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The Challenge Stakes is a Group 2 weight-for-age race held at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse in early March as a part of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. A 1000m open sprint the Challenge Stakes has increased notably in prize money in recent years and is now worth a lucrative $500,000.

2025 Challenge Stakes Results

• 1st: #6 Jedibeel ($10)
• 2nd: #10 Kimochi
• 3rd: #9 I Am Me

Brad Widdup’s consistent Savabeel five-year-old Jedibeel ($10) was given a gun ride by jockey Tyler Schiller to slice through the field over the final furlong, letting down 50m out from the line to win the 2025 Hobartville Stakes in an impressive 1.15 length upset over Kimochi and I Am Me.

Challenge Stakes 2025 Odds & Results

Randwick R6
Schweppes Challenge Stakes (G2)

Final Race time:  1741407366

Runner Details	Win	Place
1st 6. Jedibeel (1) J: Tyler Schiller 58.5kg T: Brad Widdup	9.50	2.70
2nd 10. Kimochi (5) J: Nash Rawiller 56.5kg T: Gary Portelli	4.00	1.55
3rd 9. I Am Me (2) J: James McDonald 56.5kg T: Ciaron Maher	2.80	1.35
4th 2. Uncommon James (9) J: Josh Parr 58.5kg T: Matthew Hoysted	7.00	2.15
5th 1. Mazu (6) J: Jason Collett 58.5kg T: Joseph Pride	9.00	2.50
6th 4. Dragonstone (8) J: Adam Hyeronimus 58.5kg T: Joseph Pride	15.00	3.60
7th 5. Way To The Stars (7) J: Rachel King 58.5kg T: Matthew Smith	46.00	8.00
8th 3. Kallos (4) J: Zac Lloyd 58.5kg T: James Cummings	11.00	2.80
9th 8. Givemethebeatboys (3) J: Tim Clark 58.5kg T: Michael Freedman	27.00	5.50

Odds are subject to fluctuation. For current odds on all of our live racing markets, please visit www.ladbrokes.com.au/racing.
Data retrieved: 16/05/2025 05:03:09 AM (Australia/Brisbane)

View Results

The Challenge Stakes is one of the key races on Randwick Guineas Day and accompanies the Group 1 $1 million Canterbury Stakes (1300m).

A possible lead-up race into the Challenge Stakes field is the Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) held at Randwick in February, but many of the horses race first-up in the half-a-million-dollar showdown.

The likely next-up autumn targets for horses out of the Challenge Stakes include the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) held as part of ‘The Championships’.

Nature Strip (2020) is the latest horse to have completed the Challenge Stakes – TJ Smith Stakes double.

In 2021 Nature Strip returned to run second as the beaten odds-on favourite in the Challenge Stakes won by Eduardo in a new record time of 55.2 seconds.

That form was franked with Eduardo (2021) going on to complete the Challenge Stakes – The Galaxy double before a TJ Smith Stakes third behind Nature Strip.

Nature Strip went on to win the now $20 million The Everest (1200m) that spring, with Eduardo third in the world’s richest turf race.

The 2022 Challenge Stakes saw great guns Nature Strip and Eduardo clash for the ninth time in their careers. Eduardo managed to go back-to-back and successfully defend his Challenge Stakes title, while Nature Strip was forced to settle for third after a shock late run by $61 roughie Shelby Sixtysix who finished second.

The Challenge Stakes 2022 form was franked with the third placed Nature Strip winning that year’s TJ Smith Stakes where Eduardo finished second. Nature Strip then headed overseas and was enormous at Royal Ascot in the UK winning the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes by over four lengths. Upset Challenge Stakes runner-up that year Shelby Sixtysix meanwhile went on to win the Group 1 The Galaxy that autumn.

Dual defending champion Eduardo returned in the 2023 Challenge Stakes but was denied a third success beaten by a nose on the line by the mare ive Aggressive in an upset.

In 2023 the previous year’s The Everest winner Giga Kick ran third in the Challenge Stakes results and went on to frank the form with a TJ Smith Stakes second before wins in the All Aged Stakes and Brisbane’s Doomben 10,000 at elite level.

ive Aggressive returned fresh in the 2024 Challenge Stakes to go back-to-back with a successful title defence emulating Eduardo (2021-22) in going back-to-back.

The 2024 Challenge Stakes form was subsequently franked by the runner-up, Zapateo, who won the Group 1 The Galaxy next start.

The Challenge Stakes 2025 ran on Saturday March 8, 2025 as a lead-up to the TJ Smith Stakes in Sydney over the autumn carnival and saw the Brad Widdup trained Jedibeel ($10) slice through late for a one-length upset. 

2025 Challenge Stakes
Date:	Saturday March 8, 2025
Track:	Royal Randwick
Distance:	1000m
Race Type:	Weight-For-Age
Status:	Group 2
Prize Money:	$500,000

2025 Challenge Stakes Finishing Order

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	6	JEDIBEEL (NZ)	Brad Widdup	Tyler Schiller		1	58.5kg		$10
	2	10	KIMOCHI	Gary Portelli	Nash Rawiller	1.15L	5	56.5kg		$4.20
	3	9	I AM ME	Ciaron Maher	James McDonald	1.34L	2	56.5kg		$2.60F
	4	2	UNCOMMON JAMES	Matthew Hoysted	Joshua Parr	1.48L	9	58.5kg		$7
	5	1	MAZU	Joseph Pride	Jason Collett	1.84L	6	58.5kg		$9.50
	6	4	DRAGONSTONE	Joseph Pride	Adam Hyeronimus	3.58L	8	58.5kg		$14
	7	5	WAY TO THE STARS	Matthew Smith	Ms Rachel King	3.77L	7	58.5kg		$41
	8	3	KALLOS	James Cummings	Zac Lloyd	4.27L	4	58.5kg		$12
	9	8	GIVEMETHEBEATBOYS (IRE)	Michael Freedman	Tim Clark	5.18L	3	58.5kg		$26
	FF	7	SHELBY SIXTYSIX	Danny Williams	Ms Alysha Collett		10	58.5kg		$20

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 Challenge Stakes Betting

This autumn’s top Challenge Stakes 2025 betting odds will be available here at Races.com.au complete with pricing from Ladbrokes.com.au as soon as betting on the TJ Smith Stakes lead-up opens.

2025 Challenge Stakes Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2025 CHALLENGE STAKES FORM GUIDE

2025 Challenge Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Challenge Stakes 2025 Tips on the important Group 2 autumn sprint this season.

• To Win: #10 Kimochi ($4.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Gary Portelli’s resuming Brave Smash mare could kick off her autumn with a half-million dollar win in the Challenge Stakes with the bonny four-year-old boasting a lovely first-up strike rate (5:3-1-1) heading into the lucrative Group 2 sprint on Randwick Guineas Day fresh. She sits just shy of $2 million in earnings and went for a spell on the back of a Group 1 victory in Melbourne’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes last November. She had no weight there but did beat Another Wil who franked the form with a victory over Mr Brightside in the CF Orr earlier this season. At her latest Randwick start she was under a length back fourth to Ostraka in the Silver Eagle, which came on the back of a Group 1 Manikato fourth at The Valley. Super versatile, she won last year’s Group 3 Toy Show Quality at the course over 1100m so the 1000m first-up shouldn’t be too sharp. Nash Rawiller and barrier five in a small field are two more ticks. Can win.

2025 Challenge Stakes Field

The Challenge Stakes field attracts a class line-up of short-distance sprinters chasing the lucrative prize money on offer in the Group 2 including runners down in grade off a Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (1000m) start over the same metres at Flemington earlier in the autumn.

The 2018 Challenge Stakes winner Redzel was the last to come off the Black Caviar Lightning improving on his second to salute for the punters as the odds-on favourite. In 2020 Nature Strip ran fourth in the Black Caviar Lightning before atoning to win the Challenge Stakes, Redzel placing second in both races.

In 2022 Eduardo improved on a lead-up Black Caviar Lightning third to successfully defend his Challenge Stakes title. Eduardo returned for a second in the 2023 Challenge Stakes the following year.

The 2025 Challenge Stakes field will be provided by Racing NSW on the Wednesday of race week.

The Challenge Stakes 2025 final field features a small but smart line-up of short-distance specialists led in betting by Ciaron Maher’s The Everest performed mare I Am Me looking to improve on an unplaced Caulfield Group 1 Oakleigh Plate run fresh.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	H Rating
1	172x3254x6	MAZU	Joseph Pride	Jason Collett	6	58.5kg			110
2	8x323x587x	UNCOMMON JAMES	Matthew Hoysted	Joshua Parr	9	58.5kg			108
3	x1096x245x	KALLOS	James Cummings	Zac Lloyd	4	58.5kg			106
4	3x41x7412x	DRAGONSTONE	Joseph Pride	Adam Hyeronimus	8	58.5kg			105
5	16x33971x8	WAY TO THE STARS	Matthew Smith	Ms Rachel King	7	58.5kg			100
6	12121x281x	JEDIBEEL (NZ)	Brad Widdup	Tyler Schiller	1	58.5kg			95
7	87077x089x	SHELBY SIXTYSIX	Danny Williams	Ms Alysha Collett	10	58.5kg			77
8	4x120100x6	GIVEMETHEBEATBOYS (IRE)	Michael Freedman	Tim Clark	3	58.5kg			103
9	344x1109x0	I AM ME	Ciaron Maher	James McDonald	2	56.5kg			115
10	739x14471x	KIMOCHI	Gary Portelli	Nash Rawiller	5	56.5kg			111

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2025 Challenge Stakes Nominations

Early nominations for the Challenge Stakes in 2025 close the Monday of race week.

Challenge Stakes History

The first recorded winning of the AJC Challenge Stakes took place in 1966 when Tar Girl won with a finishing time of 58.5 seconds. Since then, the race has recorded a number of triple and double winners including English (2016-17), Star Of Florida in 2003-04, Cangronde in 1997-98, At Sea from 1985 to 1987, and Razor Sharp from 1982 to 1984.

See below for the full Challenge Stakes results dating back to 2000.

In 2018 Redzel set a Challenge Stakes winning record saluting in a time of 55.73 seconds. Redzel also ran third in the Challenge Stakes three times (2017, 2019, 2020).

Ball Of Muscle won the 2019 Challenge Stakes at his third attempt in the race.

The 2021 Challenge Stakes winner Eduardo set a new record time saluting in a slick 55.2 seconds when defeating the previous year’s champion and subsequent 2021 The Everest hero Nature Strip.

The Challenge Stakes result in 2022 nearly saw one of the biggest upsets in Australian sprinting history with Shelby Sixtysix ($61) running into second behind the back-to-back winner Eduardo and forcing the beaten odds-on favourite Nature Strip to finish third.

ive Aggressive (2022-23) is the latest two-time Challenge Stakes winner.

Recent Challenge Stakes Winners

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2025 Challenge Stakes	1st	Jedibeel	55.97 seconds
	2nd	Kimochi
	3rd	I Am Me
2024 Challenge Stakes	1st	ive Aggressive	56.61 seconds
	2nd	Zapateo
	3rd	Aft Cabin
2023 Challenge Stakes	1st	ive Aggressive	57. 19 seconds
	2nd	Eduardo
	3rd	Giga Kick
2022 Challenge Stakes	1st	Eduardo	59.06 seconds
	2nd	Shelby Sixtysix
	3rd	Nature Strip
2021 Challenge Stakes	1st	Eduardo	55.2 seconds (R)
	2nd	Nature Strip
	3rd	Bella Vella
2020 Challenge Stakes	1st	Nature Strip	56.87 seconds
	2nd	Redzel
	3rd	Jungle Edge
2019 Challenge Stakes	1st	Ball Of Muscle	55.78 seconds
	2nd	Redzel
	3rd	Viridine
2018 Challenge Stakes	1st	Redzel	55.73 seconds
	2nd	Jungle Edge
	3rd	Super Too
2017 Challenge Stakes	1st	English	59.99 seconds
	2nd	Redzel
	3rd	Supido
2016 Challenge Stakes	1st	English	56.5 seconds
	2nd	Kinglike
	3rd	Boss Lane
2015 Challenge Stakes	1st	Miracles Of Life	56.7 seconds
	2nd	Va Pensiero
	3rd	Rubick
2014 Challenge Stakes	1st	Villa Verde	57.30 seconds
	2nd	Snitzerland
	3rd	Famous Seamus
2013 Challenge Stakes	1st	Snitzerland	56.16 seconds
	2nd	Decision Time
	3rd	Howmuchdoyouloveme
2012 Challenge Stakes	1st	Rain Affair	1:03.7 seconds
	2nd	Satin Shoes
	3rd	Neeson
2011 Challenge Stakes	1st	Hay List	56.8 seconds
	2nd	Keen Commander
	3rd	Solar Charged
2010 Challenge Stakes	1st	De Lightning Ridge	55.92 seconds
	2nd	Dorf Command
	3rd	Stryker
2009 Challenge Stakes	1st	Olonana	56.92 seconds
	2nd	Hoystar
	3rd	Fantene
2008 Challenge Stakes	1st	Hurried Choice	57.35 seconds
	2nd	Keen Commander
	3rd	German Chocolate
2007 Challenge Stakes	1st	Spark Of Life	56.89 seconds
	2nd	Whoever
	3rd	Biscayne Bay
2006 Challenge Stakes	1st	Snitzel	56.8 seconds
	2nd	Spark Of Life
	3rd	Media
2005 Challenge Stakes	1st	Impaler	56.25 seconds
	2nd	Snippetson
	3rd	Charge Forward
2004 Challenge Stakes	1st	Star Of Florida	56.39 seconds
	2nd	Mistegic
	3rd	Majestic Fiesta
2003 Challenge Stakes	1st	Star Of Florida	56.58 seconds
	2nd	Snowland
	3rd	Fair Embrace
2002 Challenge Stakes	1st	Bomber Bill	56.54 seconds
	2nd	Mistegic
	3rd	Ateates
2001 Challenge Stakes	1st	Pimpala Prince	59.24 seconds
	2nd	Ateates
	3rd	Notoire
2000 Challenge Stakes	1st	Easy Rocking	56.90 seconds
	2nd	Ab Initio
	3rd	Adam

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