Expressway Stakes

Looking for this year’s Expressway Stakes betting markets, field and tips? The expert tipsters at Neds have put together everything you need to know before this year’s race.

Expressway Stakes 2026 Results

The official 2026 Expressway Stakes results will be available below once the race takes place on Saturday, February 14, 2026.

Chris Waller’s multiple Group 1 winning daughter of Zoustar, Joliestar ($2.60F), proved too classy fresh continuing her good first-up record when coming from third on the home straight to run down Caballus and secure a 1.19 length win for the punters in Saturday’s 2026 Expressway Stakes results at Randwick. The front-running Caballus held for second with the fellow Waller-trained mare Lady Shenandoah terrific in third. Joliestar is now expected to contest the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) on March 7 for which she’s now the outright $2 favourite to win.

Expressway Stakes 2026 Tips

Our insider 2025 Expressway Stakes tips will be listed here the week of the race and a full betting preview available on the Neds Blog.

Now a set weights plus penalties event for horses three years and up, the Expressway Stakes is an integral part of the Australian Turf Club’s first quarter. Taking place in mid-February, the race has proudly held Group 2 status for nearly 40 years now.

Previously a weight-for-age event held earlier in the season at Rosehill Gardens, the sprint showdown is now held at Royal Randwick on Apollo Stakes Day.

It is conducted over 1200m and offers $300,000 in prize money as of 2024.

Horses often run in the Expressway Stakes before a shot at bigger autumn events including the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m). 

Savatiano (2021) was the last runner to do the Expressway Stakes – Canterbury Stakes double.

In 2022 the Expressway Stakes runner-up Forbidden Love went on to complete the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes – George Ryder Stakes double, while the third placegetter Anamoe won five subsequent Group 1 races that year including Melbourne’s famous $5 million Cox Plate.

The 2022 Expressway Stakes form was further franked with the winner Overpass racing competitively in a host of subsequent events including winning the first ever edition of the $4 million The Quokka race in WA in April of 2023 and Perth’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes.

The Expressway Stakes 2023 winner Mariamia franked the form with a victory in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) that prep.

The 2025 Expressway Stakes proved to be a strong reference race, with winner Magic Time backing up her performance by finishing third in the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes at her next appearance. She continued to perform at the top level through the spring, adding a Group 1 Manikato Stakes placing before running a huge race at long odds to finish second to Giga Kick in the Group 1 Champions Sprint over the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The form held up again in the Newmarket Handicap, where Joliestar — third in the Expressway — returned to Flemington later in the season to capture the Group 1 feature.

Expressway Stakes 2026 – Quick Information

• Race Day: Saturday, February 14, 2026
• Track Location: Randwick Racecourse
• Track Surface: Turf
• Track Direction: Right-handed
• Race Distance: 1,200 metres
• Weight Conditions: Set Weights Plus Penalties
• Qualification: Three-year-olds and over
• Type: Thoroughbred
• Grade: Group 2
• Operator: Australian Turf Club
• Prize Purse: $300,000
• Inaugural Race: 1974
• 2026 Expressway Stakes Winner: Joliestar

Expressway Stakes Betting 2026

There are many different ways to bet on the Expressway Stakes, and we have included some of the most popular options below:

Bet Type	How To Place This Type of Bet on This Year’s Expressway Stakes
Win Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will take first place in this year’s Expressway Stakes.
Place Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will place in the top three finishers at this year’s Expressway Stakes. Pays less than a win bet but offers safer odds.
Each-Way Bet	If your runner finishes 1st in the Expressway Stakes, you will collect both the Win and the Place dividend. If your horse finishes 2nd or 3rd you will collect the Place dividend.
Quinella Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in any order, within the Expressway Stakes, in order to win the Quinella.
Exacta Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in the correct order, within the Expressway Stakes to win the Exacta.
Trifecta Bet	You must select runners to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order, within the Expressway Stakes to win the Trifecta.
First Four	You must select runners that finish 1st, 2nd ,3rd and 4th in the correct order, within the Expressway Stakes to win the First 4.
Quadrella Bet (Quaddie)	You must select the winners of four nominated races to win the Quaddie. This means you would have to select three other races apart from the Expressway Stakes, in order to be eligible to place a Quaddie.

How To Bet on The Expressway Stakes in 2026

1. Log in at neds.com.au
2. Make sure to check out form guide, once it’s released
3. Decide what kind of bet you’re going to place (Win, Place, Each-Way, Trifecta + more betting options, please read our section on Expressway Stakes Betting above).
4. Select the horse(s) for the race.

Which Horse Will Win the Expressway Stakes in 2026

The best way to pick which horse will win the Expressway Stakes in 2026 is to take into account their lead-up summer/autumn racing form, assess the barriers look for the proven Group 2 runners and check their strike-rate at the course.

Additional factors to consider when picking the Expressway Stakes winner include: 

• Favourites – Typically do well in this race running in the trifecta more often than not.
• Local Majority – The most of entrants will be coming from the Sydney metropolitan area. You’ll want to keep your eyes peeled to Randwick and Rosehill in the week prior to the race.

Expressway Stakes Favourites 2026

Favourites in 2026 Expressway Stakes betting include Chris Waller’s resuming three-time Group 1 winning mare Joliestar, the stable’s Randwick track specialists Lady Shenandoah, and the also resuming Waller-trained CF Orr runner-up Angel Capital.

Savatiano ($2.10 in 2021) and Joliestar ($2.60 in 2026) are the latest Expressway Stakes favourites to win.

Expressway Stakes 2026 Field

The official 2026 Expressway Stakes field of final acceptances is announced on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below. 

The Expressway Stakes 2026 final field features a diminutive but exciting line-up of eight runners including Chris Waller’s multiple Group 1 winning mares Joliestar and Lady Shenandoah both resuming.

Randwick R7 - Asahi Super Dry Expressway Stakes (G2)

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. Angel Capital J: Zac Lloyd T: Chris Waller	x1462x	H	3	57.5kg
	2. Coal Crusher J: Chad Schofield T: Joseph Pride	56412x	G	6	57.5kg
	3. Joliestar J: James McDonald T: Chris Waller	1x153x	M	5	57kg
	4. Lady Shenandoah J: Nash Rawiller T: Chris Waller	x2472x	M	1	57kg
	5. Caballus J: Tommy Berry T: Bjorn Baker	x5181x	G	4	56.5kg
	6. The Instructor (8)  Scratched:
	7. Who But Roo J: Winona Costin T: Geoffrey Crothers	736132	G	2	56kg
	8. Manaal (2)  Scratched:

View Results

Expressway Stakes Race Day 2026

Expressway Stakes Day 2026 takes place on Saturday, February 14, 2026. There are three other Group status races on the card with the running of the: 

• Group 2 $300,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m),
• Group 2 $300,000 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m), and the
• Group 3 $250,000 Triscay Stakes (1200m).

Expressway Stakes Barrier Draw 2026

The 2026 Expressway Stakes barrier draw will be released to the public a few days before the race and published in our above Expressway Stakes Field section. 

Expressway Stakes Nominations 2026

2026 Expressway Stakes nominations close at 11 AM on the Monday of race week. 

2026 Expressway Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 10/02/2026

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	16x1x1462x	ANGEL CAPITAL	H	4	Chris Waller	111
2	19x141x131	AXIUS	G	4	Ciaron Maher
3	87x1x5181x	CABALLUS	G	5	Bjorn Baker	109
4	020x56412x	COAL CRUSHER	G	8	Joseph Pride	111
5	31921x153x	JOLIESTAR	M	5	Chris Waller	117
6	20111×4241	KING OF ROSEAU	G	4	Peter Snowden
7	x111x2472x	LADY SHENANDOAH	M	4	Chris Waller	116
8	3124x1155x	LAZZURA	M	4	Chris Waller
9	x955x8114x	MANAAL	M	4	Michael Freedman	109
10	x11316x272	THE INSTRUCTOR	G	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	106

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Expressway Stakes Weights 2026

Set weights plus penalties conditions apply to this race. Final 2026 Expressway Stakes weights are announced at 4 PM on the Tuesday of race week with weights on the final acceptances to be published in our above Expressway Stakes Field section. 

King Of Sparta (57.5kg in 2024) was the last Expressway Stakes topweight (or equal top-weight) to win.

2026 Expressway Stakes Topweights:

• No. 1 Angel Capital (57.5kg)
• No. 2 Coal Crusher (57.5kg)

Expressway Stakes Acceptances 2026

Final 2026 Expressway Stakes acceptances must be declared before 9:00 AM on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in our above Expressway Stakes Field section. 

Expressway Stakes Jockeys 2026

The final riders must be announced by 12 PM on the Wednesday of race week with the official 2026 Expressway Stakes jockeys to be published in our above Expressway Stakes Field section. 

Expressway Stakes Scratchings 2026

2026 Expressway Stakes scratchings close at 7:30 AM on Saturday, February 14, 2026. 

Expressway Stakes Prize Money 2026

The 2026 Expressway Stakes prize purse is worth $300,000 in total, distributed from places first through to tenth.

Place	Prize Money
1st	$170,000
2nd	$56,000
3rd	$27,250
4th	$13,250
5th	$7,200
6th	$4,000
7th	$3,700
8th	$3,700
9th	$3,700
10th	$3,700

Expressway Stakes Race Number 2026

The 2026 Expressway Stakes race number is scheduled as Randwick Race 7 at 3:50pm (AEDT) on Saturday, February 14, 2026. There are ten races in total that day at Randwick Racecourse.

Expressway Stakes Form Guide 2026

The final form guide will be available the week of the race. You can check below for a link to our full 2026 Expressway Stakes Form Guide following final acceptances. 

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 EXPRESSWAY STAKES FORM GUIDE

Expressway Stakes Live 2026

You can watch or listen to the 2026 Expressway Stakes live, across the following mediums.

Pay television: Sky Racing 1 (channel 526 on Foxtel)

Radio: Radio Sport National

Streaming: Racing NSW

Expressway Stakes Winners

Winners of the Expressway Stakes going back to the year 2000 are displayed in the table below. If you would like to see every winner, going back to the first race in 1974, check out our Expressway Stakes winners’ page.

Year	Winner	Trainer/s	Jockey	Weight	Time
2026	Joliestar	Chris Waller	James McDonald	57 kg	1:09.06
2025	Magic Time	Grahame Begg	Jordan Childs	57 kg	1:10.07
2024	King Of Sparta	Peter & Paul Snowden	James McDonald	57.5kg	1:09.17
2023	Mariamia	Joseph Pride	Tim Clark	56.5kg	1:08.73
2022	Overpass	Bjorn Baker	Tim Clark	55kg	1:08.96
2021	Savatiano	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	56.5kg	1:11.22
2020	Standout	Gerald Ryan	Tommy Berry	55.5kg	1:09.56
2019	Alizee	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	56.5kg	1:11.32
2018	Trapeze Artist	Gerald Ryan	Tim Clark	55.5kg	1:10.41
2017	Music Magnate	Bjorn Baker	Kerrin McEvoy	58.5kg	1:09.48
2016	Our Boy Malachi	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Tommy Berry	58.5kg	1:11.65
2015	Weary	Chris Waller	Tommy Berry	58.5kg	1:10.66
2014	Appearance	Guy Walter	Blake Shinn	56.5kg	1:09.06
2013	Happy Galaxy	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jay Ford	55.5kg	1:09.82
2012	Rain Affair	Joseph Pride	Corey Brown	58.5kg	1:10.79
2011	Centennial Park	David Payne	Corey Brown	58.5kg	1:10.25
2010	Rangirangdoo	Chris Waller	Corey Brown	58.5kg	1:12.66
2009	Burdekin Blues	Barry Baldwin	Shane Scriven	58.5kg	1:09.76
2008	Paratroopers	Peter Snowden	Danny Nikolic	58.5kg	1:09.60
2007	Mentality	John Hawkes	Darren Beadman	55.5kg	1:09.96
2006	Court’s In Session	Guy Walter	Danny Beasley	57.5kg	1:09.15
2005	Court’s In Session	Guy Walter	Hugh Bowman	57.5kg	1:09.51
2004	Sportsman	Gregory Hickman	Christian Reith	57.5kg	1:08.37
2003	Lonhro	John Hawkes	Darren Beadman	57.5kg	1:10.66
2002	Ateates	Gary Portelli	Jim Cassidy	55kg	1:11.23
2001	Tie The Knot	Guy Walter	Patrick Payne	57.5kg	1:09.98
2000	Mr. Innocent	Mal Gerrard	Glen Colless	57.5kg	1:09.25