The Shorts 2026 Betting Tips, Predictions & Favourites

Despite being on the second line of betting, not many people are talking about the return of JOLIESTAR (11, who last raced at Royal Ascot.

She is one of the best sprinters to ever grace the track in Australia, and although coming off a long spell isn’t easy, she has a quality first-up record as a five-time winner, so she’ll hit the ground running.

Chris Waller lines up the 6YO mare, who didn’t let her fans down when placing at Royal Ascot. She found the front a little too early, so she was exposed late, but her fighting qualities came out in the final 100m.

Piloted by James McDonald on Saturday, she should settle just behind the speed and look to reel them in late. She’s the class factor in this race, and if she’s ready to run, she will remind punters that she is still the best sprinter in Australia.

The flashing light was on HEADWALL (5) last start after running a close second behind Tempted, and he had little room to move in the straight.

It was a terrific effort just to finish second, especially after a long spell. Our only worry is that it’s tough to run well second-up after a long break from the track, but he’s a powerful sprinter, and that helps his cause.

The Matthew Smth-trained 7YO is only a lightly-tried runner with 19 starts, and he has seven wins and 10 placings. He doesn’t know to run a bad race, and he’s about as rock-solid as it gets at the top level.

There will be betting support for him on race day, so he’s worth backing now.

We were keen on KING’S SECRET (4) in the Concorde Stakes when he ran fourth behind Tempted, and that was a good effort as a $31 chance.

The 5YO gelding has proven that he can stick around with the best sprinters in Australia, and although he will need to find a couple of lengths to win this race, finishing in the top four is possible.

Andrew Adkins rides from barrier 4, so he’ll get a good run right behind the speed. If the breaks go his way, he could battle on well to boost payouts as a roughie chance in The Shorts 2026.

Punters get value odds with our The Shorts SRM, which includes our three selected runners.

• Top 2 – No. 2 Joliestar
• Top 3 – No. 3 Headwall
• Top 5 – No. 9 King’s Secret

We have Joliestar Top 2, Headwall Top 3, and King’s Secret Top 5, which pays $7.75 for our three-runner SRM.

We would be shocked if Joliestar and Headwall didn’t finish in the Top 3, and we have Joliestar running in the quinella. King’s Secret adds value as a Top 5 pick, but he could run well without needing to improve too much.