The Galaxy 2026 Betting Tips - Can Grafterburners Keep Progressing?

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Last updated: Wed. 18 Mar. 2026 16:35

Alex Marsh 18 Mar. 2026

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Briasa resumes in The Galaxy. (Getty)

The Galaxy is an 1100m handicap sprint and rounds out the Group 1 action on Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens.

A key lead-up to the TJ Smith Stakes, it stands as the premier handicap sprint of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

In The Galaxy market with Ladbrokes, Grafterburners is a $4.20 favourite.

2026 The Galaxy Tips

2026 The Galaxy Best Bet - Grafterburners

This represents another step up for Grafterburners, the Queensland visitor.

He has won all four attempts this season, including a Listed victory before bolting in over this trip during the Magic Millions Carnival.

The three-year-old arrives here first-up off a quiet trial at Doomben completed on February 24.

He has always shown ability, including a run in Sydney as a two-year-old where he arguably should have won the Inglis Millennium.

Keeping him to 1100m–1200m looks key, and this is a good chance to test him at Group 1 level, with a low weight under handicap conditions.

2026 The Galaxy Next Best Bet - Briasa

A wide alley is far from ideal, however Briasa is the class horse of the race and must be respected.

The grey quickly bounced back with a win in the TJ Smith Stakes, beating a strong lineup after a luckless run in this race last year.

Earlier campaign runs across his last two preparations showed he peaks early before tapering off.

That pattern was evident in a flat All Aged Stakes effort last autumn, while his spring dropped away after a second-up triumph.

This may be the right time to catch him fresh, and his trial work has been sharp.

2026 The Galaxy Value Bet - Ostraka

Ostraka is a hard horse to catch but is capable on his day.

The Melbourne stint early last year did not quite work out, followed by a quieter autumn in New South Wales.

His best run last campaign was first-up in the Concorde Stakes, where he was the pick of the on-speed runners.

The closers that filled the quinella were Headwall and Lady Shenandoah, while this set-up is more appealing under handicap conditions.

He draws for a soft run in transit and, from six Rosehill starts, has only finished out of the money once.

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Briasa	Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes	Tyler Schiller	14	58.5kg	$5.50
2	Mazu	Joseph Pride	Rachel King	9	56.5kg	$12
3	Generosity	Chris Waller	James McDonald	17	55kg	$12
4	Hedged	Gavin Bedggood	Tim Clark	3	55kg	$9.50
5	Reserve Bank	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Damian Lane	2	55kg	$7.50
6	Jedibeel (NZ)	Brad Widdup	Tommy Berry	16	53kg	$17
7	In Flight	Joseph Pride	Jay Ford	13	52.5kg	$41
8	Marhoona	Michael Freedman	Kerrin McEvoy	10	52kg	$12
9	Ostraka	Annabel & Rob Archibald	Ben Thompson	4	52kg	$19
10	Bridal Waltz	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	Luke Cartwright (a)	7	51.5kg	$15
11	The Black Cloud	Joseph Pride	Andrew Adkins	1	51kg	$27
12	Enriched	Michael Freedman	Craig Williams	11	51kg	$12
13	Infancy	Kris Lees	Alysha Collett	12	51kg	$67
14	Grafterburners	Kelly Schweida	Zac Lloyd	8	50.5kg	$4.20
15e	Catch The Glory	Jason Coyle	TBA	18	51kg	$51
16e	Beadman	Peter Snowden	Jamie Melham	15	50kg	$12
17e	Inkaruna	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Craig Williams	5	50kg	$7
18e	Hidden Motive	Nathan Doyle	TBA	6	50kg	$20