Top 5 Spring Champion Stakes Winners

The Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) is the middle-distance feature for the three-year-olds in the Sydney spring and has been won by some top gallopers in the past. See who made our list of top 5 Spring Champion Stakes winners since 1990.

In modern times, the feature race has been taken out by some outstanding gallopers.

Top 5 Spring Champion Stakes winners.

1. TIE THE KNOT (1997)

Tie The Knot tops our list of Spring Champion Stakes winners since 1990 and during his career he featured around the likes of Might And Power, Sunline, Northerly and Lonhro. But the former Guy Walter galloper was a champion in his own right, registering a then record 13 Group 1 wins. The first of those was this race back in 1997 and he went on to claim Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and Sydney Cup (3200m) in the autumn as a three-year-old before making races such as the Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) his own as an older horse, winning that Group 1 on four occasions.

2. IT’S A DUNDEEL (2012)

The Murray Baker-trained New Zealander kicked off his career with five straight wins, winning three in his homeland before claiming the Gloaming Stakes (1800m) and Spring Champion. He returned in the autumn and became one of the few horses to take out the Triple Crown for the three-year-olds by winning the Randwick Guineas (1600m), Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and Australian Derby (2400m), winning the latter by six lengths. He came back to Randwick the following year when he took out the revamped Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and retired with over $5 million in prize money for connections.

3. NOTHIN LEICA DANE (1995)

The Gai Waterhouse-trained galloper mixed it with what is probably one of the best ever crop of three-year-olds and took out the 1995 Spring Champion Stakes before knocking over Octagonal in the VRC Derby (2500m) that year. He backed up in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) a few days later, finishing runner-up to Doriemus and while he never claimed another race, he was competitive against the best for the rest of his career, finishing out of the top five on just two occasions.

4. FAIRWAY (1999)

Fairway was one of the star gallopers of a solid crop of three-year-olds that included Diatribe, Shogun Lodge and Freemason. He had all the answers for Shogun Lodge in the Spring Champion, holding off that horse in narrow fashion after leading in the 1999 edition before doing the same again in the AJC Derby (2400m) the following autumn. He won 10 times from 23 starts and another notable win came ahead of Sunline in the 2000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) after engaging in a stirring battle with the champion Kiwi in the dying stages.

5. SAVABEEL (2004)

Savabeel is a must inclusion in the top five Spring Champion Stakes winners on the back of what he did at his next start, that is winning the Cox Plate. While he would only win three races from his 14 starts, his effort to defeat some big names including Fields Of Omagh, Starcraft and Grand Armee was first class. He had the racing pattern suited to the Valley and in the Spring Champion he sat on the speed before winning by a length from Outback Prince.

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