Champions Stakes 2024 Betting Tips - Will Via impress again?

Alex Marsh

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Last updated: 07 Nov 2024

Alex Marsh 07 Nov 2024

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The Champions Stakes is the premier 2000m race of the Melbourne Cup Carnival
This $3 million dollar feature is run at Flemington
The 2024 edition will be contested on Saturday, November 9
Our Group 1 preview can be found below

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Via Sistina winning the 2024 Cox Plate. (Getty)

Registered as the Mackinnon Stakes, the TAB Champions Stakes dates back to 1869 and up until 2016, this 2000m WFA race was run on Derby Day and was often used as a last lead-up option for Melbourne Cup runners.

2024 Champions Stakes Tips
2024 Champions Stakes Field & Odds

With the popularity waning and fields getting weaker due to the Cox Plate run seven days earlier, the VRC decided to switch this feature to the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and now 'Champions Day' is arguably the strongest meeting over the entire carnival.

Via Sistina heads the betting for the 2024 Champions Stakes, where $1.70 is the quote via Picklebet

2024 Champions Stakes Tips

2024 Champions Stakes Best Bet - Via Sistina

It would've been a hard decision to skip the Melbourne Cup, especially as it was likely her only chance to ever run in the famous two mile feature and it was a weak edition.

I do believe they've made the right call, however, as there's still plenty of 1400m-2000m WFA races to contest this season and a Melbourne Cup run could easily end those future plans.

What more can we say about Via Sistina after her record-breaking Cox Plate romp? While off that dominant last start performance, she was always going to be short fav here.

The only big failure in Australia was on testing ground second-up in the Makybe Diva Stakes and it would take a massive regression off the fourth-up romp to be losing here.

2024 Champions Stakes Next Best Bet - Without A Fight

One of the more interesting runners on the entire program is Without A Fight, with son of Teofilo having not raced since his famous Melbourne Cup win just over a year ago.

He became the 12th horse in history to complete a Caulfield/Melbourne Cup winning double and with any intent, he could've won the Underwood Stakes first-up that prep.

Whether he can do it now 12 months on and coming back from a setback is a big query, however, Without A Fight could easily be prepared as a 2000m WFA galloper.

The eight-year-old has a class edge on most of these and the Freedman's wouldn't be bringing him here if he wasn't right, especially with no other targets (other than Hong Kong) on the calendar.

2024 Champions Stakes Value Bet - Arapaho

He's an underrated galloper and while it was a poor return over 1400m, Bjorn Baker was still bullish with Arapaho and the gelding did turn a corner last start in the Craven Plate.

The clock backed up that recent second-up performance, with the son of Lope de Vega running the fastest last 800m, 600m, 400m and 200m of that Group 3.

A nomination has been thrown in for the Northerly Stakes and that 1800m major in the west looks a nice option for Arapaho, who is a Group 1 WFA winner (Tancred Stakes).

Would it be shock if he rolled Via Sistina? Sure, but given the depth of this field is questionable and with improvement to come, Arapaho could finish top three/four.

2024 Champions Stakes Field & Odds

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Without A Fight (IRE)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Mark Zahra	10	59kg	$9.50
2	Duke De Sessa (IRE	Ciaron Maher	Harry Coffey	5	59kg	$15
3	Arapaho (FR)	Bjorn Baker	Ben Melham	11	59kg	$41
4	Nugget (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Michael Dee	8	59kg	$41
5	Future History (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Dylan Browne McMonagle	6	59kg	$51
6	Eliyass (FR)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Nash Rawiller	2	59kg	$12
7	Docklands (GB)	Harry Eustace	Declan Bates	7	59kg	$15
8	Royal Champion (IRE)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Craig Williams	9	59kg	$19
9	Kingswood (GB)	Gavin Bedggood	John Allen	3	59kg	$31
10	Via Sistina (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald	4	57kg	$1.70
11	Atishu (NZ)	Chris Waller	Jye McNeil	1	57kg	$7.50
12	Deny Knowledge (IRE)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Damian Lane	12	57kg	$23