Apollo Stakes News

Fangirl Goes Back-to-Back in Apollo Stakes 2025 Results

• Cox Plate Winner Via Sistina Returns in Apollo Stakes 2025
• Apollo Stakes 2024 Results: Fangirl Trounces Rivals Fresh Ahead of the Autumn Majors
• Apollo Stakes 2024 Field & Odds: Fangirl Favourite First-Up
• 2023 Apollo Stakes Winner Anamoe Too Good Fresh
• Anamoe Heads Apollo Stakes 2023 Field & Betting

The Apollo Stakes is a 1400m sprint event held at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse in February each Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. The Group 2 Apollo Stakes is a weight-for-age event worth $300,000 in prize money as of 2024.

2025 Apollo Stakes Results

• 1st: #6 Fangirl ($3.70)
• 2nd: #3 Lindermann
• 3rd: #5 Via Sistina

Trainer Chris Waller won the Apollo Stakes in Sydney for the seventh time with last year’s champion Fangirl ($3.70) returning fresh for a successful title defence when hitting another gear late to run down Lindermann while the stable’s Cox Plate winning mare Via Sistina ran third.

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The Apollo Stakes is held on the same Randwick race card as three other Group status races with the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m), Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m), and the Group 3 Triscay Stakes (1200m) all for sprinters.

Previously, many Apollo Stakes champions came via the Expressway Stakes which was held a fortnight earlier at Rosehill Gardens before being moved to the Apollo Stakes Day card in 2024.

The Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) in a few weeks is a nice next-up target for the best Apollo Stakes graduating horses, which has been renamed the Verry Elleegant Stakes in 2024.

Recent winners of the Apollo Stakes – Chipping Norton Stakes double include Contributer (2015) and the mighty mare Winx who did the double in both 2016 and 2017. After missing the Apollo Stakes in 2018, Winx returned to also win both the Apollo and Chipping Norton in 2019 during her final year of racing.

More recently in 2021 Verry Elleegant ran third in the Apollo Stakes trifecta before winning the Chipping Norton Stakes next-up, while the Apollo winner Colette finished runner-up in the Chipping Norton that autumn. Both mares would go on to further frank the Apollo Stakes form with Colette winning that spring’s Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) in Melbourne on Derby Day. Verry Elleegant meanwhile recorded subsequent elite level wins in races including the Ranvet Stakes, George Main Stakes and of course the Melbourne Cup throughout the remainder of 2021.

Anamoe (2023) was the last horse to complete the Apollo Stakes – Chipping Norton Stakes race double before the latter was renamed the Verry Elleegant Stakes the next year.

The 2022 Apollo Stakes form was franked with the winner Think It Over running well in a host of subsequent Group 1 races including his Australian Cup second at Flemington and win in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in the wet over ‘The Championships’.

Anamoe firmly franked the 2023 Apollo Stakes form winning the Group 1 Chipping Norton and Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at his next two starts before a Queen Elizabeth Stakes third.

The 2023 Apollo Stakes third placegetter Fangirl meanwhile ran second in both the Chipping Norton and George Ryder Stakes before returning in the spring for a massive campaign that included victories in the Group 1 Winx Stakes and Group 1 King Charles III Stakes.

Fangirl returned in the 2024 Apollo Stakes to dominate for favourite backers first-up and hand Chris Waller his sixth win in the race.

Fangirl franked the Apollo Stakes form with a next-up second in the Verry Elleegant Stakes behind Think It Over who improved on his Apollo third to win the Group 1.

The 2024 Apollo form was further franked with the runner-up Militarize continuing on to place top three in a host of subsequent autumn Group 1 races including the Randwick Guineas (2nd), George Ryder Stakes (3rd), and Doncaster Mile (3rd).

Fangirl returned to defend her title in the 2025 Apollo Stakes results when beating home her stablemates Lindermann (2nd) and Via Sistina (3rd).

The Apollo Stakes 2025 ran on Saturday February 15, 2025 at Royal Randwick as a lead-up to the autumn Group 1 races and saw Fangirl ($3.70) go back-to-back fresh defeating the fellow Waller trained Lindermann (2nd) and resuming Cox Plate champ Via Sistina (3rd). 

2025 Apollo Stakes Finishing Order

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 Apollo Stakes Betting

The Apollo Stakes 2025 betting odds will be published here at Races.com.au the week of the race once announced at Ladbrokes.com.au so stay tuned.

Anamoe ($1.60 in 2023) and Fangirl ($2.10 in 2024) are the latest favourites in Apollo Stakes betting to salute for the punters.

2025 Apollo Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2025 APOLLO STAKES FORM GUIDE

2025 Apollo Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Apollo Stakes 2025 Tips on the early Sydney autumn event this season.

• To Win: #5 Via Sistina ($2.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Bet against Chris Waller’s brilliant Cox Plate winning mare Via Sistina at your own peril! This outstanding daughter of Fastnet Rock may be a rising eight-year-old but she showed exactly what she can do last prep putting her rivals away by eight lengths in record time in the Australasian WFA championship only to continue on and win the Champions Stakes by nearly three lengths. She is a noted first-up performer (7:4-1-1), won the Group 1 Winx Stakes here at this track/distance at her latest Sydney assignment, and is the obvious one to beat still at a backable price to pick up exactly where she left off!

2025 Apollo Stakes Field

The Apollo Stakes field attracts a quality line-up of autumn horses, many of which are kicking off their campaigns with an eye on bigger races including the Verry Elleegant Stakes (formerly the Chipping Norton Stakes) or the George Ryder Stakes.

The 2025 Apollo Stakes field and barriers are set for release on the Wednesday of race week and will be published below.

The Apollo Stakes 2025 final field features a smart line-up of Group 1 winners dominated by Chris Waller’s Cox Plate champ Via Sistina resuming for the autumn.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2025 Apollo Stakes field and betting markets.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 Apollo Stakes Nominations

The 2025 Apollo Stakes nominations will be published below as soon as released by Racing NSW on the Monday of race week.

Nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 11/02/2025

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Apollo Stakes History

The first recorded win of the Apollo Stakes was in 1977 by Visit. Originally held at Royal Randwick Racecourse, the event was moved to Rosehill in 2005.

From 2007- 2021 jockey Hugh Bowman rode seven Apollo Stakes winners: Desert War (2007), Racing To Win (2008), Danleigh (2010), three-time champion Winx (2016, 2017, 2019), and Alizee (2020).

The most notable recent Apollo Stakes winner was Winx (2016, 2017, 2019) who went on to make history winning the Cox Plate a record four times. Trainer Chris Waller also took out the race in 2018 when Endless Drama enjoyed a Winx-free event to salute for the stable.

In 2023 the Apollo Stakes was won by Godolphin’s returning Cox Plate champion Anamoe who started as the short-priced favourite at $1.60 in betting.

Waller won the Apollo Stakes for the sixth time in 2024 with Fangirl’s huge first-up victory.

He then took out the 2025 Apollo Stakes trifecta with Fangirl defending her title ahead of Lindermann and Via Sistina to hand the stable an overall seven victories.

See below for the Apollo Stakes results dating back to 2000.

Recent Apollo Stakes Winners

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