Challenge Stakes
Challenge Stakes
Group Two Betting Guide
| Date: | Saturday, March 8, 2025 |
| Location: | Randwick Racecourse – Sydney, New South Wales |
| Prize Money: | $500,000 |
| Distance: | 1000m |
The Challenge Stakes is a Group 2 weight-for-age sprint over 1000m, held by the Australian Turf Club at Randwick.
First run in 1906, the Challenge Stakes is Sydney’s premier 1000m race, and has been part of the autumn carnival since 2003, serving as a key lead-up to the Group 1 Galaxy (1100m) and Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m).
Originally a handicap until 1979, the Challenge Stakes has seen two triple winners — Razor Sharp (1982-84) and At Sea (1985-87) — along with 10 dual winners, including English (2016/17), Eduardo (2021/22), and Passive Aggressive (2023/24).
Notable past winners of the Challenge Stakes include Wenona Girl, Snippets, Show County, Hay List, Redzel, and Nature Strip.
Eduardo broke the Randwick track record, running 55.20, when winning the Challenge Stakes in 2021.
The 2024 Challenge Stakes, worth $500,000, was won by Passive Aggressive, defeating Zapateo and Aft Cabin.
2025 Challenge Stakes betting odds
Odds for the Challenge Stakes as of March 5 – Courtesy of Neds
- I Am Me Win $3.20 Place $1.45
- Kimochi Win $4.20 Place $1.65
- Mazu Win $5.00 Place $1.80
- Kallos Win $9.00 Place $2.60
- Jedibeel Win $10.00 Place $2.80
- Uncommon James Win $12.00 Place $3.20
- Dragonstone Win $12.00 Place $3.20
- Way To The Stars Win $17.00 Place $4.00
- Givemethebeatboys Win $23.00 Place $5.00
- Shelby Sixtysix Win $126.00 Place $17.00
How to bet on the Challenge Stakes
Being a strong betting race, any bookmaker that doesn’t offer the markets on the Challenge Stakes well in advance of the event is leaving money on the table.
The team at HorseBetting has compiled comprehensive reviews of our trusted online bookmakers which all offer odds on the Challenge Stakes.
The best Challenge Stakes betting sites are accessible across multiple platforms, with most having bookmaker apps available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.
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Challenge Stakes News
2025 Challenge Stakes Final Field
| No. | Silks | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
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Previous Challenge Stakes Fields
No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 
Private Eye Joseph Pride Nash Rawiller 7 58.5kg 2 Mazu Joseph Pride Jason Collett 3 58.5kg 3 Remarque Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes Tommy Berry 1 58.5kg 4 Aft Cabin James Cummings James McDonald 2 58.5kg 5 Zapateo James Cummings Kerrin McEvoy 4 56.5kg 6 Passive Aggressive Grahame Begg Jordan Childs 5 56.5kg 7 How’s The Serenity Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes Tyler Schiller 6 56.5kg
2024 Challenge Stakes result
1st – Passive Aggressive (+650)
2nd – Zapateo (+390)
3rd – Aft Cabin (NTD)
Recent runnings of the Challenge Stakes:
- After almost a full calendar year off the scene and a brief stint as a broodmare, Passive Aggressive ($8.00) made a triumphant return to racing, claiming back-to-back victories in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m). The Grahame Begg-trained mare won this race impressively in 2023, before finding Group 1 company in the TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) too testing and was retired shortly after being unable to make an impact in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville. She was unable to get into foal while standing as a broodmare, and the decision was made to return to racing. It was a patient steer aboard the daughter of Fastnet Rock, with Jordan Childs sliding across to find a midfield position one horse off the rail throughout the 1000m journey, as Zapateo ($19.00) found herself in an unfamiliar front-running role. Aft Cabin ($6.00) and Remarque ($5.00) got into lovely positions behind the speed, while the race favourite Private Eye ($2.20) was slightly slow away, with Nash Rawiller making the decision to take him towards the rear of the field. Passive Aggressive rounded up her rivals with relative ease with 200m to go, while Aft Cabin never got clear running between gallopers.
- It was a ding-dong battle down the straight at Royal Randwick as Passive Aggressive got the verdict in a grandstand finish of the Group 2 Challenge Stakes. Trained by Graeme Begg and steered by jockey Jordan Childs for his only ride of the day, the first-up mare produced an electric turn-of-foot to storm to line in a photo finish with multiple Challenge Stakes winner, Eduardo. It was the affectionately known ‘Special Eddy’ Eduardo who lead them up as the firming favourite looking for his third success in the race for trainer Joseph Pride and the nine-year-old almost pinched the race turning for home. Passive Aggressive under a terrific ride from Jordan Childs stalked the speed and came across from the wide draw, timing his run to perfection.
- The Joseph Pride-trained Eduardo made it back-to-back wins in the Challenge Stakes, leading all of the way in the 1000m dash, beating a fast-finishing Shelby Sixtysix, while Nature Strip disappointed back in third. Just four horses went around in the Group 2 event, with Nature Strip ($1.70) and Eduardo ($2.20) dominating the betting, however there was nearly a boilover as last-start Highway winner Shelby Sixtysix surged into second at massive odds. The winning trainer said that jockey Nash Rawiller wanted to ride Eduardo a bit faster compared to last year, and while it paid off, it nearly brought the dual Group 1 winner undone.
Previous winners of the Challenge Stakes
| Challenge Stakes Past Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2024 | Passive Aggressive | Jordan Childs | Grahame Begg |
| 2023 | Passive Aggressive | Jordan Childs | Grahame Begg |
| 2022 | Eduardo | Nash Rawiller | Joseph Pride |
| 2021 | Eduardo | Nash Rawiller | Joseph Pride |
| 2020 | Nature Strip | James McDonald | Chris Waller |
| 2019 | Ball Of Muscle | Glyn Schofield | Joseph Pride |
| 2018 | Redzel | Kerrin McEvoy | Peter & Paul Snowden |
| 2017 | English | Blake Shinn | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott |
| 2016 | English | Tommy Berry | Gai Waterhouse |
| 2015 | Miracles Of Life | Hugh Bowman | Paul Snowden |
| 2014 | Villa Verde | James McDonald | Anthony Cummings |
| 2013 | Snitzerland | Corey Brown | Gerald Ryan |
| 2012 | Rain Affair | Corey Brown | Joseph Pride |
| 2011 | Hay List | Glyn Schofield | John McNair |
| 2010 | De Lightning Ridge | Glyn Schofield | Joseph Pride |
| 2009 | Olonana | Tim Clark | John O’Shea |
| 2008 | Hurried Choice | Jeff Lloyd | David Payne |
| 2007 | Spark Of Life | Zac Purton | Allan Denham |
| 2006 | Snitzel | Craig Newitt | Gerald Ryan |
| 2005 | Impaler | Dale Spriggs | David Atkins |
| 2004 | Star Of Florida | Patrick Payne | Pat Duff |
| 2003 | Star Of Florida | Patrick Payne | Pat Duff |
| 2002 | Bomber Bill | Damien Oliver | Russell Cameron |
| 2001 | Pimpala Prince | Shane Treweek | Gordon Yorke |
| 2000 | Easy Rocking | Darren Beadman | Ron Quinton |
Challenge Stakes winners pre-2000
| Challenge Stakes Past Winners Pre 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | ||
| 1999 | Ab Initio | ||
| 1998 | Cangronde | ||
| 1997 | Cangronde | ||
| 1996 | Light Up The World | ||
| 1995 | Moss Rocket | ||
| 1994 | Classic Magic | ||
| 1993 | Spanish Mix | ||
| 1992 | All Archie | ||
| 1991 | Lightning Bend | ||
| 1990 | Show County | ||
| 1989 | Groucho | ||
| 1988 | Snippets | ||
| 1987 | At Sea | ||
| 1986 | At Sea | ||
| 1985 | At Sea | ||
| 1984 | Razor Sharp | ||
| 1983 | Razor Sharp | ||
| 1982 | Razor Sharp | ||
| 1981 | Steel Blade | ||
| 1980 | Acamer | ||
| 1979 | Christole | ||
| 1978 | Monreale | ||
| 1977 | Crimson Cloud | ||
| 1976 | River Ridge | ||
| 1975 | Zephyr Bay | ||
| 1974 | War Island | ||
| 1973 | Bounty | ||
| 1972 | Playbill | ||
| 1971 | Farlara | ||
| 1970 | Constant Rhythm / Biarritz Star | ||
| 1969 | Gay Gauntlet | ||
| 1968 | Dawn Boy | ||
| 1967 | Gay Gauntlet | ||
| 1966 | Tar Girl | ||
| 1965 | Time And Tide | ||
| 1964 | The Tempest | ||
| 1963 | Wenona Girl | ||
| 1962 | Rush Bye | ||
| 1961 | Gili | ||
| 1960 | Olympiad | ||
| 1959 | Huntly | ||
| 1958 | Dubbo | ||
| 1957 | My Kingdom | ||
| 1956 | Apple Bay | ||
| 1955 | Gay Vista | ||
| 1954 | Tarien | ||
| 1953 | Apex | ||
| 1952 | True Leader | ||
| 1951 | Donegal | ||
| 1950 | San Domenico | ||
| 1949 | San Domenico | ||
| 1948 | Gay Monarch | ||
| 1947 | Brazier | ||
| 1946 | Felbeam | ||
| 1945 | Felbeam | ||
| 1944 | Yaralla | ||
| 1943 | Gold Salute | ||
| 1942 | High Caste | ||
| 1941 | Caesar | ||
| 1940 | High Caste | ||
| 1939 | Bradford | ||
| 1938 | Hammer Head | ||
| 1937 | Silver Rose | ||
| 1936 | Heritor | ||
| 1935 | The Marne | ||
| 1934 | Air Queen | ||
| 1933 | Captivation | ||
| 1932 | Golden Gate | ||
| 1931 | Casque D’Or | ||
| 1930 | Venetian Lady | ||
| 1929 | Whitta | ||
| 1928 | Greenline | ||
| 1927 | Don Moon | ||
| 1926 | Quixotic | ||
| 1925 | The Hawk | ||
| 1924 | Laneffe | ||
| 1923 | Duke Isinglass | ||
| 1922 | Sir Maitland | ||
| 1921 | Maltgilla | ||
| 1920 | Aries | ||
| 1919 | Sydney Damsel | ||
| 1918 | Bonnie Plume | ||
| 1917 | Wedding Day | ||
| 1916 | Quinn’s Post | ||
| 1915 | Ninfia | ||
| 1914 | Golden Hop | ||
| 1913 | Golden Hop | ||
| 1912 | Pride Of Murillo | ||
| 1911 | Poi Dance | ||
| 1910 | Fille Fogi | ||
| 1909 | Neith | ||
| 1908 | Lord Merv | ||
| 1907 | Queen’s Court | ||
| 1906 | The Pet | ||
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