Generally regarded as the first Group 1 race of the new Australian racing season and the opening Group 1 of the Spring Racing Carnival it’s time for the 2026 Winx Stakes.

The Winx Stakes will be run on Saturday, 22 August at the stylish Royal Randwick racecourse, with the race set to go to post at 16:30 AEST.

Quick Picks

Our pick: Autumn Glow to win

Value bet: Sheza Alibi each-way

Long shot: Each-Way on Beiwacht

Betting Preview

The Winx Stakes is a top-level Australian thoroughbred horse race. It’s a Group 1, 1400-metre, weight-for-age contest at Royal Randwick in Sydney, and is open to horses aged three and above.

Because it is early in the spring, the Winx Stakes often serves as a first-up target for leading middle-distance horses beginning campaigns toward races such as the George Main Stakes, Epsom Handicap, The Everest, and Cox Plate.

The winner of the race will receive AU$549,956.28, with 14 horses participating. The ground is expected to be soft, which could benefit some more than others.

Via Sistina won in 2025, ridden by James McDonald and trained by Chris Waller, as she beat stablemate Aeliana by a neck.

It was back-to-back victories for her, but the 12-time Grade 1 winner has since retired, meaning a new winner will be crowned this year.

Betting Markets to Watch

In the current betting markets, Autumn Glow is considered the large favourite heading into the race. She has been the horse to beat, having won the first 11 of her races, including three Grade 1s.

However, Autumn Glow, the daughter of The Autumn Sun, experienced her first non-win in her last race, where she finished third (behind Sir Delius and Lindermann) after stepping up to 2,000 metres in the autumn’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Still, the Waller-trained mare will be ridden by McDonald again, which bodes well here.

Others have taken a liking to Sheza Alibi , which is also reflected in the moneyline odds as she is the closest and only real perceived challenger.

Trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, she’s dominated in her recent Grade 1 races, including in the Randwick Guineas and the Doncaster Mile in March and April respectively.

In the latter, she became the first filly to win in 27 years after blitzing the older horses to romp past the post by more than four lengths.

That saw her become the first filly to win that race in 27 years. Interestingly, she is also unbeaten at Randwick.

There isn’t much backing for others to win, which is why they may offer better value in the place market.

Waller has eight of the 14 participants and has provided the quinella (the first and second-place finishers, in any order) of this race every year since Anamoe won it in 2022, and the trifecta last year.

Beiwacht is Waller’s pacesetter and has value, as he’s likely to hit the lead from the front and be difficult to catch.

He does carry a heavier weight than the mares listed above, while they may be too good for him to compete with.

Our Prediction

Check the latest horse racing betting odds at Sportsbet.

We think it’s likely that Autumn Glow wins the race , with Sheza Alibi offering value as an each-way.

Our long shot is Beiwacht.

The weight disadvantage and the gap in quality between him and the two mares could be too much, despite being a genuine 1,400 metre speed horse.