Phoenix Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

The Curragh's Group 1 for two-year-olds over six furlongs has an outstanding record of producing future stallions and classic contenders, making it the summer's defining juvenile contest in Ireland. Our trends guide covers the profile, the draw and the shortlist.
Phoenix Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 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 2027 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. Power Blue (1:09.28) in 2025
  2. Babouche (1:09.33) in 2024
  3. Sudirman (1:09.35) in 2013

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 5 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -1.81. Ahead of the 2027 Phoenix Stakes, why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Power Blue, trained by Adrian Murray and ridden by David Egan, who set the fastest winning time in the Phoenix Stakes. That runner won the race in a time of 1:09.28 in 2025. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer A P O'Brien and jockey Johnny Murtagh with Alfred Nobel who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:20.32 in the 2009 renewal.

What the expert says...
The Phoenix Stakes has a strong local flavour, and the Curragh's Railway Stakes is the trail to follow above all others. Eight of the last twenty winners came here straight out of that race, including Power Blue, Bucanero Fuerte and Siskin, making it comfortably the most productive form line. The Curragh in general is the place to look, supplying twelve of the last twenty winners' final prep runs, so a juvenile arriving off a promising effort at Irish headquarters warrants real respect before this year's renewal.

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 race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came 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
2026
1:09.67
Sun Goddess (IRE)
2yo 9-2 (2 of 8) 5/4F
Ryan Moore
A P O'Brien (IRE)
2025
1:09.28
Power Blue (IRE)
2yo 9-5 (4 of 5) 10/1
David Egan
Adrian Murray (IRE)
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)

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 21 placings from 107 runners
  • GB: 2 winners with an additional 5 placings from 23 runners

2026 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 ten times, with those ten winners coming from Mastercraftsman (2008), Alfred Nobel (2009), Zoffany (2010), Pedro The Great (2012), Dick Whittington (2014), Air Force Blue (2015), Caravaggio (2016), Sioux Nation (2017), Little Big Bear (2022) and Sun Goddess (2026). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Phoenix Stakes are G M Lyons (2 wins) and Adrian Murray (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'Brien48-10-20-6.49-2.82
G M Lyons7-2-3-1.59-2.12
Adrian Murray4-2-2+10.25+5.66
J S Bolger5-1-3+21.00+15.63
Kevin Prendergast4-1-1+30.00+16.80
Mrs John Harrington4-1-1+1.00-0.60
Hugo Palmer1-1-1+12.00+7.20
Martyn Meade1-1-1+1.10+0.69
Joseph Patrick O'Brien6-0-1-6.00-4.75
J A Stack3-0-1-3.00-1.10

Phoenix Stakes Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Phoenix Stakes over the last 20 renewals is Ryan Moore, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Sioux Nation (2017), Little Big Bear (2022) and Sun Goddess (2026). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the Phoenix Stakes are Seamie Heffernan (2 wins), Colin Keane (2 wins) and Shane Foley (2 wins).

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
Ryan Moore9-3-6-1.12-1.23
Seamie Heffernan13-2-6-0.87+0.13
Colin Keane6-2-3-0.59-1.12
Shane Foley4-2-2+14.00+7.60
Wayne Lordan8-1-2-3.00-3.86
Declan McDonogh7-1-2+27.00+14.49
David Egan3-1-1+8.00+4.25
Kevin Stott1-1-1+2.25+1.41
Jamie Spencer4-0-1-4.00-3.38
Dylan Browne McMonagle3-0-1-3.00-1.75

2027 Phoenix Stakes Runners & Shortlist

The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2027 renewal of the Phoenix Stakes will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually 48 hours before the race.

Phoenix Stakes Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +57.64, is when runners had the same jockey as when last winning.

❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Class 2 when last winning; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-23.

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

  • 2026: Winner in 2 (5,6) [8 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 4 (5) [5 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 3 (2) [5 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 1 (6) [7 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 2 (1) [5 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 Leopardstown and Ascot; there have been a total of 3 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 16 winners from a total of 108 runners, while female runners have produced 4 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 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 5 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2027 Phoenix Stakes, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?

Route to the Phoenix Stakes

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Phoenix Stakes. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Sun Goddess
Curragh - 1st of 6 (2/7)
Airlie Stud Stakes
2025 - Power Blue
Curragh - 3rd of 4 (4/1)
GAIN Railway Stakes
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

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Phoenix Stakes Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Content Editor

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 Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

Other Principal races at Curragh Racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Curragh racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in March

Races in April

Races in May (Irish Guineas Festival)

Races in June

Races in July

Races in August

Races in September (Irish Champions Festival)

Races in October

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