The grand finale of the Sydney Autumn Carnival, Day 2 of The Championships, culminates this Saturday with the running of the esteemed Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick, and all eyes are on Chris Waller‘s exceptional mare, Via Sistina.

Via Sistina is the odds-on favourite in 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes betting this weekend. Photo: © 2025 – Bradley Photos.

Punter sentiment strongly favors the Cox Plate champion, installing her as the clear odds-on favourite through Ladbrokes to continue her sensational Group 1 form on Australian soil.

Last year’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes witnessed a dominant front-running display by Pride Of Jenni, but this year’s edition boasts a stellar assembly of the nation’s elite weight-for-age contenders, including the consistently brilliant Via Sistina.

The Fastnet Rock mare enters the race in peak form, chasing a remarkable hat-trick of Group 1 victories following impressive wins in the Verry Elleegant Stakes and the Ranvet Stakes.

“Via Sistina is the short favourite to complete the Ranvet / Queen Elizabeth Stakes double for five-time winning trainer Waller!” a form expert from Races.com.au noted.

The United Kingdom raider Dubai Honour achieved the Ranvet Stakes / Queen Elizabeth double in 2023, and the betting market firmly believes Via Sistina, currently priced at $1.80 with Ladbrokes, is poised to emulate that feat.

While she finished a distant second to Pride Of Jenni in this race last year, her subsequent Australian campaign has seen her reach new heights of performance.

Trainer Waller boasts an exceptional record in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, having secured victory five times previously, including the legendary three-year reign of Winx from 2017 to 2019.

With James McDonald once again in the saddle, Via Sistina has been gifted an advantageous inside draw in the capacity 15-horse field.

Victory on Saturday would see her equal Winx’s phenomenal record of seven Group 1 wins in a single Australian racing season.

Returning to challenge Via Sistina is William Haggas‘s 2023 victor, Dubai Honour, who occupies the second line of betting at $6.

The seven-year-old son of Pride Of Dubai remains undefeated in Sydney’s Group 1 races, having returned to Australia this autumn to claim the Tancred Stakes in impressive fashion on April 1st.

Haggas also boasts a strong Queen Elizabeth Stakes record, having achieved back-to-back victories with Addeybb in 2020 and 2021, and aims for his fourth win in the race overall.

Dubai Honour’s last-start performance was outstanding, and he now seeks to become the first horse since Eremein in 2006 to complete the Tancred Stakes / Queen Elizabeth double in the same year.

He will start from a wider gate 13, with Tom Marquand retaining the ride.

Joe Pride‘s in-form four-year-old, Ceolwulf, is currently the next shortest in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes betting markets at $13.

The Tavistock gelding enters the race on the back of a narrow victory in the rescheduled Group 2 Neville Sellwood Stakes on a Heavy track at Rosehill, and he boasts a solid record at Randwick.

Prior to that win, he finished third in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, a race that has since produced a Group 1 winner in sixth-placed Stefi Magnetica, who claimed the Doncaster Mile last weekend.

However, Ceolwulf faces a significant hurdle, drawing the extreme outside barrier (15 of 15), a starting position from which no horse has won the race in over a quarter of a century.

Despite his impressive record in the race, master trainer Waller hasn’t tasted Queen Elizabeth Stakes success since Winx’s historic three-peat.

This year, he will saddle up a strong contingent of five runners, with the most favoured according to the latest markets being the dual acceptor Fangirl, who is also the leading fancy for the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes later on the card.

Waller’s other representatives include last year’s Caulfield Cup runner-up Buckaroo, the in-form five-year-old Lindermann who has recorded four consecutive placings including a second in the Ranvet Stakes, and the American import Full Count Felica, who finished fourth in the Ranvet Stakes on her Australian debut.

Adding further intrigue to the prestigious event are two Japanese-trained raiders, Rousham Park and the long-odds outsider Geoglyph, who will be looking to challenge the dominant local contenders.

The 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes is scheduled to run as Randwick Race 8 at 3:55pm (AEST).

2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes Field & Barriers

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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