Champions Stakes Tips - Can Via Sistina make it back to back wins in Champions Stakes?

The Champions Stakes (2000m) brings the curtain down on Cup Week in fitting fashion — a showdown between middle-distance royalty and rising challengers at Flemington. 

This is the race that’s crowned champions like So You Think, Verry Elleegant and Anamoe, and this year it’s all about one mare: Via Sistina. 

The dual Cox Plate winner returns to the scene of her 2024 win, where she followed up a staggering Cox Plate win when going 23 lengths faster than standard, to claim Group 1 success in this race. 

She arrives off another Cox Plate victory, this time after a thrilling duel with Buckaroo in a race rated +11.1 above standard, and she’s looking to become just the third horse in the modern era to complete the Cox Plate–Champions Stakes double twice.

Standing in her way are several familiar foes and a few fresh challengers. Attrition and Light Infantry Man come through the Cox Plate, where both were gallant, while Kovalica brings the best last-start figures of any runner — a +14.2 in the Craven Plate at Randwick, showing he’s peaking at the right time. 

Pier adds a Kiwi twist to the contest after closing late for 3rd in the King Charles III Stakes, while Tom Kitten wasn’t far behind and steps up to 2000m, a distance that could see him improve sharply. With multiple Group 1 winners converging on Flemington, this year’s edition has depth, class, and international flair — the perfect farewell to a remarkable spring.

On the speed map, Light Infantry Man looks the most likely to roll forward and take up the running, with Attrition and Golden Path handy in behind. Via Sistina is expected to slot in just worse than midfield, following a similar pattern to her Cox Plate win, conserving energy before unleashing that trademark surge late. Kovalica and Pier should settle midfield with cover, while Tom Kitten and Zambardo will be hunting runs from the rear. Expect a genuine tempo early before McDonald angles Via Sistina wider from the 600m — the straight at Flemington giving her the perfect runway to explode past them.

She’s the queen of middle-distance racing, and it’s hard to go past Via Sistina once again. While her Cox Plate win wasn’t quite as dominant on the clock as last year’s, she still rated 11.1 lengths above benchmark and she now returns to Flemington. The track, trip and tempo all play to her strengths, and she’s unbeaten when backing up within three weeks at 2000m. Chris Waller has this mare in a groove, and James McDonald knows exactly when to push the button. Unless something truly unexpected unfolds, she should simply be too classy again.

If there’s one horse capable of making it interesting, it’s Light Infantry Man. He boasts an outstanding Flemington record — three runs for two wins and a placing in the All-Star Mile — and his Australian Cup victory earlier this year, where he ran 21.7 lengths faster than standard, sits just behind Via Sistina’s best in raw ratings. He was forced to do all the donkey work in the Cox Plate, setting a fierce tempo before tiring late, but he’s always improved with racing and looks primed to peak second-up over 2000m. From barrier 3, Declan Bates can take control early or trail the speed, and if he gets any kind of mid-race breather, he’ll give punters a huge sight at double-figure odds. Via Sistina deserves the headlines — but Light Infantry Man could be the one to make her earn every bit of it.