The Bondi Stakes was a $1 million Special Condition race for three-year-olds held at Randwick in Sydney on the same day as Melbourne's coveted Cox Plate from 2019-21. It was replaced in 2022 by the $1 million Group 2 Callander-Presnell (1600m), which is the new-look Stan Fox Stakes.
Bondi Stakes News
The Bondi Stakes is now defunct having run for the last time in 2021. It has now been replaced on the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival calendar by the new-look $1 million Callander-Presnell (1600m) for three-year-olds, that event formerly known as the Stan Fox Stakes.
The Bondi Stakes was part of the wider The Everest Carnival, the $1,000,000 Special Conditions feature race having at Randwick Racecourse in late October on the same day as Melbourne’s Cox Plate Day at The Valley from 2019 – 2021.
Inaugurated in 2019 when the favourite Kubrick saluted for the punters, the Bondi Stakes was run over 1600m at set weights and is open only to three-year-old horses.
From 2021 the million-dollar showdown was accompanied on the Randwick race card by the $2 million The Invitation (1400m), an invitation-only event for fillies and mares.
The Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) – now known as the Callander-Pressnell and run over a mile – a fortnight earlier was the key lead-up into the Bondi Stakes offering a ballot exemption into the mile showdown and in 2020 Peltzer became the first to do the double.
The next spring, Hilal became the latst horse to complete the Stan Fox Stakes – Bondi Stakes double when also saluting for the punters in the $1 million feature as the $2.35 favourite.
The final edition of the Bondi Stakes took place at Randwick on Saturday October 23rd, 2021 and was won by the Hawkes Racing-trained top elect Hilal ($2.35).
| Bondi Stakes | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Saturday October 23rd, 2021 |
| Track: | Royal Randwick Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1600m |
| Race Type: | Set Weights – Three-Year-Olds |
| Status: | Special Condition |
| Prize Money: | $1,000,000 |
2021 Bondi Stakes Results
- 1st: #1 Hilal ($2.35F)
- 2nd: #8 Keefy
- 3rd: #9 Lease
The Hawkes Racing-trained Hilal ($2.35F) kept the wins coming, the classy Fastnet Rock colt backing-up from a Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes victory to become the third favourite in as many years to lead the 2021 Bondi Stakes results.
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | HILAL | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Tommy Berry | 6 | 57kg | $2.35F | |||
| 2 | 8 | KEEFY | Brad Widdup | Jay Ford | 1.28L | 3 | 57kg | $21 | ||
| 3 | 9 | LEASE | Anthony Cummings | Tim Clark | 1.32L | 1 | 57kg | $61 | ||
| 4 | 2 | COASTWATCH | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 2.07L | 8 | 57kg | $4.20 | ||
| 5 | 6 | ARNAQUEUR | Jean Dubois | Jean Van Overmeire | 2.35L | 4 | 57kg | $19 | ||
| 6 | 7 | DUFRESNE | Anthony Cummings | Joshua Parr | 2.53L | 9 | 57kg | $9.50 | ||
| 7 | 4 | COTEHELE (NZ) | John O’Shea | Sam Clipperton | 2.74L | 2 | 57kg | $5.50 | ||
| 8 | 3 | ROYALZEL | Gary Portelli | Jason Collett | 9.23L | 7 | 57kg | $14 | ||
| 9 | 10 | REGINALD | Anthony Cummings | Ms Alysha Collett | 12.77L | 5 | 57kg | $151 | ||
| 5 | AKIHIRO | Gary Portelli | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
2021 Bondi Stakes Betting Odds
In the race’s first year, Kubrick ($3.70 in 2019) became the inaugural Bondi Stakes favourite to salute before Peltzer ($2.80 in 2020) made it back-to-back victories for the punters the following year.
The favourites in Bondi Stakes betting retained their flawless record in 2021 with Hilal also winning at short odds of $2.35.
2021 Bondi Stakes Field
The spring’s Bondi Stakes field featured some of the best three-year-old middle-distance horses from Australia, many of which may have previously contested the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill the month before.
Bondi Stakes History
The Bondi Stakes was first contested in 2019 as part of the extended The Everest Carnival in Sydney. The opening three editions were all won by the favourites with Kubric (2019), Peltzer (2020) and Hilal (2021) saluting respectively.
The 2021 edition was the final running of the Bondi Stakes, the event replaced the next year by the renamed Stan Fox Stakes run as the Callander-Presnell over a mile offering $1 million.
| YEAR | WINNER | 2ND | 3RD | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Hilal | Keefy | Lease | 1:35.02 |
| 2020 | Peltzer | Prime Star | Real Peace | 1:36.81 |
| 2019 | Kubrick | Pancho | Colada | 1:34.75 |
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