Queen Elizabeth Stakes Preview and Tips 12/04/25

After an epic Day One of The Championships, we close things out with Day Two. Day Two includes Group One races like the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Sydney Cup, the Queen of the Turf Stakes and the Australian Oaks. On top of this, we also have the Provincial-Midway Championships Final run at Randwick Racecourse as well.

The highlight of the day is, of course, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and we see a field of 15 confirmed for the race. This has already been cut to 14 runners, as Fangirl has been scratched to compete in the Queen of the Turf Stakes instead. At the moment, Via Sistina is the heavy favourite, paying $1.90 with PlayUp.

It’s going to be another massive day of racing and OnlyRacing has every aspect covered, including my Saturday tips for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes as well as all the other key races. I’ve put together my best bets for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, so make sure you take the time to read them before the race is run on Saturday.

The race speed looks to be fairly decent for the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but it won’t be anything like what we saw in 2024 with Pride Of Jenni. Full Count Felicia and Deny Knowledge look to be the ones most likely to fit it out for the lead and they jump from barriers four and 10, respectively.

Via Sistina, who is the current pre-race favourite, jumps from barrier one and will likely look to settle in one or two back from the leader, on the rail. It’s a reasonably big field and JMac will need to find the right breaks at the right time to feed Via Sistina into. From barrier one, he does have a few options, which is good.

The horse to beat in this one is clearly Via Sistina, but I’m not a massive fan of how skinny she is. The mare is currently going around with odds of $1.90, thanks to PlayUp and that puts her in as the heavy favourite. Fangirl has been scratched from this one, which further improves Via Sistina’s chances.

Via Sistina comes into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in red-hot form, so it’s easy to see why she is the short-priced favourite. She has won her last two races in a row (both of which have come at Group One level), including the Verry Elleegant Stakes and the Ranvet Stakes. James McDonald retains the ride and she draws barrier one.

As is always the case when there is a short-priced favourite, there are plenty of value plays to be had. I think I’ve found a really good value play in Buckaroo. So good, in fact, that he slots in as my safe bet for the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Buckaroo is currently on the fifth line of betting with Bet365, going around with odds of $16.

He is a genuine each-way chance in my eyes and he comes into this one second-up after not a lot of luck in the George Ryder Stakes last time out. He finished ninth out of 11 runners but was only 2.4L off the pace and he finished very close to Stefi Magnetica, who has since gone on to win the Doncaster Mile. Tommy Berry steps into the saddle as well.

I put down Tom Kitten to win the Doncaster Mile, but things didn’t really turn out like I had hoped for the 4YO and he is on the one-week back up here. The Doncaster Mile was run at a fairly slow tempo and that didn’t suit Tom Kitten, who ended up finishing seventh out of 20 runners, but just 1L off the pace.

He gets out to 2,000m, where he has won before, in the 2023 Spring Champion Stakes. Draws barrier five in this one, which gives him some options and there looks to be more speed in this one compared to the Doncaster Mile. He is good enough to redeem himself here and Dabble is currently offering $17 for the gelding to take the win.

If you’re looking for a runner that has a decent chance of upsetting the current favourite, you have to consider Dubai Honour. The 7YO is currently sitting on the second line of betting, going around with odds of $6.75, thanks to QuestBet. He comes into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes second-up after taking out the Tancred Stakes, winning by 0.8L.

The William Haggas-trained Irish import has some of his best figures Down Under and dropping back to the 2,000m from 2,400m last time out doesn’t seem to be of any issue in my eyes. It looks like the track will be rated in the Soft range and he has a decent enough Soft record, 13:5-1-1.

For my best roughie in the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, I’m siding with Rousham Park. The 6YO has come from Japan, where he has seen some success in recent runs. While we haven’t seen him since late 2024, he is a multiple Group One winner and is also a Group Three winner over this distance.

The stallion is currently on the third line of betting at Bet Right and you can pick up odds of $13 for him to claim victory in his first Aussie run. One run in particular that was great was the Breeders’ Cup Turf in late 2024, where he finished runner-up to Rebel’s Romance, who is a seven-time Group One winner.

All my Queen Elizabeth Stakes horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Via Sistina (win)	$1.90
	Buckaroo (each-way)	$16/$3.75
	Tom Kitten (place)	$4.00
	Dubai Honour (place)	$2.20
	Rousham Park (place)	$3.50