Surround Stakes & Verry Elleegant Stakes 2026 - Group 1 Fields Confirmed
Sydney's first Group 1 meeting of the year kicks off with the Surround Stakes and Verry Elleegant Stakes at Randwick on February 28, launching the autumn carnival. The Surround Stakes features top three-year-old fillies like Tempted and Apocalyptic, with key performances from Ole Dancer and Savvy Hallie. In the Verry Elleegant Stakes, Chris Waller's favorite, Autumn Glow, headlines a weight-for-age field, alongside contenders Sir Delius and Aeliana. The event promises thrilling races with celebrated horses vying for victory.
- Sydney's first Group 1 meeting of 2026 features the Surround & Verry Elleegant Stakes
- Top contenders include Tempted, Apocalyptic, Autumn Glow, & Sir Delius
- Chris Waller's impressive record adds excitement to the Verry Elleegant Stakes
Can Autumn Glow make it ten straight wins? (Getty)
The Surround Stakes and Verry Elleegant Stakes feature at Randwick on Saturday, February 28, headlining Sydney’s first Group 1 meeting of the year and launching the autumn carnival in style.
Included are both Group 1 line-ups, as well as the fields for all 10 races on the feature Sydney card.
Surround Stakes
The 1400m Surround Stakes brings together a high-quality field of three-year-old fillies, forming one of two Group 1 highlights on the Randwick program.
While Tempted (barrier 2) was a well-held third at her lone attempt at 1400m in the Golden Rose, the Godolphin filly has been consistent throughout her two-year-old season and into three-year-old company, which includes a comfortable first-up victory in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes on February 7.
Spelled after finishing runner-up on debut, Apocalyptic (barrier 4) emerged as one of the standout early three-year-old fillies, sweeping all three legs of the Princess Series, capped by a Group 1 victory in the Flight Stakes.
The Michael Freedman-trained filly narrowly missed an unbeaten spring, suffering a brave defeat in the Thousand Guineas before heading for a spell, and she resumed with a runner-up finish on February 14.
Ole Dancer (barrier 5) defeated Apocalyptic when winning the Thousand Guineas, which marked the third career victory for the daughter of Ole Kirk, who had recorded two wins and a second from her previous four starts.
She was set a task first-up when finishing second to the all-the-way winner Sass Appeal at Flemington on February 14.
Savvy Hallie (barrier 6) led throughout to claim the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes at her latest start, while Panova (barrier 8) resumes after rounding out her spring campaign with back-to-back Group 3 wins, the first of those coming over this track-and-trip.
Surround Stakes 2026 - Barriers & Final Field
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tempted | Ciaron Maher | Chad Schofield | 2 | 56kg |
| 2 | Apocalyptic | Michael Freedman | Tommy Berry | 4 | 56kg |
| 3 | Ole Dancer | Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | Zac Lloyd | 5 | 56kg |
| 4 | Savvy Hallie | Brad Widdup | Nash Rawiller | 6 | 56kg |
| 5 | Karinska | Chris Waller | Sam Clipperton | 1 | 56kg |
| 6 | Sunrays | Kelly Schweida | Jason Collett | 3 | 56kg |
| 7 | Panova | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 8 | 56kg |
| 8 | Queen Of Clubs | Gary Portelli | Craig Williams | 7 | 56kg |
Verry Elleegant Stakes
The Verry Elleegant Stakes is the other Group 1 feature on the Randwick program, bringing together a high-class weight-for-age field over 1600m.
Chris Waller boasts a superb record in this race, having prepared 11 of the past 15 winners, and has the hot favourite, Autumn Glow (barrier 3), the unbeaten four-year-old who has won all nine career starts.
Her victories include a Group 1 breakthrough in the Epsom Handicap before closing her spring with success in The Golden Eagle, while her 2026 resumption was excellent when she scored in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes on February 14.
Sir Delius (barrier 6) is an intriguing galloper, a son of Frankel who has quickly established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting prospects, highlighted by a dominant Group 1 Turnbull Stakes victory at Flemington.
He was ruled out of both the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup after compulsory veterinary scans identified a potential injury risk, prompting connections to withdraw him from the spring carnival.
Aeliana (barrier 1) has not saluted since her dominant Australian Derby win last autumn; however, her early four-year-old form has been encouraging, producing a pair of Group 1 second placings to open the season, while she was runner-up to Autumn Glow in the Apollo Stakes at her most recent resumption.
Ceolwulf (barrier 2) is likely to peak later in the preparation; however, the four-time Group 1 winner has won two of five second-up runs, while Lindermann (barrier 8) holds a strong second-up record with four wins and three placings from eight attempts.
Verry Elleegant Stakes 2026 - Barriers & Final Field
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ceolwulf (NZ) | Joseph Pride | Chad Schofield | 2 | 59kg |
| 2 | Sir Delius (GB) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Craig Williams | 6 | 59kg |
| 3 | Lindermann | Chris Waller | Nash Rawiller | 8 | 59kg |
| 4 | Wootton Verni (FR) | Chris Waller | Adam Hyeronimus | 7 | 59kg |
| 5 | Soul Of Spain (IRE) | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 5 | 59kg |
| 6 | Valiant King (GB) | Chris Waller | Sam Clipperton | 9 | 59kg |
| 7 | Trinity College (IRE) | Chris Waller | Tim Clark | 4 | 58.5kg |
| 8 | Autumn Glow | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 3 | 57kg |
| 9 | Aeliana (NZ) | Chris Waller | Zac Lloyd | 1 | 57kg |
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