McEwen Stakes

McEwen Stakes

Group Two Betting Guide
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024
Location: Moonee Valley Racecourse
Prize Money: $300,000
Distance: 1000m

THE Group 2 McEwen Stakes is a sprint race over 1000m held at Moonee Valley in October.

The McEwen Stakes has a rich history of quality winners and remains one of Australia’s most exciting races.

The $300,000 weight-for-age feature takes place on the same day as the Cox Plate 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.


2024 McEwen Stakes betting odds

Odds for the 2024 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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Latest McEwen Stakes News

Punt Drunk: Farewell, 2023 - you've been a blast!
The team at Punt Drunk is off for a spell to end 2023, but first we look at some of ...
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Imperatriz set to bypass Everest
Imperatriz will remain a Valley girl this spring with Te Akau Racing ruling out a bid at the $20 million ...
Imperatriz reigns supreme in McEwen Stakes romp
Imperatriz has asserted her authority in the Group 3 McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday afternoon, smashing her opposition ...
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The Spring Racing Carnival is well and truly underway and the best horses are either back or not far away ...
Moonee Valley full racing tips & quaddie | Saturday, September 9
A stacked 10-race card awaits punters at Moonee Valley on Saturday afternoon. Check out HorseBetting's free race-by-race preview and quaddie ...

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.

Imperatriz broke the race record in 2023 when clocking in at 56.68 seconds.

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.


2024 McEwen Stakes Final Field

HorseBetting will update this page when the 2024 McEwen Stakes Final Field is released.


Previous McEwen Stakes Fields

  • No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
    1 Silks
    Giga Kick
    Clayton Douglas
    Craig Williams
    6
    58.5kg
    2 Silks
    Rothfire
    Robert Heathcote
    Blake Shinn
    5
    58.5kg
    3 Silks
    Zoustyle
    Tony Gollan
    Damien Oliver
    2
    58.5kg
    4 Silks
    Acromantula
    Daniel & Ben Pearce
    Damian Lane
    3
    58.5kg
    5 Silks
    Imperatriz
    Mark Walker
    Michael Dee
    7
    56.5kg
    6 Silks
    Seradess
    Mark & Levi Kavanagh
    Jamie Kah
    4
    56.5kg
    7 Silks
    How’s The Serenity
    Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
    Jye McNeil
    1
    56.5kg
  • No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
    1 The Inferno Cliff Brown Jye McNeil 2 58.5kg
    2 In The Congo Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Mark Zahra 7 58.5kg
    3 Rothfire Robert Heathcote Damian Lane 3 59kg
    4 Zoustyle Tony Gollan Damien Oliver 3 58.5kg
    5 Away Game Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Craig Williams 1 56.5kg
    6 Semillion Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes Damien Thornton 6 52kg
    7 Coolangatta Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Jamie Kah 5 50kg
  • No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
    1 The Inferno Cliff Brown Damian Lane 6 58.5kg
    2 Ashlor Dan McCarthy Daniel Stackhouse 4 58.5kg
    3 Portland Sky Matt Laurie Luke Currie 9 58.5kg
    4 Bold Star Gordon Richards & Damien Moyle Jamie Mott 8 58.5kg
    5 Wisdom Of Water Annabel Neasham John Allen 2 58.5kg
    6 Fine Dane John Moloney Patrick Moloney 1 58.5kg
    7 Sir Kalahad Gavin Bedggood Beau Mertens 5 58.5kg
    8 September Run Chris Waller Craig Williams 7 56.5kg
    9 Esta La Roca Lloyd Kennewell Joe Bowditch 3 56.5kg
  • No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
    1 Despatch Tony & Calvin McEvoy Luke Currie 6 58.5kg
    2 Ashlor Dan McCarthy Daniel Stackhouse 4 58.5kg
    3 Bons Away Wendy Kelly Craig Newitt 7 58.5kg
    4 Fine Dane John Moloney Patrick Moloney 1 58.5kg
    5 Bella Vella Will Clarken Jamie Kah 8 56.5kg
    6 Witherspoon Kris Lees Damien Oliver 5 56.5kg
    7 Brooklyn Hustle Jason Warren & Dean Krongold Dwayne Dunn 2 56.5kg
    8 Hanseatic Anthony & Sam Freedman Craig Williams 9 52kg
    9 Rulership Peter & Paul Snowden Dean Yendall 3 52kg

2023 McEwen Stakes result


1stImperatriz (+290)
2ndRothfire (+130)
3rdGiga Kick (NTD)

Recent McEwen Stakes results

  • Imperatriz ($4.00) has asserted her authority in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley, smashing her opposition in breathtaking style. She and the well-favoured Giga Kick ($1.70) both turned together 150m to run with Imperatriz putting pay to her rivals in an astounding return from a spell. Rothfire ($5.00) was able to get the better of Giga Kick in the concluding stages, leaving the 2022 Everest winner settling for third placing in what will be remembered as a race with a rising star in the form of Imperatriz.
  • Superlatives often get thrown around in professional sport, but Queensland trainer Rob Heathcote was spot-on when he said Rothfire’s win in the McEwen Stakes was a “miracle”. He was also spot-on when using the same term simply to describe his comeback from a serious injury. Saturday’s victory was the five-year-old’s first since the devastation of fracturing his near fore sesamoid in the Golden Rose on September 26, 2020. Aided by a perfect ride from Damian Lane, Rothfire took a sit off a hot speed set by Zoustyle and Coolangatta and when asked to quicken, did so impressively to on and score by the best part of a length.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

McEwen Stakes Past Winners
Year Horse Jockey Trainer
2023 Imperatriz Michael Dee Mark Walker
2022 Rothfire Damian Lane Robert Heathcote
2021 The Inferno Damian Lane Cliff Brown
2020 Bella Vella Jamie Kah Will Clarken
2019 Faatinah Jamie Kah David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig
2018 Nature Strip Mark Zahra Darren Weir
2017 Russian Revolution Mark Zahra Peter & Paul Snowden
2016 Wild Rain Stephen Baster Mark Kavanagh
2015 Chautauqua Dwayne Dunn Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
2014 Angelic Light Ryan Maloney Robbie Griffiths
2013 Kuroshio Craig Newitt Peter Snowden
2012 Bel Sprinter Ben Melham Jason Warren
2011 Buffering Damian Browne Robert Heathcote
2010 Hay List Glyn Schofield John McNair
2009 Nicconi Craig Williams David Hayes
2008 Kaphero Vlad Duric Leon Corstens
2007 Here De Angels Corey Brown Lee Freedman
2006 Miss Andretti Craig Newitt Lee Freedman
2005 Strikeline Peter Mertens Brian Mayfield-Smith
2004 Edgeton Stephen Baster Brendon Hearps
2003 Yell Darren Gauci John Hawkes
2002 Mistegic Damien Oliver Lee Curtis
2001 Strategic Image Scott Seamer Peter Moody
2000 Testa Rossa Brett Prebble Dean Lawson
1999 Theatre Nash Rawiller Rick Hore-Lacy
1998 Flavour Darren Gauci John Hawkes
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