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The Sydney Stakes is a lucrative Group 3 sprint held on The Everest Day at Royal Randwick in Sydney during mid-October now offering an incredible $2 million in prize money as of 2022.

There is a battle for the punters’ attention that takes place on The Everest date with Sydney hosting the world’s richest turf race supported by the likes of the Sydney Stakes on the same day Melbourne’s Caulfield Cup Day meeting is held.

There are only 12 slots up for grabs in the $20 million The Everest field and the Sydney Stakes, upgraded to a Group 3 event for the first time in 2018, offers a nice consolation prize for sprinters that did not secure a start in the feature race of the day.

Contested over the same distance (1200m) as The Everest race, the Sydney Stakes is a weight-for-age event that has a field capacity of 18 starters.

Horses in the Sydney Stakes field may also be named as one of the six The Everest emergencies and must run in The Everest field should there be a scratching.

The Sydney Stakes also serves as a nice lead-up into the $3 million Winners Stakes – a race renamed each year in honour of the previous season’s The Everest winner. In 2019 the event was known as the Redzel Stakes and saw the Sydney Stakes winner Deprive run fourth.

The 2021 Sydney Stakes form was franked with the winner Big Parade running fourth in that year’s Winners Stakes (run as the Classique Legend Stakes) before returning the next autumn for a Group 1 The Galaxy second in 2022. Standout meanwhile finished runner-up in the Sydney Stakes and third in the Classique Legend Stakes results that spring.

The $2 million 2023 Sydney Stakes ran on Saturday October 14, 2023 as part of The Everest Day line-up at Randwick and was won by the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained favourite I Am Me ($4.80F).

Sydney Stakes 2023
Date:	Saturday October 14, 2023
Track:	Royal Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	Weight-for-age
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$2,000,000

2023 Sydney Stakes Results

• 1st: #15 I Am Me ($4.80F)
• 2nd: #11 Airman
• 3rd: #13 Bella Nipotina

Progressive Group 2 winning mare from the stables of Ciaron Maher & David Eustace, I Am Me ($4.80F), dug deep to put her head in front with 250m left to travel before charging home strongly to hold off the fast-finishing Airman in an exciting 2023 Sydney Stakes result.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	15	I AM ME	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	James McDonald		12	56.5kg		$4.80F
	2	11	AIRMAN	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Hugh Bowman	0.67L	9	58.5kg		$6.50
	3	13	BELLA NIPOTINA	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Craig Williams	1.45L	14	56.5kg		$5
	4	5	COAL CRUSHER	Joseph Pride	Tyler Schiller	1.73L	3	58.5kg		$31
	5	2	VILANA	James Cummings	Zac Lloyd (a)	2.84L	7	58.5kg		$5.50
	6	4	ROCKETING BY	David Pfieffer	Ms Rachel King	3.49L	1	58.5kg		$26
	7	3	RUSTIC STEEL	Kris Lees	Jay Ford	4.16L	16	58.5kg		$151
	8	1	KING OF SPARTA	Peter & Paul Snowden	Chad Schofield	4.26L	15	58.5kg		$7
	9	16	ARGENTIA	Joseph Pride	Ms Jamie Kah	4.64L	5	56.5kg		$17
	10	6	IT’SOURTIME	Danny O’Brien	Nash Rawiller	4.82L	11	58.5kg		$26
	11	9	INVER PARK (GB)	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	5.3L	10	58.5kg		$101
	12	14	ZAPATEO	James Cummings	Zac Purton	5.7L	13	56.5kg		$9.50
	13	8	ART CADEAU	Terry Robinson	Tommy Berry	5.84L	4	58.5kg		$101
	14	12	GREYWORM	Neville Boyle	Ms Kathy O’Hara	8.95L	2	58.5kg		$151
	15	7	JOJO WAS A MAN	John Thompson	Kerrin McEvoy	9.43L	6	58.5kg		$81
	16	10	SHELBY SIXTYSIX	Danny Williams	Nick Heywood	10.16L	8	58.5kg		$151
		18e	SMASHING EAGLE	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Brett Prebble		0
		17e	TRISTATE	Anthony Cummings	Jason Collett		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Sydney Stakes Betting Odds

Betting odds on the Sydney Stakes 2023 are out the week of the race and are led by horses that were on The Everest path but did not secure a slot in the $20 million feature.

The latest 2023 Sydney Stakes odds will be provided below once released with market links to Ladbrokes.com.au.

Big Parade ($2.40 in 2021) followed by I am Me ($4.80 in 2023) are the latest favourites in Sydney Stakes betting to win.

There was a notable upset in 2022 with Rocketing By winning at Sydney Stakes odds of $61!

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 SYDNEY STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Sydney Stakes Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 SYDNEY STAKES FORM GUIDE

2023 Sydney Stakes Tips

Stay tune for our exclusive Sydney Stakes 2023 Tips on The Everest Day $2 million sprint consolation prize this spring.

• To Win: #6 It’sourtime ($21 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Going for a big upset in the $2 million Sydney Stakes this year and have landed on the consistent It’sourtime at 20/1 for the value of the day. This six-year-old Time For War gelding is yet to race at Randwick but has a strong record over the distance (12:3-5-2). He is prepared by a former Melbourne Cup winning trainer in Danny O’Brien and has arguably the best hoop of the season Nash Rawiller aboard. He has been racing really well in Melbourne including a win in the Group 3 Aurie’s Star back in August. His subsequent two spring lead-ups had him in the top four including running only 1.7 lengths back in the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis. Up in weight but this looks a winnable and open affair if he gets the right run and handles the Sydney way. Forgotten hope that can surprise a few of these!

2023 Sydney Stakes Field

The Sydney Stakes field attracts a quality line-up of sprinters, many of which failed to gain a run in the $20 million The Everest held at the same meeting.

Horses may come into the Sydney Stakes field via a number of spring lead-ups including the Group 2 Premiere Stakes on Epsom Handicap Day or the Group 2 Golden Pendant for the mares.

The official Sydney Stakes 2023 Final Field and Barriers are announced the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.

The 2023 Sydney Stakes field features a smart line-up of sprinters led in betting by the talented Group 1 winning mare Bella Nipotina from the stables of Ciaron Maher & David Eustace who was last seen running a length back third to The Everest fancy Think About It at the track and trip in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	6x114624x2	KING OF SPARTA	Peter & Paul Snowden	Chad Schofield	17	58.5kg			108
2	1810x1760x	VILANA	James Cummings	Zac Lloyd (a)	7	58.5kg			108
3	411x88610x	RUSTIC STEEL	Kris Lees	Jay Ford	18	58.5kg			104
4	x6760x6858	ROCKETING BY	David Pfieffer	Ms Rachel King	1	58.5kg			102
5	62x43410x3	COAL CRUSHER	Joseph Pride	Tyler Schiller	3	58.5kg			101
6	x241423134	IT’SOURTIME	Danny O’Brien	Nash Rawiller	11	58.5kg			99
7	8411x0530x	JOJO WAS A MAN	John Thompson	Kerrin McEvoy	6	58.5kg			96
8	18x5x6003x	ART CADEAU	Terry Robinson	Tommy Berry	4	58.5kg			95
9	111878×675	INVER PARK (GB)	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	10	58.5kg			90
10	x898800x87	SHELBY SIXTYSIX	Danny Williams	Nick Heywood	8	58.5kg			89
11	1x15x11x31	AIRMAN	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Hugh Bowman	9	58.5kg			86
12	4060030193	GREYWORM	Neville Boyle	Ms Kathy O’Hara (late alt)	2	58.5kg			85
13	9x30236x33	BELLA NIPOTINA	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Craig Williams	16	56.5kg			112
14	4x01133x35	ZAPATEO	James Cummings	Zac Purton	14	56.5kg			110
15	6x11117x16	I AM ME	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	James McDonald	13	56.5kg			107
16	0x500x4250	ARGENTIA	Joseph Pride	Ms Jamie Kah	5	56.5kg			99
17e	33659×2421	TRISTATE	Anthony Cummings	Jason Collett	12	58.5kg			81
18e	179×643122	SMASHING EAGLE	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Brett Prebble	15	58.5kg			75

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Sydney Stakes Nominations

Early nominations for the Sydney Stakes in 2023 are taken the Monday leading-up to the race and will be published here once confirmed.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	True Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	9x30236x33	BELLA NIPOTINA	M	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	1	56.5kg			112
2	4x01133x35	ZAPATEO	M	5	James Cummings	2	56.5kg			110
3	6x114624x2	KING OF SPARTA	G	5	Peter & Paul Snowden	3=	58.5kg			108
4	1810x1760x	VILANA	H	5	James Cummings	3=	58.5kg			108
5	6x11117x16	I AM ME	M	5	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	5	56.5kg			107
6	621x0x988x	LOMBARDO	G	7	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	6	58.5kg			106
7	411x88610x	RUSTIC STEEL	G	6	Kris Lees	7=	58.5kg			104
8	0x3899464x	CHAIN OF LIGHTNING	M	5	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	7=	56.5kg			104
9	x6760x6858	ROCKETING BY	G	6	David Pfieffer	9	58.5kg			102
10	62x43410x3	COAL CRUSHER	G	6	Joseph Pride	10	58.5kg			101
11	311113×113	BENEDETTA	M	4	Jason Warren	11	56.5kg			100
12	x241423134	IT’SOURTIME	G	6	Danny O’Brien	12=	58.5kg			99
13	0x500x4250	ARGENTIA	M	5	Joseph Pride	12=	56.5kg			99
14	8411x0530x	JOJO WAS A MAN	G	6	John Thompson	14=	58.5kg			96
15	115x211x14	RED CARD	M	4	James Cummings	14=	56.5kg			96
16	18x5x6003x	ART CADEAU	G	7	Terry Robinson	16	58.5kg			95
17	x422x0270x	WAIHAHA FALLS (NZ)	G	6	John O’Shea	17	58.5kg			92
18	111878×675	INVER PARK (GB)	G	6	Kris Lees	18=	58.5kg			90
19	158x28x274	QUEEN OF THE BALL	M	4	Michael Freedman	18=	56.5kg			90
20	x898800x87	SHELBY SIXTYSIX	G	7	Danny Williams	20	58.5kg			89
21	1x15x11x31	AIRMAN	G	4	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	21	58.5kg			86
22	4060030193	GREYWORM	G	9	Neville Boyle	22	58.5kg			85
23	x592256x06	KOTE	G	4	Anthony Cummings	23	58.5kg			84
24	33659×2421	TRISTATE	G	5	Anthony Cummings	24	58.5kg			81
25	179×643122	SMASHING EAGLE	G	5	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	25	58.5kg			75

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Sydney Stakes History

The Sydney Stakes was first run in 1968 as a Principal race called City Tattersall’s Lightning Handicap. The sprint was upgraded to a Listed Black-Type race in 1978 before becoming a Group 3 feature in 2018.

In 2017 the race was renamed as the Sydney Stakes and with a notable increase in prize money became targeted as an event for sprinters that did not make The Everest field on the same day.

Originally run over 1000m then 1100m, the Sydney Stakes distance was also increased to 1200m in 2017.

A number of quality racehorses have won the event including Shogun Lodge (2003), dual winner Famous Seamus (2012-13), Group 1 winning mare In Her Time (2017) and Pierata (2018).

In 2022 the Sydney Stakes prize money was boosted to an unprecedented $2 million in total stakes and saw Rocketing By become one of the event’s longest-priced winners at 60/1!

Sydney Stakes Results

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 Sydney Stakes	1st	I Am Me	1 minute 08.57 seconds
	2nd	Airman
	3rd	Bella Nipotina
2022 Sydney Stakes	1st	Rocketing By	1 minute 10.56 seconds
	2nd	In The Congo
	3rd	Weona Smartone
2021 Sydney Stakes	1st	Big Parade	1 minute 09.51 seconds
	2nd	Standout
	3rd	Prime Candidate
2020 Sydney Stakes	1st	Trumbull	1 minute 09.79 seconds
	2nd	Standout
	3rd	Singore Fox
2019 Sydney Stakes	1st	Deprive	1 minute 08.62 seconds
	2nd	Champagne Cuddles
	3rd	Brutal
2018 Sydney Stakes	1st	Pierta	1 minute 10.82 seconds
	2nd	Jungle Edge
	3rd	Clearly Innocent
2017 Sydney Stakes	1st	In Her Time	1 minute 8.26 seconds
	2nd	Impending
	3rd	Ball Of Muscle
2016 Sydney Stakes	1st	Spieth	1 minute 3.24 seconds
	2nd	Kaepernick
	3rd	Le Cordon Bleu
2015 Sydney Stakes	1st	Dothraki	1 minute 2.44 seconds
	2nd	That’s A Good Idea
	3rd	Artlee
2014 Sydney Stakes	1st	Deep Field	1 minute 3.39 seconds
	2nd	That’s A Good Idea
	3rd	Shamalia
2013 Sydney Stakes	1st	Famous Seamus	1 minute 3.52 seconds
	2nd	Ichihara
	3rd	Rarefield
2012 Sydney Stakes	1st	Famous Seamus	1 minute 1.96 seconds (R)
	2nd	Too Many Reds
	3rd	Zaratone
2011 Sydney Stakes	1st	Title	1 minute 4.59 seconds
	2nd	Rarefield
	3rd	Midnight At Ascot
2010 Sydney Stakes	1st	Whitefriars	1 minute 2.22 seconds (R)
	2nd	De Lightning Ridge
	3rd	Cardinal Virtue
2009 Sydney Stakes	1st	News Alert	1 minute 2.77 seconds
	2nd	Black Prince
	3rd	Wasted Emotions