The Champagne Stakes is a historic Group One run on the last day of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. Run over the famous Randwick mile, the Champagne Stakes will always be a great Group One. But with a long history and with the added prestige of being the third and final leg in the 2YO triple crown, winning this race is extra special.
The Champagne Stakes was first contested all the way back in 1861. The most famous trainer of the time, Etienne de Mestre, saddled up the winner Exeter.
Back then, the race was run over five furlongs or a little more than 1000 metres. In fact, the Champagne Stakes was Sydney's premier sprint race for two-year-olds from 1861 all the way through to 1972, where it was bumped up in distance to 1600 metres.
This was because, with the recent introduction of the Golden Slipper, the AJC decided that the Champagne Stakes would serve as a great final leg to a two-year-old triple crown. After the Golden Slipper, the second leg is the Sires Produce over 1,400 metres, before this race over a mile rounds it out.
Six horses have claimed the triple crown, the most recent being Pierro in 2012. It takes a special horse to claim this prize, as well as a stellar training effort. That's because training 2YO's is often regarded as the most difficult skill for trainers to master, especially trying to get them to run well over a mile.
For this reason, the Champagne Stakes is also a fascinating betting race. However, the recent form typically stacks up. Indeed, since 1983, only five favourites have missed a placing.
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