Winx Stakes 2025 Betting Tips - Can Via Sistina defend her crown?

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Wed 20 Aug 2025 13:56

Alex Marsh 20 Aug 2025

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2025 Winx Stakes: Premier weight-for-age race at Royal Randwick
Via Sistina favoured at $2.80; a deserving market elect from the Chris Waller stable
Ceolwulf offers value after a solid previous season and recent trials

Expired

Via Sistina is aiming for back-to-back Winx Stakes wins. (Getty)

The Winx Stakes is one of Sydney’s premier weight-for-age races, held each August at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

2025 Winx Stakes Tips
2025 Winx Stakes Field & Odds

Run over 1400 metres, it marks the official start of the Group 1 racing season in Australia and often attracts the nation’s top middle-distance stars resuming from their winter spells.

At $2.80 with PlayUp, Via Sistina heads the market for the 2025 Winx Stakes.

2025 Winx Stakes Tips

2025 Winx Stakes Best Bet - Via Sistina

The 2024 Makybe Diva Stakes isn't a big enough sample size to judge Via Sistina in regard to wet ground, with her biggest defeat in Australia coming second-up last spring on a Heavy 9.

Here two biggest losses under Chris Waller have both come in races influenced by Pride Of Jenni, a bold front-runner who takes many horses out of their comfort zone.

Last year's Winx Stakes winner will follow the same path that had her peaking for a Cox Plate, however, Via Sistina has always come to hand early and her excellent sees her as a deserving fav here.

After a quiet first winter trial, the nine-time Group 1 winner completed a stronger piece of work under J-Mac on August 7 and the champion hoop has saluted in three of the last five editions of this race.

It's also been successful event for Chris Waller, who has prepared eight of the last 15 Winx Stakes winners and he's well represented with five runners in the field.

2025 Winx Stakes Value Bet - Ceolwulf

After recording successive Group 1 victories in the Epsom Handicap and King Charles III Stakes, Ceolwulf was the runner to follow from the 2024 Sydney Spring Carnival.

The Joe Pride-trained galloper appeared on track for a strong autumn following a fourth-place finish on return in the Apollo Stakes, but a minor injury forced him to miss the Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes.

While he remained competitive in four subsequent attempts, that setback proved costly in regard to having him right for his main target races and perhaps he's most effective at WFA level when kept under 2000m.

Ceolwulf has proved to be adept on all surfaces and in his second trial on August 8, he worked every bit as well as Private Eye, a stablemate who bolted in with the PB Lawrence Stakes last Saturday.

Aside from the Queen Elizabeth Stakes where he was a double figure quote, the market mostly respected him over autumn and with each-way odds available, he could be the forgotten horse here.

2025 Winx Stakes Field & Odds

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Light Infantry Man (FR)	Ciaron Maher	Ethan Brown	7	59kg	$20
2	Ceolwulf (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Chad Schofield	8	59kg	$10
3	Gringotts (NZ)	Ciaron Maher	Tommy Berry	10	59kg	$5
4	Arapaho (FR)	Bjorn Baker	Rachel King	4	59kg	$26
5	Lindermann	Chris Waller	Nash Rawiller	12	59kg	$41
6	Robusto	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	9	59kg	$15
7	War Eternal (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Dylan Gibbons	6	59kg	$23
8	Diamond Diesel	Adam Duggan	Andrew Adkins	3	59kg	$81
9	Via Sistina (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald	1	57kg	$2.80
10	Fangirl	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	5	57kg	$6
11	Full Count Felicia (USA)	Chris Waller	Adam Hyeronimus	11	57kg	$34
12	Aeliana (NZ)	Chris Waller	Jason Collett	2	56.5kg	$7