Queen of the Turf Stakes Preview and Tips 12/04/25

We enter Day Two of The Championships after an always entertaining Day One. There are four Group One races at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday, including the Queen of the Turf Stakes, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Sydney Cup and the Australian Oaks. Not to mention we also have the Provincial-Midway Championships Final which is worth $1 million.

For the 2025 Queen of the Turf Stakes, we see a field of 13 runners confirmed. However, we have already seen one scratching, with Jennilala no longer taking part in the race, so the field size has been reduced to 12 runners. Fangirl is the current favourite after being scratched from the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

My Saturday tips have landed here at OnlyRacing and I have a preview for all four Group One races plus the Provincial-Midway Championships Final. This preview is dedicated to the Queen of the Turf Stakes as I walk you through my five best bets for the race. It’s going to be an epic day of racing, so let’s get stuck in.

In a field of 12 runners, the clear leader looks to be Grinzinger Belle, who jumps from barrier seven. Sounds Of Heaven looks to be the only other runner that does have barrier speed. So, it looks like the race will be run as fast as Grinzinger Belle wants to take it. I’m expecting a moderate tempo for this one.

The pre-race favourite, Fangirl, jumps from barrier six and is likely to settle near the back of the field waiting for the right time to strike. She’s got some good closing speed, so she’ll need to try and find the right breaks at the right time in hopes of running over the top of them all down the straight.

Fangirl made the final field for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes but trainer Chirs Waller decided to scratch her there and let her run in the Queen of the Turf Stakes. The mare is currently the heavy favourite with PlayUp and you can pick her up with odds of $1.95 to claim the win, after opening with odds of $2.25.

Waller has trained the last two winners of the Queen of the Turf Stakes and he has another great shot of winning here. Last time out, we saw Fangirl in the George Ryder Stakes, where she finished in second place, just 0.1L behind Gringotts. Seven of her 10 career wins have come here at Randwick and JMac sticks with her. This looks like hers to lose.

Atishu won the Queen of the Turf Stakes in 2023 and then probably should have won it again in 2024, finishing 0.1L off the pace in second place behind Zougotcha. Nash Rawiller takes over in the saddle from Blake Shinn, which I think is a good thing. Atishu is currently on the third line of betting with Bet365 at odds of $7.50.

The 7YO gets back to the mile for the Queen of the Turf Stakes, which will probably work more in her favour after she looked to be fading a little bit in the Australian Cup last time out. The Australian Cup is run over a distance of 2,000m and she finished fourth in that one. She also gets back against her own sex, so that’s another tick.

Grinzinger Belle will look to jump out of the blocks quickly from barrier seven and take the lead. Similar tactics were used last time out in the Group Two Sunline Stakes, where she led post-to-post, winning by 2.8L. In her first-up run this prep, she finished fourth in the Group Three Mannerism Stakes, so she is building nicely.

It will be her first run in Sydney this prep and the 4YO is currently going around with odds of $14, thanks to Dabble, which I think presents decent value. Her cruising speed is what sets her apart and I think she’s a little bit of a wildcard in this race. If she gets it all her way out front, the others might find it challenging to run her down in the closing stages.

A runner that I think has gone a little under the radar for the 2025 Queen of the Turf Stakes is Amelia’s Jewel. The Group One winner is currently going around with odds of $13 to win the race, according to QuestBet. One of the biggest draw cards for Amelia’s Jewel in my eyes is that she gets back to WFA conditions. 

She’ll also be tackling the Queen of the Turf Stakes fairly fresh as well. We haven’t seen her since the Coolmore Classic, which was run on March 15, where she finished sixth out of 13 runners. In her run before that, she won the Guy Walter Stakes at Randwick, by 1.5L. Remember, Amelia’s Jewel has got the better of Fangirl over this track/ trip in the past.

Looks like Coeur Volante is coming to the end of her prep, which has been a fairly successful one and includes a win in the Mannerism Stakes. She went to the Coolmore Classic after that and race conditions didn’t really suit her there. It looks like she is back on track though as her performance last time out in the Emancipation Stakes was good.

She finished fourth out of 12 runners in that one and could have finished even better if she wasn’t held up at a critical time in the race. She did produce the second-fastest final 200m in that race though. The 4YO is going around with odds of $31 to win the Queen of the Turf Stakes, with Bet Right.

All my Queen of the Turf Stakes horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Fangirl (win)	$1.95
	Atishu (each-way)	$7.50/$2.20
	Grinzinger Belle (place)	$3.50
	Amelia’s Jewel (place)	$3.00
	Coeur Volante (place)	$5.50