3 minute read

Good horses win the Expressway Stakes run at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trapeze Artist would go onto even bigger things. Will the 2023 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday produce another like him?

2023 Expressway Stakes: Nominations

2023 EXPRESSWAY STAKES - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Expressway Stakes is a Group 2 race for open sprinters conducted by the Australian Turf Club at Rosehill.

The Expressway Stakes was first run in 1974 and was won by I'm Scarlet.

The Expressway Stakes is run over 1200m under Weights For Age conditions. It was worth $250,000 in 2023. It has been a Group 2 race from 1979.

The race has been differing in distances but settled at 1200m from 2005.

The Expressway Stakes has been run at all four of Sydney's metro tracks at some stage. Was held at Randwick in 2020 due to oppressive conditions out west.

Appearance, Alizee and Savatiano are the only mares to win the race in the last 20 years.

Tie The Knot, best known as a stayer, won the Expressway Stakes in 2001 first up off a Cox Plate preparation.

Trapeze Artist scored first up in 2018 and by the end of the campaign had won Group 1s during the Championships – the TJ Smith Stakes and the All Aged Stakes.

Alizee won the Futurity Stakes following her win in 2019 while stablemate Savatiano won the Canterbury Stakes after her win in 2021 but ultimately lost that race a year later.

Notable winners of the Expressway Stakes include Zephyr Bay (1975), Luskin Star (1978), Kingston Town (1980), Sheraco (1983), Sir Dapper (1984), Diamond Shower (1987), At Sea (1988), Groucho (1989), Potrero (1991), Joanne (1992), Soho Square (1994), Saintly (1996), Mr Innocent (2000), Tie The Knot (2001), Lonhro (2003), Court's In Session (2005/2006), Mentality (2007), Paratroopers (2008), Rangirangdoo (2010), Rain Affair (2012), Appearance (2014), Music Magnate (2017), Trapeze Artist (2018), Alizee (2019) and Savatiano (2021).

The 2022 Expressway Stakes was won by Overpass from Forbidden Love and Anamoe.