The Winners Stakes - run as the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes from 2024 onwards - is a Special Conditions feature run at Rosehill each spring on the Golden Eagle Day.
2024 Russell Balding Stakes Results
- 1st: #3 Bella Nipotina
- 2nd: #4 Sunshine In Paris
- 3rd: #5 Lady Laguna
Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) News
- The Everest Winner Bella Nipotina Leads 2024 Russell Balding Stakes Field & Odds
- 2023 Giga Kick Stakes Field & Betting: Everest Winner Think About It Odds-On Favourite to Keep Climbing
- Lost And Running Leads 2022 Nature Strip Stakes Field & Odds
- 2021 Golden Eagle Day: Rosehill Scratchings & Track Report
The Russell Balding Stakes – formerly the Winners Stakes – is a $3,000,000 Special Conditions race run and won in late October or early November on the Golden Eagle Day in Sydney.
2024 Russell Balding Stakes Results
- 1st: #3 Bella Nipotina ($2.50F)
- 2nd: #4 Sunshine In Paris
- 3rd: #5 Lady Laguna
Ciaron Maher’s masterful mare Bella Nipotina ($2.50F) is now the second highest earner in Australin racing history with The Everest champion going back-to-back with a successful title defense in the 2024 Russell Balding Stakes results which she dominated by a big margin with Craig Williams aboard.
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Russell Balding Stakes 2024 Odds & Results
Russell Balding Stakes
| Runner Details | Win | Place |
|---|---|---|
|
1st
3. Bella Nipotina (3)
J: Craig Williams 56.5kg
T: Ciaron Maher |
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|
2nd
4. Sunshine In Paris (8)
J: Tommy Berry 56.5kg
T: Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald |
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|
3rd
5. Lady Laguna (9)
J: Tyler Schiller 56.5kg
T: Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald |
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|
4th
6. Mazu (6)
J: Nash Rawiller 56.5kg
T: Joseph Pride |
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|
5th
1. Private Eye (1)
J: Jay Ford 57.5kg
T: Joseph Pride |
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|
6th
2. King Of Sparta (4)
J: Joao Moreira 57.5kg
T: Peter Snowden |
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|
7th
11. Flying Crazy (11)
J: Reece Jones 56kg
T: M, W & J Hawkes |
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|
8th
7. Phearson (10)
J: Tom Sherry 56.5kg
T: Brad Widdup |
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|
9th
12. I Am Me (5)
J: Zac Lloyd 55.5kg
T: Ciaron Maher |
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10th
10. Rocketing By (7)
J: Kerrin McEvoy 56kg
T: David Pfieffer |
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|
11th
8. Coal Crusher (2)
J: Chad Schofield 56kg
T: Joseph Pride |
Data retrieved: 07/04/2025 10:19:51 AM (Australia/Brisbane)
Part of the wider $60 million The Everest Racing Carnival, the spring feature is run alongside the lucrative $10 million The Golden Eagle (1500m) for four-year-olds and the $750,000 Rosehill Gold Cup (2000m).
In 2024 the event was renamed the Russell Balding Stakes in honour Racing NSW’s former Chairman, Russell Balding, who played a crucial role in the creation and evolution of the now iconic Sydney Everest Carnival and the former Winners Stakes race.
Previously, each season’s edition of this race was renamed in honour of the previous year’s The Everest winner.
On the same date in Melbourne Flemington Racecourse is host to the coveted Victoria Derby Day program that kicks off the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
A set weights plus penalties event open to sprinters aged three and above the Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) takes place over 1300m.
The multi-million-dollar showdown makes an excellent next-up target for horses out of that year’s $20 million The Everest race.
The first fourWinners Stakes champions – Pierata (5th in 2019), Gytrash (3rd in 2020), Eduardo (3rd in 2021) and Private Eye (2nd in 2022) – were all The Everest graduates.
The inaugural Winners Stakes was known as the Redzel Stakes in honour of the first and two-time The Everest hero Redzel (2017, 2018).
The 2020 edition ran as the Yes Yes Yes Stakes following the 2019 The Everest success of the Chris Waller-trained three-year-old Yes Yes Yes.
The 2021 Winners Stakes was known as the Classique Legend Stakes after the classy grey who won the 2020 The Everest race.
The 2022 Winners Stakes was named the Nature Strip Stakes following the 2021 The Everest win by Chris Waller’s super sprinter Nature Strip.
The Winners Stakes 2022 form was franked with the runner-up Mazu going on to place third in the following autumn’s Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m).
The 2023 Winners Stakes ran as the Giga Kick Stakes after the upset 2022 The Everest victory by the then undefeated three-year-old at 20/1.
The 2024 Winners Stakes took place as the Russell Balding Stakes, meaning the 2023 The Everest winner Think About It went without an event in his honour.
In 2024 star mare Bella Nipotina completed The Everest – Russell Balding Stakes double becoming the first ever mare to win the former and the first dual time champion of the latter with her sensational title defense.
The 2024 Winners Stakes took place at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, November 2, 2024 as the Russell Balding Stakes offering $3 million in prize money and was won in emphatic fashion by Ciaron Maher’s defending champion and last start The Everest winning mare Bella Nipotina ($2.50F).
| 2024 Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Saturday, November 2, 2024 |
| Track: | Rosehill Gardens |
| Distance: | 1300m |
| Race Type: | 3YOs & Above – Set Weights + Penalties |
| Status: | Special Condition |
| Prize Money: | $3,000,000 |
2024 Russell Balding Stakes Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | BELLA NIPOTINA | Ciaron Maher | Craig Williams | 3 | 56.5kg | $2.50F | |||
| 2 | 4 | SUNSHINE IN PARIS | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Tommy Berry | 1.79L | 8 | 56.5kg | $4.40 | ||
| 3 | 5 | LADY LAGUNA | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Tyler Schiller | 2.98L | 9 | 56.5kg | $18 | ||
| 4 | 6 | MAZU | Joseph Pride | Nash Rawiller | 3.67L | 6 | 56.5kg | $11 | ||
| 5 | 1 | PRIVATE EYE | Joseph Pride | Jay Ford | 3.76L | 1 | 57.5kg | $8 | ||
| 6 | 2 | KING OF SPARTA | Peter Snowden | Joao Moreira | 4.92L | 4 | 57.5kg | $10 | ||
| 7 | 11 | FLYING CRAZY | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Reece Jones | 5.39L | 11 | 56kg | $201 | ||
| 8 | 7 | PHEARSON | Brad Widdup | Tom Sherry | 6.19L | 10 | 56.5kg | $101 | ||
| 9 | 12 | I AM ME | Ciaron Maher | Zac Lloyd (a) | 6.36L | 5 | 55.5kg | $10 | ||
| 10 | 10 | ROCKETING BY | David Pfieffer | Kerrin McEvoy | 14.2L | 7 | 56kg | $201 | ||
| 11 | 8 | COAL CRUSHER | Joseph Pride | Chad Schofield | 16.81L | 2 | 56kg | $14 | ||
| 9 | TAMERLANE | James Cummings | Ben Melham | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
2024 Russell Balding (Winners Stakes) Betting
The Russell Balding (Winners Stakes) 2024 betting odds will be available at Ladbrokes.com.au and published here at Races.com.au.
Pierata ($2.60 in 2019), Gytrash ($3.60 in 2020) and Eduardo ($3 in 2021) all saluted for the punters giving the favourites in Winners Stakes betting a flawless record after the opening three editions of the event.
In 2022 the Winners Stakes winner Private Eye paid $5.50, while the favourite Lost And Running ran a disappointing seventh.
Private Eye returned to run second in 2023 behind upset winner Bella Nipotina who jumped at Giga Kick Stakes odds of $10 while Think About It ran third as the beaten odds-on favourite.
Bella Nipotina ($2.50 in 2024) is the latest Russell Balding Stakes favourite to win.
2024 Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) Form Guide
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 RUSSELL BALDING STAKES FORM GUIDE
2024 Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) Tips
Stay tuned for our insider Russell Balding Stakes 2024 Tips on the $3 million showdown this Golden Eagle Day in Sydney.
- To Win: #3 Bella Nipotina ($2.70 at time of publish) – BET NOW
How do you bet against a mare in this vein of form? You don’t! Bella made history as the first mare to win The Everest last time out and she stands every chance to salute again in the Russell Balding this weekend at Rosehill to add to her incredible season. Ciaron Maher’s Pride Of Dubai seven-year-old is all class, gets the run of the race from a gun gate four draw, and has big race man C. Williams in the saddle. She is fourth-up and fit, full of confidence after winning the world’s richest turf race, is proven at this track, and has winning form up to 1400m so the 1300m is a non-issue. Won the Tatt’s Tiara at the end of her winter campaign and think she’ll see out the spring a winner in another lucrative event here.
2024 Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) Field
The confirmed Russell Balding Stakes 2024 field of sprinters will be detailed below as soon as available.
Many horses in the field may have contested the previous month’s Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick and Gytrash (2020) was the last to do the double.
The 2024 Russell Balding Stakes field features a dozen quality spring staying types led in betting by Ciaron Maher’s last start The Everest winning mare Bella Nipotina.
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Probable Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x26034x466 | PRIVATE EYE | Joseph Pride | Jay Ford | 1 | 57.5kg | 112 | ||
| 2 | x28211x6x4 | KING OF SPARTA | Peter Snowden | Joao Moreira | 5 | 57.5kg | 111 | ||
| 3 | 241221×231 | BELLA NIPOTINA | Ciaron Maher | Craig Williams | 4 | 56.5kg | 120 | ||
| 4 | 1x1x254x15 | SUNSHINE IN PARIS | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Tommy Berry | 9 | 56.5kg | 114 | ||
| 5 | 1112120×76 | LADY LAGUNA | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Tyler Schiller | 10 | 56.5kg | 113 | ||
| 6 | x50172x325 | MAZU | Joseph Pride | Nash Rawiller | 7 | 56.5kg | 111 | ||
| 7 | x1000x3905 | PHEARSON | Brad Widdup | Tom Sherry | 11 | 56.5kg | 101 | ||
| 8 | x25450x052 | COAL CRUSHER | Joseph Pride | Chad Schofield | 3 | 56kg | 111 | ||
| 9 | 1412x9817x | TAMERLANE | James Cummings | Ben Melham | 2 | 56kg | 107 | ||
| 10 | 6x870926x0 | ROCKETING BY | David Pfieffer | Kerrin McEvoy | 8 | 56kg | 96 | ||
| 11 | 8x7895297x | FLYING CRAZY | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Reece Jones | 12 | 56kg | 90 | ||
| 12 | 22x344x110 | I AM ME | Ciaron Maher | Zac Lloyd (a) | 6 | 55.5kg | 115 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
2024 Russell Balding Stakes (Winners Stakes) Nominations
Nominations for the 2024 Russell Balding Stakes close the Monday of race week.
Winners Stakes / Russell Balding Stakes History
The Winners Stakes was first run in 2019 and won by the punters’ pick Pierata who improved on a lead-up fifth in that year’s The Everest race.
In its second running The Everest third placegetter Gytrash made it two-from-two for the favourites saluting in the 2020 race run on a Heavy track.
The flawless run of favourites continued with that year’s The Everest third place-getter Eduardo saluting for the punters at $3 in 2021. Eduardo won in 1:15.16 a record for the race.
Winners Stakes prize money was increased from $1 million to $3 million ahead of the 2022 edition which saw that year’s The Everest runner-up Private Eye win the race run as the Nature Strip Stakes.
Bella Nipotina for her 2023 upset became the first mare to salute in the Winners Stakes.
In 2024 the event was renamed the Russell Balding Stakes and saw Bella Nipotina successfully defend her title to become the first dual champion on the back of her The Everest success.
Bella Nipotina (2024) holds the Russell Balding Stakes race record winning in 1 minute 14.96 seconds.
Past Winners Stakes / Russell Balding Stakes Winners
Previous Winners Stakes / Russell Balding Stakes winners going back to the race’s inauguration in 2019 are detailed below.
| YEAR | WINNER | 2ND | 3RD | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024(Russell Balding Stakes) | Bella Nipotina | Sunshine In Paris | Lady Laguna | 1:14.96 |
| 2023(Giga Kick Stakes) | Bella Nipotina | Private Eye | Think About It | 1:15.50 |
| 2022(Nature Strip Stakes) | Private Eye | Mazu | Kementari | 1:15.93 |
| 2021(Classique Legend Stakes) | Eduardo | Lost And Running | Standout | 1:15.16 |
| 2020(Yes Yes Yes Stakes) | Gytrash | Haut Brion Her | Imaging | 1:17.85 |
| 2019(Redzel Stakes) | Pierata | Trekking | Le Romain | 1:16.59 |
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