The Galaxy 2024 Tips, Betting Odds, Past Winners & Results

The Galaxy is a Group 1 sprint of 1100 metres staged at Rosehill during the autumn racing carnival. It is run by horses aged three years and above and is run under open handicap conditions.

The Galaxy received a hefty boost to the prize money pool in 2023, growing from $700,000 to $1 million.

 

 

The Galaxy Race Details

Date: 23/3/24

Time: TBA

Racecourse: Rosehill

Race Distance: 1100m

Conditions: TBA

Prize Money: $700,000

How To Bet On The The Galaxy

Our Top 3 Recommended Online Bookmakers To Bet With For The Galaxy:

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The Galaxy Betting Tips

1. TBA

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3. TBA

When Is The Galaxy: 23/3/24

What Time Is The Galaxy: TBA

Where Is The Galaxy: Rosehill Racecourse

How To Live Stream The Galaxy

To live stream The Galaxy, TAB Account Holders can watch the race live.

Mariamia took advantage of the extra funds by winning the 2023 jump of the race to earn $580,000.

Now six years of age, Mariamia is now retired following 39 jumps for 8 wins and 10 placings to earn over $1.2 million.

More Details About The Galaxy

The Galaxy is typically held in late March or early April, according to how the calendar plays out. Races are often moved for other reasons, as well.

As things now stand, The Galaxy is one of five Group 1 races held on Slipper Day. The big attraction, of course, is the Golden Slipper Stakes. The other three Group 1 races are the Ranvet Stakes, the George Ryder Stakes and the Rosehill Guineas.

Winners of The Galaxy are exempt from balloting for the Group 1 T. J. Smith Stakes.

History of The Galaxy

The Galaxy was first run in 1972. It has worked its way up in grade over the years, debuting as a Principal Race and moving to Listed Grade in 1979. It went to Group 2 in 1980 without spending any time as a Group 3 race. Group 1 status was conferred in 1984.

The race has been staged at Randwick, where it debuted in 1972 and remained there until 2007, when it shifted to Warwick Farm for one jump. It was back to Randwick in 2008, before moving to its Rosehill Gardens home in 2013, where it looks as though it will stick.

We assume the trip has always been 1100 metres, but we will investigate further to determine if this is the case.

Venue for The Galaxy

Rosehill Racecourse opened in 1885. It has fairly typical dimensions, with a circumference of just over 2,000 metres and a home straight of just over 400 metres.

During the course of a year’s racing, Rosehill will have nine Group 1, 13 Group 2 and 14 Group 3 races, as of 2023.

Considering that five Group 1 races jump at the same autumn meeting, it is safe to conclude that autumn is the big splash for Rosehill

The major attraction is the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes. In 2019, Rosehill launched the Golden Eagle, a special conditions race for four-year-olds that offers $10 million in prize money.

For this 1100-metre sprint, the racers start from barriers that are about mid-way down the back straight. They have to run a tight turn onto the home straight to finish in front of the stands at the south side of the track.

Racing History of The Galaxy

While The Galaxy has always attracted the better sprinters, it seems to have gotten better as of late, with notables such as In Her Time (2018), Nature Strip (2019) and Eduardo (2021) winning in recent years.

The notables from earlier years include Bletchingly in 1975, Luskin Star in 1978, Snippets in 1988 and Schillaci in 1992.

Only Grey Receiver has managed to win the race more than one time; those wins came in 1981 and 1982.

The race has never resulted in a dead heat. There was, though, a controversy in 2010 when the good sprinter Ortensia crossed first, but was later relegated due to a positive test for a prohibited substance, which handed the win to Shellscrape.

Our intent is to start at the beginning and work our way through the list looking for big earners, multiple Group 1 race winners and many that have made contributions to racing through their post racing career breeding.

The first winner in 1972 was Playbill.

Playbill was a gelding foaled in 1968 by Bogan Road out of Carmen. Playbill’s grand sire was France’s Wilkes, a name often associated with the better racers.

Playbill had other good wins, notably the Challenge Stakes and the Canterbury Stakes.

The next winner was 1973’s Kista.

Kista was a New Zealand mare, her best win was the Lightning Stakes. It was Principal race back then, but it was eventually made Group 2 grade, and then Group 1 beginning in 1987.

After racing, she was served by future Galaxy winner Luskin Star. She dropped one foal by Planet Kingdom, so she was well thought of, but none of her offspring was notable.

Starglow was another mare that won The Galaxy in 1974.

Her sire Comet and most of the line on that side of the table was northern hemisphere, including a distant connection to the legendary Man O’ War that won 20 of 21 jumps, with the other being a second place.

Starglow beat Zephyr Bay to win The Galaxy, while her other good wins all came in Western Australia. She supplied just two foals.

We will mention the 1975 winner here, Bletchingly, just so we can say that his grand sire was Star Kingdom. Bletchingly made just five jumps, winning four of those, but his breeding career was where he made a name for himself.

He produced three million-dollar plus winners, Canny Lad ($2 million), Kingston Town ($1.6 million plus three Cox Plates) and Calculations ($1 million). Seven others won between $500,000 and $1 million. Twenty-five other Bletchingly offspring earned between $100,000 and $500,000.

Wayne's Bid, winner from 1976, was not exceptional, but he beat Toy Show in the Ajax Stakes, relegating Maybe Mahal into third. A general rule of thumb is that if you beat a horse that has a race named in its honour, you are yourself good.

The 1978 winner, Luskin Star, won 13 of his 17 jumps and placed in three others. By now, everyone should know that if a horse has the word star in its name, Star Kingdom is nearby.

Luskin Star won the 1977 Golden Slipper Stakes. Star Kingdom practically has the race under lock and key, as he sired the first five winners of the Slipper, and now had a grandson to win the race.

Luskin Star’s best progeny was Bold Promise, a 1988 filly out of Game Dame that won over $1.7 million and Bold Promise was dam to a Golden Slipper winner.

We next examine the 1988 winner of The Galaxy, Snippets.

A quick look reveals that Snippets was racing only to fill time and build some credentials before heading to the stud. He made only 14 jumps, winning nine times and placing twice. He won just over $1 million.

He was the Australian Champion three-year-old sprinter and he beat Rancho Ruler when he won the 1988 Group 1 Oakleigh Plate.

Many of Snippet’s offspring did their racing in Hong Kong, where they won millions in Hong Kong dollars. The best Aussie progeny by Snippets by stakes winnings was Mr. Vitality, a 1991 gelding out of Savana City that earned above $2.4 million. Another gelding, 2001’s Kao And Ming from Mrs. Peron, won over $1.9 million. Three other Snippets offspring won above $1 million.

Following Snippets by four years, the notable racer Schillaci won in 1992.

He was a gelding by Salieri with ties to Star Kingdom on the side of his dam Biscarina.

His 36 jumps supplied 16 wins and 10 placings for over $2.3 million.

Some of his big wins include two Lightning Stakes and two Futurity Stakes, with additional wins in the Oakleigh Plate, the Newmarket Handicap and Group 2 races that would eventually rise to Group 1 grade.

We next examine the 2008 winner, Typhoon Zed.

His sire was Zedative and this gelding from 2003 won $927,000 from his 22 jumps for seven wins and eight placings. The Galaxy was not his only Group 1 win. He also won the Manikato Stakes, by beating Absolut Glam.

The next year, Nicconi was the winner. He was by a U.S. sire, but his dam Nicola Lass supplied the connection to Star Kingdom, although by this time, the remarkable Irish stallion was five generations removed.

Nicconi beat Danleigh to win The Galaxy and in the Lightning Stakes, he beat Shellscrape into third.

His contributions as a sire far exceed his prize money intake. He sired many that won substantial sums, with his best Australian offspring being a million dollar winner named Niccanova.

Shellscrape was the winner in 2010, although that win came well after the race when the win was stripped from Ortensia for a positive test result for a banned substance.

Shellscrape had the unusual experience of being returned to training after having been sent to stud. There were genetic flaws in about 1/5th of his foals, including some that were born without tails.

The 2012 winner was Temple Of Boom.

Yes, this winner of nearly $2 million in prize money had a line to Star Kingdom, but so far back that the only reason we know is that we saw Bletchingly and Star Kingdom son Biscay in the line on dam Temple Spirit’s side.

The Galaxy was won by Sweet Idea in 2015.

This mare by Snitzel needed only 19 jumps to win eight races and place in an additional eight races. She earned over $2.4 million.

To date, Sweet Idea has supplied three fillies and one colt, the first in 2018 and the most recent in 2021.

The more recent jumps of The Galaxy have produced impressive winners, beginning with 2018’s In Her Time.

Her sire was Time Thief, with Redoute’s Choice for grandsire. Zedative was damsire, so it is little surprise that In Her Time won over $3.7 million. She achieved those earnings over 31 jumps for nine wins and nine placings. She added another Group 1 win in 2019 by winning the Lightning Stakes and posted seconds and thirds in another six Group 1 races.

She has supplied one foal thus far, a colt by I Am Invincible, in 2021.

We would say legendary, but Nature Strip, the winner of The Galaxy in 2019, will have to wait for more time to pass before he can legitimately be called a legend.

This 2014 gelding was by the 2009 winner of the race, Nicconi.

Nature Strip is eight years of age and is listed as spelling, but his trainer is Chris Waller, so he won’t be spelling for long before Waller lines up some barrier trials for him.

His last jump was in the 2023 Group 1 T. J. Smith Stakes and to this point, he has made 43 jumps for 22 wins, nine placings and over $20 million in prize money.

Nature Strip has raced and beaten the likes of Eduardo, Wild Ruler and Trekking. Other wins were at the expense of Redzel and Santa Ana Lane. He also beat Pierata, Houtzen and Shoals, along with In Her Time and Loving Gaby.

By our count, Nature Strip has won eight Group 1 Horse Racing Tips, but he made much of his impressive prize money from winning The Everest in 2021, where he added almost $6.75 million to his bank.

I Am Excited was the 2020 winner. Like Sweet Idea, she was a daughter of Snitzel.

This now eight-year-old mare is doing breeding duties after a career of 29 jumps for seven wins and 9 placings for over $1.2 million.

She beat Redzel in the Group 2 Victory Stakes. Her win in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes came against Eduardo.

Eduardo got over the disappointment of losing to I Am Excited by winning The Galaxy in 2021.

Now aged nine years, Eduardo is listed as active. His last jump was an attempt win The Galaxy for a second time in 2023, but he was second-to-last.

The winner in 2022 was Shelby Sixtysix.

He is spelling with 39 jumps for 5 wins and 12 placings.

He has not won since winning The Galaxy and he has only placed once from his 15 most recent jumps, with some jumps that found him stone motherless.

Conclusion

The Galaxy has supplied better types for winners since its inception.

There were some true notable winners and some above average breeders as well, which would explain why the race occupies such a prestigious slot on Rosehill’s autumn racing calendar.

The Galaxy Past Winners