Robert Sangster Stakes

The Robert Sangster Stakes is the first Adelaide-based Group 1 of the season and it kicks off the carnival with plenty of excitement.

There are three Group 1 races at Morphetville in May and the Robert Sangster attracts a quality sprinting field runners coming from all across Australia.

Held for fillies and mares only, the Robert Sangster has featured many champion winners, including the unbeaten Black Caviar, which would later win at Royal Ascot.

The Robert Sangster Stakes has been in existence since 2005 and it's quickly becoming one of the biggest races in Australia.

Held for fillies and mares during the autumn carnival, the $1 million sprint is named in honour of prolific owner and breeder Robert Sangster, who died in 2004.

The race was formerly known as the Swettenham Stud Stakes and was first run in 1983, but it didn't have Group 1 status the records for this race start in 2005.

Since then, trainer Lee Freedman has scored three consecutive wins with three different horses. Freedman won with champion sprinters Alinghi, Ellicorsam and Universal Queen.

The race received a big boost when Black Caviar raced in 2012. Black Caviar attracted big crowd numbers and her 4.5-length win was easily the most dominant win in history for the Robert Sangster Stakes.

There have been some recent upset results in the Robert Sangster Stakes, including 2017 winner Secret Agenda. The quality sprinter paid 15.00 when beating subsequent Group 1 winner Viddora by 1.8 lengths. 

2016 also ended in an upset result with Precious Gem scoring at $21. The Melbourne-based runner continued the strong record of Victorian winners when upsetting another full field of sprinters.

Miracles of Life was well-found in the market in 2015. The Snowden-trained runner was at 4.20 in the betting with Hugh Bowman in the saddle.

The shortest-priced winner in history was Black Caviar, which paid $1.05 with most bookmakers around the world. The unbeaten mare scared off most of the quality opposition and she was barely touched by jockey Luke Nolen down the straight.

Black Caviar was the first favourite to win the Robert Sangster Stakes since Universal Queen won in 2007 for Lee Freedman.