter of The Autumn Sun reeled off 11 straight victories to open her career, including a dominant Group 2 Apollo Stakes win at this track and trip where she put nearly three lengths on them fresh in the autumn. Her Randwick strike-rate is exceptional (six wins from seven starts), she’s unbeaten at 1400m, and the only blemish on her résumé came last start when third behind Sir Delius after being stretched to 2000m in the Queen Elizabeth. Whether she should ever have been asked to run beyond a mile will be debated for years, but what isn’t up for debate is her brilliance when fresh. With over $8.5 million banked, star power to burn, and J-Mac back aboard, she looks perfectly placed to return to the winner’s stall on Saturday.| 8. Autumn Glow (3) J: James McDonald 57kg 1113x T: Chris Waller |
Each Way Danger: No. 14 Sheza Alibi
SHEZA ALIBI (1) shapes as the clear danger, sitting on the second line of betting and attracting plenty of pre-race buzz ahead of her clash with Autumn Glow. The Moody/Coleman-trained Saxon Warrior mare has built an elite record across her first 10 starts, never missing the placings and stringing together five straight wins last campaign as she dominated both Melbourne and Sydney features. She was brilliant in the G2 Angus Armanasco at Caulfield before smashing the boys in the G1 Randwick Guineas, and her Doncaster Mile triumph — a four-length demolition from a wide gate, becoming the first filly in nearly three decades to win the race — confirmed her as one of the country’s most exciting rising stars. Two sharp Pakenham jump-outs have her forward enough for a big first-up showing, Luke Nolen knows exactly how to get the best out of her, and she brings enormous upside into her first crack at the Winx Stakes. The inside draw is the only query, but if she lands the right spot, she’s the mare most likely to make Autumn Glow earn it.| 14. Sheza Alibi (1) J: Luke Nolen 56.5kg x111x T: Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman |
Best Roughie: No. 12 Lady Shenandoah
LADY SHENANDOAH (2) is one of a big team Waller sends into field, and while she’s unlikely to topple her short-priced stablemate, she shapes as a seriously attractive value play for exotics. The Snitzel mare resumes at around the $20 quote and looks well over the odds for a proven Randwick specialist — her 9:3-3-2 record at the track speaks for itself — and she’s unbeaten at the 1400m trip she gets on Saturday. She hasn’t won since her Group 1 Surround Stakes / Coolmore Classic double last autumn, but she’s been right around the mark in every major since. Fresh last spring she was beaten a whisker in the $1 million Concorde, then produced a string of brave runs including a close-up seventh in The Everest. Her autumn was just as honest, putting together four straight top-four finishes and closing out the prep with a strong second in the G1 Queen Of The Turf. Her trials have been steady, but she’s a mare who traditionally lifts under race day pressure. From gate two she maps to get a perfect run, and Kerrin McEvoy jumps aboard for the first time — another positive. She flies fresh, gets her ideal distance first-up, and will be building through her gears from a midfield spot. A genuine Top 3 roughie who can make her presence felt late.| 12. Lady Shenandoah (2) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 57kg 3342x T: Chris Waller |
Winx Stakes 2026 Same Race Multi
$5.30 at time of publish through Ladbrokes (at time of publish)
- Top 2 – No. 8 Autumn Glow
- Top 3 – No. 14 Sheza Alibi
- Top 4 – No. 12 Lady Shenandoah
A tidy Same Race Multi play for the 2026 Winx Stakes sits at $5.30 and combines the three key chances: Autumn Glow to finish Top 2, Sheza Alibi to land Top 3, and Lady Shenandoah to slot into the Top 4. Autumn Glow is the rock-solid fresh specialist who never misses at Randwick 1400m, Sheza Alibi brings elite Group 1 form and a flawless record into her return, and Lady Shenandoah offers genuine value as a proven track-and-trip mare drawn to get every favour. Together they form a compact, high-percentage multi built around class, consistency and ideal setups for the predicted speed map.
2026 Winx Stakes Odds
Winx Stakes 2026 Results
| 8. Autumn Glow (3) J: James McDonald 57kg 1113x T: Chris Waller | ||
| 14. Sheza Alibi (1) J: Luke Nolen 56.5kg x111x T: Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | ||
| 2. Gringotts (5) J: Ethan Brown 59kg x924x T: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 12. Lady Shenandoah (2) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 57kg 3342x T: Chris Waller | ||
| 1. Ceolwulf (6) J: Chad Schofield 59kg 1x66x T: Joseph Pride | ||
| 11. Idle Flyer (7) J: Tyler Schiller 57kg x411x T: Matthew Smith | ||
| 4. Midnight Dynamite (4) J: Tim Clark 59kg 21314 T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 7. Green Spaces (11) J: Rachel King 58.5kg 6621x T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 3. Lindermann (10) J: Hugh Bowman 59kg 3922x T: Chris Waller | ||
| 10. Fangirl (8) J: Tommy Berry 57kg x834x T: Chris Waller | ||
| 9. Aeliana (9) J: Nash Rawiller 57kg 2211x T: Chris Waller |
