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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.

*In 2021 the Sapphire Stakes ran on the third Saturday of April with all race meetings of the autumn in Sydney from Slipper Day onwards postponed a week due to the weather.

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 ATC Sapphire Stakes 2023 ran on Saturday April 8, 2023 at Royal Randwick and saw the James Cummings-trained favourite Zapateo ($2.30F) salute for the punters with an easy victory. 

2023 Sapphire Stakes
Date:	Saturday April 8, 2023
Track:	Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Distance:	1200m
Conditions:	Fillies & Mares, Set Weights + Penalties
Status:	Group 2
Prizemoney:	$300,000
Inaugurated:	1998

2023 Sapphire Stakes Results

• 1st: #4 Zapateo ($2.30F)
• 2nd: #9 Never Talk
• 3rd: #1 Princess Grace

James Cummings’ last start Birthday Card Stakes winner Zapateo ($2.30F) was far too good for her rivals again saluting for the punters with a dominant 2.4 length victory in the 2023 Sapphire Stakes results to close the card on Day 2 of The Championships at Randwick.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	4	ZAPATEO	James Cummings	James McDonald		13	55.5kg		$2.30F
	2	9	NEVER TALK	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	2.4L	12	54kg		$7.50
	3	1	PRINCESS GRACE (USA)	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira	3.38L	2	56kg		$9.50
	4	3	EXPAT (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Brett Prebble	3.73L	6	56kg		$11
	5	6	JAL LEI	John O’Shea	Tom Marquand	4.54L	9	55kg		$16
	6	2	KIKU	Chris Waller	Hugh Bowman	4.76L	10	56kg		$14
	7	11	HYPOTHETICAL	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Damian Lane	5.2L	7	54kg		$9
	8	10	JUMP THE BROOM	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jason Collett	5.56L	14	54kg		$31
	9	5	SKY COMMAND	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Regan Bayliss	6.36L	5	55kg		$19
	10	13	DALCHINI	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	7.22L	4	54kg		$21
	11	12	NICCI’S FLING	Gary Portelli	Reece Jones (a)	7.27L	8	54kg		$51
	12	14	OAKFIELD ARROW	Kristen Buchanan	Ms Rachel King	7.39L	1	54kg		$101
	13	16	EYE SEE THINGS	John Thompson	Brock Ryan	11.32L	11	54kg		$101
	14	15	FUMIKO	Kristen Buchanan	Tyler Schiller (a)	23.02L	3	54kg		$81
		8	NIGHT OF ROMANCE (GB)	Kris Lees	Brenton Avdulla		0
		7	JUAN DIVA	Richard & Will Freedman	Tim Clark		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Sapphire Stakes Betting Odds

The latest Sapphire Stakes 2023 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 2023 SAPPHIRE STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Sapphire Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 SAPPHIRE STAKES FORM GUIDE

2023 Sapphire Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Sapphire Stakes 2023 Tips on the Randwick sprint this April.

• To Win: #6 Juan Diva ($14 at time of publish) 

Going for the value with the John O’Shea-trained Juan Diva to turn the tables on Saturday’s favourite after her last start second in the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes. Worse in the weights against her last start conqueror, but with the top elect out wide she can get a better run and finish on top third-up and fit. Won the Wenona Girl here two back and has a great 1200m record. Nice price on a nice mare.

2023 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 2023 field and barriers will be published in full below on the Wednesday of race week so stay tuned.

The 2023 Sapphire Stakes final field features a bumper line-up of female sprinters led in betting by the widely-drawn Zapateo out in gate 15 with the James Cummings-trained Brazen Beau four-year-old coming off a Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes win.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	133x71223x	PRINCESS GRACE (USA)	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira	3	56kg			110
2	15x179x42x	KIKU	Chris Waller	Hugh Bowman	11	56kg			107
3	59x9707x20	EXPAT (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Brett Prebble	7	56kg			101
4	1x16144x01	ZAPATEO	James Cummings	James McDonald	15	55.5kg			106
5	x381321x78	SKY COMMAND	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Regan Bayliss	6	55kg			101
6	x623255x12	JAL LEI	John O’Shea	Tom Marquand	10	55kg			97
7	1441x0228x	JUAN DIVA	Richard & Will Freedman	Tim Clark	2	55kg			97
8	0x01102x0x	NIGHT OF ROMANCE (GB)	Kris Lees	Brenton Avdulla	14	54kg			96
9	435x3255x8	NEVER TALK	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	13	54kg			93
10	0x0692x230	JUMP THE BROOM	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jason Collett	16	54kg			91
11	11x131x413	HYPOTHETICAL	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Damian Lane	8	54kg			88
12	5×38671237	NICCI’S FLING	Gary Portelli	Reece Jones (a)	9	54kg			81
13	52x6440x79	DALCHINI	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	5	54kg			80
14	9x401861x5	OAKFIELD ARROW	Kristen Buchanan	Ms Rachel King	1	54kg			78
15	6529x19x74	FUMIKO	Kristen Buchanan	Tyler Schiller (a)	4	54kg			70
16	x1038545x3	EYE SEE THINGS	John Thompson	Brock Ryan	12	54kg			65

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Sapphire Stakes Nominations

The Sapphire Stakes 2023 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	Hcp Rating
1	21938x864x	CAP ESTEL	M	4	Anthony Cummings	68
2	52x6440x79	DALCHINI	M	4	Lee & Cherie Curtis	80
3	0x1418x280	DUCHY OF SAVOY	M	4	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	75
4	59x9707x20	EXPAT (NZ)	M	5	Joseph Pride	101
5	x1038545x3	EYE SEE THINGS	M	6	John Thompson	65
6	6529x19x74	FUMIKO	M	4	Kristen Buchanan	70
7	11x131x413	HYPOTHETICAL	M	4	Anthony & Sam Freedman	88
8	x623255x12	JAL LEI	M	4	John O’Shea	97
9	1441x0228x	JUAN DIVA	M	6	Richard & Will Freedman	97
10	0x0692x230	JUMP THE BROOM	M	5	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	91
11	15x179x42x	KIKU	M	5	Chris Waller	107
12	435x3255x8	NEVER TALK	M	5	Kris Lees	93
13	5×38671237	NICCI’S FLING	M	5	Gary Portelli	81
14	0x01102x0x	NIGHT OF ROMANCE (GB)	M	5	Kris Lees	96
15	9x401861x5	OAKFIELD ARROW	M	5	Kristen Buchanan	78
16	133x71223x	PRINCESS GRACE (USA)	M	6	Chris Waller	110
17	2×41	QUEEN YUNA	M	4	Anthony Cummings	64
18	210x760x	SEVEN VEILS	F	3	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	82
19	x381321x78	SKY COMMAND	M	4	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	101
20	x16181x822	WEE NESSY	F	3	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	82
21	1x16144x01	ZAPATEO	M	4	James Cummings	106

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
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