Expressway Stakes

Winners and Past Results

The Expressway Stakes is a Group 2 Australian Turf Club weight for age race held at the Rosehill race track in Sydney in February. FREE $200 Bet

The race is for horses three year old and over with $200,000 going to the winners that prove their ability over the 1200 metre trip, which usually favours stronger sprinters.

The Expressway Stakes is the first in its group to be held under weight for age conditions during the summer racing carnival. As this is the first event to be held under weight for age conditions, in form horses and those who have had a successful spring season in Sydney are favoured to win the Expressway Stakes. Winners of this event ought to be watched closely over their next few outings in the season. The 2011 winner of the Expressway Stakes event was the Centennial Park followed by Love Conquers All and Hot Danish.

The first Expressway Stakes event was held in 1974 as a Principal Race. The first event was won by a horse named I'm Scarlet. It was elevated to Group 2 in 1979. During the period 1975 to 1980, the Expressway Stakes event was run over a distance of 1100 metres before being extended to 1200 metres. The fastest time recorded is by Cangronde in 1997 with just 1 minute 4.91 seconds, when it was run over a distance of 1200 metres. The slowest time ever recorded in the Expressway Stakes event over a distance of 1200 metres is 1 minute 12.6 seconds by Rangirangdoo in 2010.

The 1200 metre race distance of the Expressway Stakes event is an open invitation for above average sprinters that want to test their mettle in tougher events over the summer. On the other hand, a fine class of gallopers use Expressway Stakes as a platform for feature autumn races up ahead. Those horses who have performed well in this event continue to the Group 2 Apollo Stakes held a fortnight later on the same track and also under the same weight for age conditions but over an extended distance of 1400 metres. Centennial Park went on to finish third in the 2011 Apollo Stakes.

Some of the recent winners of this event are: Centennial Park in 2011, Rangirangdoo in 2010 and Burdekin Blues in 2009. Some of the finest gallopers to win the Expressway Stakes include Saintly in 1996, Lonhro in 2003 and Court's in Session in 2005-06.

2012 Expressway Stakes

Rain Affair made a good field look ordinary with an all-the-way win in this 1200 metre weight-for-age sprint. The four-year-old looked to be only cruising out front but was still travelling too quickly for his rivals, winning by four lengths over Centennial Park who had to battle to hold out Shoot Out.

2012 Expressway Stakes result

1. Rain Affair
2. Centennial Park
3. Shoot Out

Then came:

4. Winter King
5. Strike The Stars
6. Danleigh
7. Sacred Choice
8. Sniper's Bullet
9. Rangirangdoo