Phoenix Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Explore the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh Racecourse with a preview focusing on past winners, successful trainers, leading jockeys, and key trends. Gain valuable insights into the patterns that shape this prestigious Group 1 sprint for top-class two-year-olds.
Phoenix Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 20 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2025 Phoenix Stakes Preview

The Group 1 Phoenix Stakes takes place at the Curragh racecourse in August of each year. Established in 1902, it is named 'Phoenix' in the race title because it was originally run at Phoenix Park and was also known as the Phoenix Plate. It has carried this name since 1956 and moved to the Curragh in 2002.

The race is restricted to two-year-old colts and fillies and is run over a straight six furlongs. It's a race that Aidan O'Brien has won with some of his top two-year-olds in the past, with the likes of George Washington, Mastercraftsman and Caravaggio all winning this on their way to successful careers.

Phoenix Stakes Information:

If you are interested in other predictions at Curragh, then head over to the Curragh tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Curragh Racecourse section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Phoenix Stakes market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2015 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 120%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Phoenix Stakes, the over-round has been 115%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £115 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2025 Phoenix Stakes Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Phoenix Stakes Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Phoenix Stakes races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Babouche (1:09.33) in 2024
  2. Sudirman (1:09.35) in 2013
  3. Holy Roman Emperor (1:11.06) in 2006

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Phoenix Stakes next time out, then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -1.63. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.

When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 1:09.33 was set by Babouche in 2024, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by G M Lyons and ridden by Colin Keane. The slowest winning time was set in 2009 when Alfred Nobel won in a time of 1:20.32, booked to ride was Johnny Murtagh by trainer A P O'Brien.

What the expert says...
Five of the last six winners ran at the Curragh last time out, three of those in the Railway Stakes and the other two in the Anglesey Stakes, with four of those five winning those races. 

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Phoenix Stakes Past Winners

Here are the Phoenix Stakes' past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Phoenix Stakes are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2024
1:09.33
Babouche (GB)
2yo 9-2 (3 of 5) 5/2
Colin Keane
G M Lyons (IRE)
2023
1:12.53
Bucanero Fuerte (GB)
2yo 9-5 (1 of 7) 9/4
Kevin Stott
Adrian Murray (IRE)
2022
1:11.27
Little Big Bear (IRE)
2yo 9-5 (2 of 5) 13/8
Ryan Moore
A P O'Brien (IRE)
2021
1:12.16
Ebro River (IRE)
2yo 9-5 (5 of 8) 12/1
Shane Foley
Hugo Palmer (GB)
2020
1:13.35
Lucky Vega (IRE)
2yo 9-5 (9 of 10) 4/1
Shane Foley
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2019
1:17.14
Siskin (USA)
2yo 9-3 (2 of 5) 10/11F
Colin Keane
G M Lyons (IRE)
2018
1:12.29
Advertise (GB)
2yo 9-3 (1 of 5) 11/10F
Frankie Dettori
Martyn Meade (GB)
2017
1:11.72
Sioux Nation (USA)
2yo 9-3 (3 of 8) 2/1
Ryan Moore
A P O'Brien (IRE)
2016
1:11.79
Caravaggio (USA)
2yo 9-3 (3 of 5) 1/8F
Seamie Heffernan
A P O'Brien (IRE)
2015
1:11.88
Air Force Blue (USA)
2yo 9-3 (4 of 7) 9/4
Joseph O'Brien
A P O'Brien (IRE)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Phoenix Stakes have been based:

  • IRE: 18 winners with an additional 19 placings from 106 runners
  • GB: 2 winners with an additional 6 placings from 25 runners

2024 Phoenix Stakes Replay


Phoenix Stakes Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Phoenix Stakes over the last 20 renewals is A P O'Brien, who has won the race eleven times, with those eleven winners coming from George Washington (2005), Holy Roman Emperor (2006), Mastercraftsman (2008), Alfred Nobel (2009), Zoffany (2010), Pedro The Great (2012), Dick Whittington (2014), Air Force Blue (2015), Caravaggio (2016), Sioux Nation (2017) and Little Big Bear (2022). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Phoenix Stakes is G M Lyons (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Phoenix Stakes trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
A P O'Brien47-11-21-3.49+3.94
G M Lyons7-2-3-1.59-2.12
Kevin Prendergast7-1-1+27.00+13.80
J S Bolger6-1-3+20.00+14.63
Mrs John Harrington4-1-1+1.00-0.60
Adrian Murray3-1-1+0.25-0.59
Hugo Palmer1-1-1+12.00+7.20
Martyn Meade1-1-1+1.10+0.69
J A Stack3-0-1-3.00-1.10
Richard Hannon3-0-2-3.00-1.41

Phoenix Stakes Jockey Statistics

There are multiple leading jockeys in the Phoenix Stakes over the last 20 renewals, with Seamie Heffernan, Ryan Moore, Colin Keane, and Shane Foley having all won the race two times. Seamie Heffernan winners have been with Pedro The Great (2012) and Caravaggio (2016). Ryan Moore winners have been with Sioux Nation (2017) and Little Big Bear (2022). Colin Keane winners have been with Siskin (2019) and Babouche (2024). Shane Foley winners have been with Lucky Vega (2020) and Ebro River (2021).

Here are some of the top Phoenix Stakes jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Seamie Heffernan14-2-7-1.87+3.76
Ryan Moore7-2-4-1.37-1.51
Colin Keane6-2-3-0.59-1.12
Shane Foley4-2-2+14.00+7.60
Declan McDonogh8-1-2+26.00+13.49
Wayne Lordan8-1-2-3.00-3.86
Kevin Stott1-1-1+2.25+1.41
Frankie Dettori1-1-1+1.10+0.69
Jamie Spencer4-0-1-4.00-3.38
Michael Hussey2-0-1-2.00+2.63

Phoenix Stakes Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +52.38, is when runners had 1 start in the past 30 days.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 wins in the past 90 days, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-30.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2024: Winner in 3 (2) [5 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 1 (6) [7 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 2 (1) [5 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 5 (8,2) [8 Runners]
  • 2020: Winner in 9 (3,1) [10 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Phoenix Stakes is Curragh; there have been a total of 12 winners of this race who ran at Curragh last time out. The next best courses, which have produced the second most winners, are Ascot and Leopardstown; there have been a total of 3 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 109 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 22 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Phoenix Stakes:

  • Danehill (2 Wins)
  • Danehill Dancer (2 Wins)
  • Henrythenavigator (2 Wins)
  • Scat Daddy (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was La Collina in 2011, winning for Kevin Prendergast at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Declan McDonogh. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 6 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the Phoenix Stakes

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Phoenix Stakes. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2024 - Babouche
Curragh - 1st of 10 (13/8)
Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes
2023 - Bucanero Fuerte
Curragh - 1st of 9 (10/3)
GAIN Railway Stakes
2022 - Little Big Bear
Curragh - 1st of 6 (2/5)
Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes
2021 - Ebro River
Goodwood - 4th of 7 (10/3)
Richmond Stakes
2020 - Lucky Vega
Curragh - 2nd of 7 (3/1)
GAIN Railway Stakes
2019 - Siskin
Curragh - 1st of 5 (4/6)
GAIN Railway Stakes
2018 - Advertise
Newmarket (July) - 1st of 8 (11/10)
July Stakes
2017 - Sioux Nation
Ascot - 1st of 17 (14/1)
Norfolk Stakes
2016 - Caravaggio
Ascot - 1st of 18 (13/8)
Coventry Stakes
2015 - Air Force Blue
Ascot - 2nd of 17 (7/2)
Coventry Stakes

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Phoenix Stakes Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Tipster Competition Assistant

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing analyst with over 15 years of experience, delves into the intricacies of international horse racing, meticulously analyzing complex statistical data to uncover hidden trends. He spearheads the creation and management of OLBG's international horse racing trend blogs, providing valuable insights for bettors worldwide.

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