The Percy Sykes Stakes – formerly the Keith Mackay Handicap – is a lucrative Group 2 race for two-year-old fillies run on Day 2 of Sydney’s ‘The Championships’ on the second Saturday of April annually.
The meeting is also known as Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day and features four Group 1 races including the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and $2 million Sydney Cup (3200m) for stayers.
Contested over 1200m at Royal Randwick Racecourse the Percy Sykes Stakes is run under set weights plus penalties and is now worth $600,000 in total prize money after being upgraded to Group 2 status for the first time in 2017.
Fillies may come into the Percy Sykes Stakes field via a run in the world’s richest race for juveniles – the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) – or the Group 2 Magic Night Stakes (1200m) earlier during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
The 2017 Percy Sykes Stakes took place on Saturday April 8.
| Percy Sykes Stakes 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Date: | April 8, 2017 |
| Track: | Randwick Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1200m |
| Race Type: | 2YO Fillies – SW+P |
| Status: | Group 2 |
| Prize Money: | $600,000 |
2017 Percy Sykes Stakes Results
- 1st: #3 Shoals
- 2nd: #1 Formality
- 3rd: #4 Serena Bay
Read the full 2017 Percy Sykes Stakes Results and the still undefeated Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained winner Shoals who tracks towards a Thousand Guineas campaign in the spring.
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | SHOALS | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Mark Zahra | – | 2 | 55kg | $3.10F |
| 2 | 1 | FORMALITY | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Craig Williams | 0.1L | 1 | 55kg | $9 |
| 3 | 4 | SERENA BAY | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 1.1L | 4 | 53kg | $4.20 |
| 4 | 5 | VILLA CARLOTTA | James Cummings | Kerrin McEvoy | 2.7L | 7 | 53kg | $17 |
| 5 | 6 | ALMANZORA | John O’Shea | Corey Brown | 4.4L | 5 | 53kg | $4.20 |
| 6 | 2 | TEASPOON | Michael Freedman | Blake Shinn | 5.8L | 3 | 55kg | $8 |
| 7 | 7 | DIDN’T MENTION IT | Gerald Ryan | Jay Ford | 9L | 6 | 53kg | $71 |
2017 Percy Sykes Stakes Odds & Betting
The latest odds on the fillies in the Percy Sykes Stakes 2017 field will be available below the week of the race complete with Percy Sykes Stakes betting markets links to Ladbrokes.com.au.
2017 Percy Sykes Stakes Field
The Percy Sykes Stakes field attracts a smart field of young fillies usually dropping down in grade off a run in the Golden Slipper field. The race has a capacity of fourteen starters plus four emergencies, but rarely does the Percy Sykes Stakes field run at capacity.
The official 2017 Percy Sykes Stakes field is out the Tuesday leading-up to the race following the early Percy Sykes Stakes Nominations taken in February and the Percy Sykes Stakes First Acceptances in March about four weeks out from the April event.
The Percy Sykes Stakes 2017 Field attracted just the seven fillies including Formality and Teaspoon out to atone for unplaced Golden Slipper Stakes runs.
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Br. | Wgt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1130 | FORMALITY | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Craig Williams | 1 | 55kg |
| 2 | 1×130 | TEASPOON | Michael Freedman | Blake Shinn | 3 | 55kg |
| 3 | 11 | SHOALS | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Mark Zahra | 2 | 55kg |
| 4 | 114×1 | SERENA BAY | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 4 | 53kg |
| 5 | 137 | VILLA CARLOTTA | James Cummings | Kerrin McEvoy | 7 | 53kg |
| 6 | 1 | ALMANZORA | John O’Shea | Corey Brown | 5 | 53kg |
| 7 | 9×33 | DIDN’T MENTION IT | Gerald Ryan | Jay Ford | 6 | 53kg |
Percy Sykes Stakes History
The Percy Sykes Stakes was first run back in 1960 as the Keith Mackay Handicap and was won by Primrose Lane. It started out as a non-black type race and gained its now Group 2 race status for the first time in 2017. The event is still officially registered as the Keith Mackay Handicap despite it not being raced under handicap conditions, in honour of the former AJC Chairman Keith Mackay.
For one year in 2014 the race was known as the Royal Randwick Stakes and added to the ATC Championships series of races enjoying a notable boost in prize money. The current race name – Percy Sykes Stakes – is in honour of esteemed veterinarian Percy Sykes who passed away in 2014. He is best known for his work with legendary trainers including Bart Cummings, Gai Waterhouse and her father TJ Smith – whom the TJ Smith Stakes is named after.
Keith Mackay Handicap / Percy Sykes Stakes Winners
During the early stages of Percy Sykes Stakes history the race didn’t hold a huge amount of prestige and attracted a mediocre class of fillies. As it increased in status and prize money the Percy Sykes Stakes winners have also improved with notable champions of the event including Streama (2011), Eloping (2014) and Missrock (2016).
See below for the list of Percy Sykes Stakes winners and placegetters going back to 2000.
| Year | Place | Horse | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes |
1st | TBD | TBD |
| 2nd | TBD | ||
| 3rd | TBD | ||
| 2017 Percy Sykes Stakes |
1st | Shoals | 1 minute 13.7 seconds |
| 2nd | Formality | ||
| 3rd | Serena Bay | ||
| 2016 Percy Sykes Stakes |
1st | Missrock | 1 minute 11 seconds |
| 2nd | Prompt Response | ||
| 3rd | Spright | ||
| 2015 Percy Sykes Stakes |
1st | Ottoman | 1 minute 12.4 seconds |
| 2nd | Calaverite | ||
| 3rd | Lake Geneva | ||
| 2014 Royal Randwick Stakes |
1st | Eloping | 1 minute 10.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Ygritte | ||
| 3rd | Shaumari | ||
| 2013 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Everage | 1 minute 13.4 seconds |
| 2nd | Little Miss Smiley | ||
| 3rd | Major Conquest | ||
| 2012 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Single Style | 1 minute 10.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Driefontein | ||
| 3rd | Meidung | ||
| 2011 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Streama | 1 minute 8.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Charm’s Honour | ||
| 3rd | Houston Benefactor | ||
| 2010 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Golden Millennium | 1 minute 10.2 seconds |
| 2nd | Boto Vermelho | ||
| 3rd | Parables | ||
| 2009 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Readyor | 1 minute 13.1 seconds |
| 2nd | Amarantha | ||
| 3rd | Tallow | ||
| 2008 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Shoboard | 1 minute 12.6 seconds |
| 2nd | Strawberry Field | ||
| 3rd | Silent But Deadly | ||
| 2007 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Sliding Cube | 1 minute 11.1 seconds |
| 2nd | Gamble Me | ||
| 3rd | Mega Lass | ||
| 2006 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Catechuchu | 1 minute 10.6 seconds |
| 2nd | Heart Of The Fire | ||
| 3rd | Admirelle | ||
| 2005 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Blizzardly | 1 minute 12.3 seconds |
| 2nd | Regal Cheer | ||
| 3rd | Heart Strings | ||
| 2004 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Strawberry Storm | 1 minute 11.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Sweet Ransom | ||
| 3rd | Monsoon Wedding | ||
| 2003 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Bella Corona | 1 minute 12.0 seconds |
| 2nd | Shamekha | ||
| 3rd | Danish Magic | ||
| 2002 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Before Too Long | 1 minute 10.2 seconds |
| 2nd | Verstak | ||
| 3rd | Cirque du Soleil | ||
| 2001 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Allez France | 1 minute 10.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Miss Bussell | ||
| 3rd | Breezer | ||
| 2000 Keith Mackay Handicap |
1st | Actress | 1 minute 9.7 seconds |
| 2nd | She’s A Pretender | ||
| 3rd | Mielleuse | ||