Ajax Stakes

Looking for this year’s Ajax Stakes betting odds, field and form guide? The experts at Neds have put together everything you need to know before this year’s race.

Ajax Stakes 2026 Results

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

The progressive Annabel & Rob Archibald-trained four-year-old Exceedance gelding Cristal Clear ($5.50) kicked off his autumn in style when handing apprentice hoop Braith Nock his first stakes success in the 2026 Ajax Stakes results in Sydney. The winner came from an on-pace run sitting third at the top of the straight before letting down well down the inside rail before hitting the front inside the final furlong and holding off the challenge by Robusto to secure a ballot free ride into the Doncaster Mile field on April 4 where he will carry just 50kg. He has firmed in from $101 to $34 in futures Doncaster Mile betting.

Ajax Stakes 2026 Tips

Our insider 2026 Ajax Stakes tips will be detailed here and a full betting preview published on the Neds Blog.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2026 COOLMORE CLASSIC DAY PREVIEW & TIPS

Run over 1,500 metres every March, the Ajax Stakes is a Group 2 race, held during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival at Rosehill Gardens on Coolmore Classic Day. With a $300,000 prize purse, it attracts some of Australia’s best mid distance runners eyeing a bigger prize during the upcoming ‘The Championships’ races at Randwick. 

The winner of this race gains exemption from the ballot for the 1600 metre Doncaster Mile, taking place in early April. It’s Somewhat (2017) was the last horse to complete the Ajax Stakes – Doncaster Mile double. 

The 2022 Ajax Stakes runner-up Ellsberg franked the form that spring returning to win the Group 1 Epsom Handicap as well as both the Five Diamond Prelude and $2 million The Five Diamonds (1800m).

Ajax Stakes 2026 – Quick Information

• Race Day: Saturday, March 14, 2026
• Track Location: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
• Track Surface: Turf
• Track Direction: Right-handed
• Race Distance: 1,500 metres
• Weight Conditions: Quality handicap
• Qualification: Three-year-olds and over
• Type: Thoroughbred
• Grade: Group 2
• Operator: Australian Turf Club
• Prize Purse: $300,000
• Inaugural Race: 1974
• 2026 Ajax Stakes Winner: Cristal Clear

Ajax Stakes Betting 2026

There are many different ways to bet on the Ajax 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 Ajax Stakes
Place Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will place in the top three finishers at this year’s Ajax Stakes. Pays less than a win bet but offers safer odds.
Each-Way Bet	If your runner finishes 1st in the Ajax 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 Ajax 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 Ajax Stakes to win the Exacta.
Trifecta Bet	You must select runners to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order, within the Ajax Stakes to win the Trifecta.
First Four	You must select runners that finish 1st, 2nd ,3rd and 4th in the correct order, within the Ajax 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 Ajax Stakes, in order to be eligible to place a Quaddie.

How To Bet on The Ajax 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 Ajax Stakes Betting above).
4. Select the horse(s) for the race.

Which Horse Will Win the Ajax Stakes

The best way to pick which horse will win the Ajax Stakes in 2026 is to take into account their lead-up autumn racing form in Sydney, assess the barriers and consider the weight each horse will carry in the event. 

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

• Verry Elleegant Lead-Up: Horses down in grade off a Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes (formerly Chipping Norton Stakes) run make a good bet in the Ajax Stakes each autumn.
• Single-Figure Fancies: Brilliant Light ($14 in 2011), Cepheus ($15 in 2023), and Iowna Merc ($11 in 2025) are the last Ajax Stakes winners to jump at double-figure odds.
• Avoid the Mares: No mare has won the Ajax Stakes since Sea Pictures back in 1986.

Ajax Stakes Favourites 2026

Favourites in 2026 Ajax Stakes betting include Chris Waller’s last start Rosehill winner Lord Penman, the resuming Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained Group 1 Caulfield Stakes winner Globe, and Waller’s Dundeel five-year-old Militarize looking to return to winning form second-up.

Ajax Stakes 2026 Field

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

The Ajax Stakes 2026 final field features a small but impressive line-up of potential Doncaster Mile hopes including resuming Group 1 Caulfield Stakes winner Globe and the rails-drawn Chris Waller-trained Militarize looking to improve on his fourth fresh in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup.

Rosehill R9 - Hyland Race Colours Ajax Stakes (G2)

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. Globe J: Tommy Berry T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr	x2421x	G	11	59kg
	2. Militarize J: James McDonald T: Chris Waller	7523x4	G	1	57.5kg
	3. Robusto J: Tim Clark T: Bjorn Baker	77320x	G	5	57kg
	4. Sandpaper J: Jason Collett T: Bjorn Baker	702615	G	4	56.5kg
	5. Willaidow J: Chad Schofield T: Marc & Mitchell Conners	576x10	G	7	56kg
	6. Lord Penman J: Zac Lloyd T: Chris Waller	7720x1	G	10	53kg
	7. Enxuto J: Tyler Schiller T: Robbie Griffiths	424x32	G	2	53kg
	8. Cristal Clear J: Braith Nock T: Annabel & Rob Archibald	11266x	G	3	53kg
	9. War Eternal J: Rachel King T: Bjorn Baker	9x9045	G	9	53kg
	10. Portland J: Kerrin Mcevoy T: Matthew Smith	83x7x7	G	6	53kg
	11. Thunderlips J: Dylan Gibbons T: Bjorn Baker	x04269	G	8	53kg

View Results

Ajax Stakes Race Day 2026

The 2026 Ajax Stakes takes place at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, March 14, 2026, as part of 2026 Coolmore Classic Day.

The meeting’s other key races include the:

• Group 1 $1,000,000 Coolmore Classic (1500m),
• Group 3 $350,000 Sky High Stakes (2000m),
• Group 2 $300,000 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m),
• Group 3 $250,000 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m),
• Group 3 $250,000 Magic Night Stakes (1200m), and the
• Group 3 $250,000 Maurcie McCarten Stakes (1100m).

Ajax Stakes Barrier Draw 2026

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

Ajax Stakes Nominations 2026

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

2026 Ajax Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 10/03/2026

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	6x00x120x3	ARCTIC GLAMOUR	M	5	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	105
2	x44111266x	CRISTAL CLEAR	G	4	Annabel & Rob Archibald	94
3	x753424x32	ENXUTO	G	5	Robbie Griffiths	97
4	37x39667x6	FIRESTORM (NZ)	M	5	Chris Waller	100
5	13x0x2421x	GLOBE (NZ)	G	7	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	110
6	124x1155x2	LAZZURA	M	4	Chris Waller	109
7	91x27720x1	LORD PENMAN (NZ)	G	4	Chris Waller	98
8	46x57523x4	MILITARIZE (NZ)	G	5	Chris Waller	107
9	x24183x7x7	PORTLAND (IRE)	G	5	Matthew Smith	90
10	177x77320x	ROBUSTO	G	6	Bjorn Baker	106
11	15×0702615	SANDPAPER	G	6	Bjorn Baker	105
12	10136x107x	SEA KING (GB)	G	7	Matthew Dunn	102
13	1147×04269	THUNDERLIPS	G	5	Bjorn Baker	90
14	82169×9045	WAR ETERNAL (NZ)	G	7	Bjorn Baker	93
15	048x576x10	WILLAIDOW	G	7	Marc & Mitchell Conners	104

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Ajax Stakes Weights 2026

Quality handicap conditions apply to this race with a minimum weight of 54kg. Final weights are announced at 4 PM on the Tuesday of race week with the official 2026 Ajax Stakes weights on the final acceptors to be published in our above Ajax Stakes Field section. 

Detonator Jack (58kg in 2024) was the last Ajax Stakes topweight to win after the original topweight Cepheus (59kg) was scratched pre-race.

2026 Ajax Stakes Topweight:

• No. 1 Globe (59kg)

Ajax Stakes Acceptances 2026

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

Ajax Stakes Jockeys 2026

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

Ajax Stakes Scratchings 2026

2026 Ajax Stakes scratchings close at 7:30 AM on Saturday, March 14, 2026. 

Ajax Stakes Prize Money 2026

The 2026 Ajax 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

Ajax Stakes Race Number 2026

The 2026 Ajax Stakes race number is scheduled as Rosehill Race 9 at 5:15pm (AEDT) on Saturday, March 14, 2026. There are ten races in total that day at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse.

Ajax 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 Ajax Stakes Form Guide following final acceptances. 

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 AJAX STAKES FORM GUIDE

Ajax Stakes Live 2026

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

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

Radio: Radio Sport National

Streaming: Racing NSW 

Ajax Stakes Winners

Winners of the Ajax Stakes going back to the year 2000 are displayed in the table below. 

Year	Winner	Trainer/s	Jockey	Weight	Time
2026	Cristal Clear	Annabel & Rob Archibald	Braith Nock (a)	53 kgs	1:29.62
2025	Iowna Merc	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	57.5 kgs	1:28.84
2024	Democracy Manifest	Chris Waller	James McDonald	56 kgs	1:28.39
2023	Cepheus	Matthew Dunn	Nash Rawiller	56 kgs	1:28.96
2022	Just Folk	Josh Julius	Jason Collett	55.5 kgs	1:31.52
2021	I Am Superman	Peter & Paul Snowden	Kerrin McEvoy	56.5 kgs	1:27.91
2020	Imaging	Chris Waller	James McDonald	57 kgs	1:35.60
2019	Fifty Stars	David Hayes	Jye McNeil	56.5 kgs	1:32.63
2018	Comin’ Through	Chris Waller	Michael Walker	56 kgs	1:28.52
2017	It’s Somewhat	John O’Shea	William Buick	59 kgs	1:31.04
2016	It’s Somewhat	John O’Shea	Sam Clipperton	57.5 kgs	1:28.16
2015	Burbero	Bjorn Baker	Brodie Loy	56 kgs	1:29.78
2014	Messene	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	James McDonald	54.5 kgs	1:28.14
2013	Havana Rey	Bjorn Baker	Glyn Schofield	54.5 kgs	1:29.63
2012	Niagara	Gai Waterhouse	Tommy Berry	53 kgs	1:28.88
2011	Pureness	Gai Waterhouse	Glen Boss	52 kgs	1:30.40
2010	Brilliant Light	Kerry Parker	Jay Ford	52 kgs	1:28.53
2009	Solo Flyer	Anthony Cummings	Corey Brown	57 kgs	1:28.75
2008	All Silent	Grahame Begg	Jeff Lloyd	52 kgs	1:29.17
2007	High Cee	Bart Cummings	Zac Purton	54 kgs	1:29.73
2006	Malcolm	John Hawkes	Darren Beadman	53 kgs	1:28.70
2005	River To The Sea	Diane Poidevin Laine	Dale Spriggs	52 kgs	1:27.75
2004	True Glo	Lee Freedman	Damien Oliver	57.5 kgs	1:28.74
2003	Grand Armee	Gai Waterhouse	Jim Cassidy	54 kgs	1:28.42
2002	Mowerman	John Hawkes	Corey Brown	52 kgs	1:27.91
2001	Galiano	Paul O’Sullivan	Craig Agnew	53 kgs	1:27.70
2000	Normal Practice	Danny Williams	Mathew Cahill	52.5 kgs	1:28.43