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The punters are coming for the hot favourite Tempted in a big way to salute in this weekend’s key The Everest lead-up, and Races.com.au are here with our full Premiere Stakes 2026 betting preview, tips and predictions to see if the mighty mare is as unbeatable as the markets suggest.
While only holding Group 2 status, the Premiere Stakes is fast becoming one of the most anticipated sprint races of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival with the million-dollar, 1200m Epsom Day support act serving as a lovely lead-up into the world famous $20 million The Everest race on October 17.
Regularly producing elite spring sprint form, plenty of top The Everest performers have used the Premiere Stakes to tune up for the world’s richest turf race including in 2020 when Classique Legend ran second in the event before before winning that year’s Everest.
Think About It became the first horse to complete the coveted Premiere Stakes–The Everest double in 2023, while the race continued to prove its value when Bella Nipotina ran third in the 2024 Premiere Stakes before winning The Everest, and Jimmysstar further franked the form in 2025 by finishing runner-up in the race before running third in The Everest.
Last year’s brave Everest runner-up, Tempted, is on her way to another shot at Hong Kong hero Ka Ying Rising and she’ll come via the Premiere for which she’s the $1.70 through Ladbrokes to win.
Ciaron Maher‘s now four-year-old daughter of Street Boss backed up from her second in last year’s Everest to win her next three races including the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) here, before kicking of her latest campaign with a stylish Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) victory over Headwall on September 5.
Out to make it five wins on the trot, she’s been kept ticking over with a subsequent Rosehill trial and is the deserving favourite boasting an elite strike rate at the track and trip (5:4-1-0).
Jockey Chad Schofield continues associations, and the only knock is her wide barrier 11 draw.
Still, this speedy chestnut has overcome plenty of wide gates to salute in the past including taking out the Group 2 Percy Sykes as a two-year-old from barrier 12 of 12 in April last year.
Tempted is such a dominant and well-supported favourite that only one of her rivals in the Premiere Stakes field is also under $10 for the win with Headwall ($9.50), the horse she beat home in the Concorde, considered the most likely to score an upset.
Matthew Smith‘s seven-year-old is a short-distance specialist and he won last year’s Concorde before being beaten by one better this season when defending his title in his first run in 12 months.
Brave in defeat, he’s had one other run since when fifth in the Group 2 The Short (1100m) only a length off shock winner Mazu, and while he’s been ultra-competitive at the top level all around the country, he is winless over further than 1000m.
From four previous 1200m runs however he boasts a trio of seconds, in the Quokka last year, and a third in the 2025 TJ Smith so is never far off them when it counts.
The other best in Premiere Stakes 2026 betting at Ladbrokes paying $11 is the Bjorn Baker-trained Caballus who races first-up.
The I Am Invincible six-year-old is a two-time Randwick winner from six runs at the track and is back at the course for the first time since his brave second to Joliestar in the Group 2 Expressway in mid-February.
He proved his class winning the Group 1 Newmarket down Flemington’s famous ‘Straight Six’ at his next start in a narrow upset before heading west to run under two lengths sixth to Jigsaw in Perth’s The Quokka.
Having looked the goods in his two lead-up Sydney trials, including a Rosehill winning hitout by nearly five lengths on September 22, Caballus will jump from a midfield gate seven with Jason Collett aboard.
Joe Pride‘s shock The Shorts winner, Mazu, meanwhile looks enormous value again for the exotics paying $23 despite his last start victory.
The eight-year-old Maurice gelding showed he still had plenty of zest for racing beating Joliestar home at double-figures and he should only improve off that up to the six furlongs which he’s been very effective over all throughout his consistent career (25:7-3-5), but he does have a bad barrier (13) to overcome.
Other value runners there to strike should things work against the better fancied are the likes of Michael Freedman’s already confirmed 2026 The Everest contender Ninja ($14) who won the Group 2 Missile Stakes fresh before running two lengths ninth back in distance for The Shorts and the Brad Widdup-trained Savvy Hallie ($19) coming off a 20/1 upset in the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes.
The 2026 Premiere Stakes is scheduled as Randwick Race 9 at 4:45pm (AEST) running as the penultimate event on Epsom Handicap Day.
2026 Premiere Stakes Best Bets
Favourite: No. 10 Tempted
| 10. Tempted (11) J: Chad Schofield 56.5kg 111×1 T: Ciaron Maher | |||
| Second-up. First-up after five months favourite; won by a long-neck in the G2 Concorde Stakes at this track on September 5 over 1000m defeating Headwall with 58kg at $1.95. Previously second-up favourite; won by a head in the G1 Surround Stakes at this track on February 28 over 1400m on a soft track defeating Savvy Hallie carrying 56kg at $1.60. Another win looks on the cards. | |||
Each Way Danger: No. 3 Headwall
Best Roughie: No. 1 Mazu
2026 Premiere Stakes Same Race Multi Selections
$18.50 (at time of publish) through Ladbrokes
- To Win: No. 10 Tempted
- Top 3: No. 3 Headwall
- Top 4: No. 1 Mazu
