McEwen Stakes

THE Group 2 McEwen Stakes is a sprint race over 1000m held at Moonee Valley in September. A key lead-in race for the Melbourne spring carnival sprinters, the McEwen Stakes has a rich history of quality winners and remains one of Australia’s most exciting races.

The $200,000 weight-for-age feature takes place on the same day as the Feehan Stakes and although it’s not worth massive prizemoney, it has recently been upgraded to a Group 2 race considering the rising popularity of the event as a lead in to Group 1 racing.

Many of Australia’s top class sprinters have taken out the McEwen Stakes and this year punters should be seeing some great talent on display. The globetrotting Chautauqua is among the past winners list and it shows just how good you need to be to win this race.

2022 McEwen Stakes betting odds

Markets for the 2022 McEwen Stakes are currently unavailable.

Best McEwen Stakes bookmakers

Betting on the McEwen Stakes has become more popular since Miss Andretti won in 2006. Miss Andretti was a sprinting superstar which put the McEwen Stakes on the map and it has since been a major sprinting feature during the spring carnival.

The future stars can be bet on at all our recommended bookmakers which will open McEwen Stakes betting markets in August.

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McEwen Stakes betting tips

The McEwen Stakes is generally a race for the favourites, but there has been the odd long-shot winner which included 2014 winner Angelic Light.

The winner will likely have to break the one-minute barrier in order to win the McEwen Stakes. The last horse to win in a time slower than a minute was Edgeton in 2004, but the increase in the quality of runners has seen much quicker times recorded since.

Bel Sprinter went quickest in a time of 57.3 seconds which was the same time Sequalo won with in 1995.

It’s a key lead-in race to the Group 1 Manikato Stakes and also the Group 1 AJ Moir Stakes later that month. Lankan Rupee followed up its placing in the McEwen Stakes with another placing in the AJ Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley, which is a real horses-for-courses track.

Punters won’t see big betting fields as the Moonee Valley track requires a maximum field limit of 15. This means the markets are heavily centred around the favourites and punters can get big prices for the lesser-fancied chances.

2021 McEwen Stakes result

Recent McEwen Stakes results

• 2021: The Inferno lights up The Valley
  Settling last in a nine-horse field at Moonee Valley over 1000m is hardly a recipe for success, but the Cliff Brown-trained Inferno made sure that was nothing but a myth in the McEwen Stakes. Damian Lane had him building through the gears when approaching the home turn and despite the class of Oakleigh Plate winner Portland Sky leading the field up, The Inferno sprinted the better and showed he has the potential to be one of the better sprinters in the country.
• 2020: Bella Vella gets her head down in time
  On the back of a Group 1 win in the Robert Sangster Stakes in the Autumn, the Will Clarken-trained Bella Vella came to The Valley fresh from a spell and grinded away at a gritty win in the McEwen. Having stalked the speed set by Witherspoon and Ashlor, Jamie Kah had the mare out in clear air approaching the home turn and despite Ashlor kicking clear in the straight, Bella Vella wore her rival down inside the final 50m and managed to get her nose down on the winning post to remain undefeated in four starts in 2020.
• 2019: Faatinah flies fresh
  Faatinah was resuming from a short spell and as always was going to be tough to beat first-up having won five of his seven starts when first-up. He added a sixth win when fresh following an expert steer from Jamie Kah who had the seven-year-old in striking distance approaching the turn. With Eduardo setting a genuine tempo, the race was always going to be set up for someone to finish over the top of him and for the punters who took the $8.50 about Faatinah were happy to see him be the one who finished off the better.
• 2018: Nature Strip begins his rise to stardom
  There had be plenty of buzz around Nature Strip coming into the McEwen Stakes and the star on the rise delivered in his maiden Group 2 win. The horse speared out to an early lead and looked to drive the field into the ground, but 2017 Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Houtzen had other ideas. The second placed horse surged to the line but Nature Strip clung on and won in a photo finish
• 2017: Russian Revolution shows his class
  Russian Revolution rounded off a terrific 2017 period by winning the McEwen Stakes. The horse in red ran on the speed alongside Heatherly and powered away when the pair hit the 200m mark and no horse could match him. The win was the second last of Russian Revolution’s glittering career.
• 2016: Wild Rain causes boilover
  Wild Rain showed its toughness when winning the 2016 McEwen Stakes over Furnaces and race-favourite Heatherly. Wild Rain was well-backed at each way odds in the market and it came in a fresh up state having not raced for seven weeks. Read the race report here.
• 2015: Chautauqua goes bang
  Chautauqua signalled its spring intentions with a demanding win in 2015 at odds of $2.60. The Hawkes-trained gelding assumed its usual back-marker role before improving deep around the outside. It quickly turned on the afterburners and put 1.5 lengths on the likes of group one winner Flamberge and Furnaces which carried only 52kg. Chautauqua won the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington following this win.
• 2014: Angelic Light upsets $1.22 favourite Lankan Rupee
  Angelic Light caused a boilover in 2014 when winning at odds of $21. The Robbie Griffiths-trained mare sat just off the speed and narrowly defeated Lankan Rupee on the line. Lankan Rupee was the $1.22 favourite to win the Moonee Valley feature, but had to settle for second on this occasion. Quality three-year-old Eloping tried hard in third with only 50kg, but Angelic Light was too strong in the finish.
• 2013: Kuroshio outsprints rivals
  Another upset winner came in 2013 with Kuroshio which won paying $16. The Peter Snowden-trained three-year-old took advantage of carrying only 52kg and it easily defeated race-favourite Moment of Change ($2.50) by 1.8 lengths. It wasn’t the strongest McEwen Stakes field ever seen, but it shows punters that the light weight three-year-olds can take this race out.
• 2012: Bel Sprinter gets the job done this time
  Bel Sprinter saluted for loyal punters in 2012 when it won paying $2.88. The enigmatic gelding trained by Jason Warren had its fair share of issues, but on this occasion it did everything right and the punters were celebrating. It was another runner which landed on the speed at Moonee Valley which is a big asset to have and it kicked away to beat Platelet by a half-length. The disappointment of the race was Golden Archer which finished fourth, but only a length behind the winner.
• 2011: Buffering grips on in dramatic finish
  One of the most popular winners of the McEwen Stakes, Buffering edged out the victory in one of the closest finishes in history. The Robert Heathcote-trained champion beat the talented Crystal Lily and Atomic Force by a nose in a finish which was quite incredible. Buffering just lasted from the pair which were coming home hard and it showed punters just how good Buffering was. It would later win many more races in Australia and also in Dubai.

Previous winners of the McEwen Stakes

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