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The VRC Sprint Classic runs on Mackinnon Stakes Day, as part of the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington Racecourse each November.
2020 VRC Sprint Classic Results
- 1st: #3 Bivouac
- 2nd: #2 Nature Strip
- 3rd: #9 Libertini
VRC Sprint Classic News
- Nature Strip Heads 2020 Darley Sprint Classic Nominations & Betting
- 2019 Darley Sprint Classic Winner Nature Strip Flies Home
- 2019 Darley Sprint Classic Betting Update: Loving Gaby Firms on Raceday
- 2019 Mackinnon Stakes Day: Flemington Scratchings & Track Report
- Santa Ana Lane Heads Darley Sprint Classic 2019 Field & Odds
The VRC Sprint Classic, currently called the Darley Sprint Classic and formerly the Patinack Farm Classic due to sponsorship, is a 1200m sprint race run down the famous Flemington straight during the spring.
Held on the first Saturday of November on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the VRC Sprint Classic is the premier sprint race of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and is currently worth $1,500,000 in prize money.
The Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic is part of the Global Sprint Challenge, an initiative to bring together the best sprinters in Australia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The 10 leg Global Sprint Challenge offers a $1,000,000 bonus to any horse that can win one of the sprint races in three different countries. So far no horse has claimed the bonus.
The race, held on Mackinnon Stakes Day, is now the perfect target race for horses out of the world’s richest turf race – the $15 million The Everest (1200m) in Sydney the month before.
Redzel (2017) completed The Everest – Darley Classic double when the former took place for the first time. Santa Ana Lane (6th in 2018), Nature Strip (4th in 2019) and Bivouac (2nd in 2020) all also won the VRC Classic off a lead-up in The Everest race.
The 2020 VRC Sprint Classic ran on Saturday November 7, 2020 and was dominated by the favourite Bivouac.
| VRC Sprint Classic | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Saturday November 7, 2020 |
| Track: | Flemington Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1200m |
| Race Type: | Weight-For-Age |
| Status: | Group 1 |
| Prize Money: | $1,500,000 |
2020 VRC Classic Results
- 1st: #3 Bivouac
- 2nd: #2 Nature Strip
- 3rd: #9 Libertini
The James Cummings-trained Bivouac ($3.20F) became the fourth straight horse to win the 2020 Darley Sprint Classic off a lead-up The Everest (2nd) run saluting for the punters with a runaway three length victory over last year’s champ Nature Strip.
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | BIVOUAC | James Cummings | Glen Boss | 6 | 58.5kg | $3.20F | |||
| 2 | 2 | NATURE STRIP | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 3.25L | 9 | 58.5kg | $3.80 | ||
| 3 | 9 | LIBERTINI | Anthony Cummings | Damien Oliver | 3.45L | 5 | 56.5kg | $4.80 | ||
| 4 | 6 | ZOUTORI | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Jamie Kah | 3.75L | 4 | 58.5kg | $21 | ||
| 5 | 4 | HEY DOC | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Luke Currie | 5.5L | 3 | 58.5kg | $21 | ||
| 6 | 5 | GRAFF | Danny O’Brien | John Allen | 5.7L | 1 | 58.5kg | $17 | ||
| 7 | 8 | TOFANE (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Jye McNeil | 7.2L | 2 | 56.5kg | $18 | ||
| 8 | 7 | STANDOUT | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Craig Williams | 7.3L | 8 | 58.5kg | $31 | ||
| 9 | 1 | SANTA ANA LANE | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Ben Melham | 8.55L | 7 | 58.5kg | $12 | ||
| 10 | 10 | FABERGINO | Tiarnna Robertson | Jordan Childs | 8.65L | 10 | 56.5kg | $26 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
2020 VRC Sprint Classic Betting Odds
The latest VRC Sprint Classic 2020 betting odds will be listed below following the release of the final field for the Flemington sprint classic along with links to the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au for you to back your best VRC Sprint Classic tips.
Bivouac ($3.20 in 2020) was the last VRC Sprint Classic favourite to win.
2020 VRC Sprint Classic Field & Barriers
The 2020 VRC Sprint Classic field will be released by Racing Victoria on the Wednesday of Melbourne Cup week 2020 and will be published below along with the official VRC Sprint Classic Barrier Draw as soon as announced.
Horses may come into the VRC Sprint Classic field via a number of different early Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival sprint races, but the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) has proven the key lead-up race with Buffering (2013) the last horse to complete the double.
The richest turf race in the world – the $15 million The Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick the month before, also now serves as a possible VRC Sprint Classic lead-up with Santa Ana Lane running sixth in the Sydney feature before his 2018 win at Flemington. In 2017 Redzel took out The Everest – Darley Classic double, while Nature Strip (2019) improved on a fourth in The Everest to again frank the form with a big Darley Classic win at Flemington and Bivouac (2020) also won the Darley Classic off a second in The Everest.
A star-studded line-up of 10 do battle in the 2020 Darley Sprint Classic field that features the past two winners of the event: Santa Ana Lane from 2018 and last year’s champion Nature Strip attempting successive wins for the first time since the mighty Black Caviar (2010-11).
Click here to read more on the key contenders in the 2020 VRC Sprint Classic field.
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25x6266x66 | SANTA ANA LANE | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Ben Melham | 7 | 58.5kg | 115 | |
| 2 | 41x411x247 | NATURE STRIP | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 9 | 58.5kg | 117 | |
| 3 | 2x61365x32 | BIVOUAC | James Cummings | Glen Boss | 6 | 58.5kg | 115 | |
| 4 | 8x3129x841 | HEY DOC | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Luke Currie | 3 | 58.5kg | 115 | |
| 5 | 3440x450x1 | GRAFF | Danny O’Brien | Damian Lane | 1 | 58.5kg | 105 | |
| 6 | 36x2400x11 | ZOUTORI | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Jamie Kah | 4 | 58.5kg | 109 | |
| 7 | 12x160x552 | STANDOUT | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Craig Williams | 8 | 58.5kg | 104 | |
| 8 | x77351x359 | TOFANE (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Jye McNeil | 2 | 56.5kg | 112 | |
| 9 | 1133x49x18 | LIBERTINI | Anthony Cummings | Damien Oliver | 5 | 56.5kg | 110 | |
| 10 | x1x11x1x02 | FABERGINO | Tiarnna Robertson | Jordan Childs | 10 | 56.5kg | 106 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
2020 VRC Sprint Classic Nominations
The VRC Sprint Classic nominations are taken in late September each season attracting a star-studded list of spring sprinters, including many that ran well in the previous season’s VRC Sprint Classic results. Races.com.au will publish the official 2020 VRC Sprint Classic Nominations as soon as early entries are announced by Racing Victoria at the end of September on the same day the Caulfield Cup First Acceptances are out.
The 2020 Darley Classic nominations closed on Tuesday September 22 drawing 69 early entries including the defending champion Nature Strip, the 2018 winner Santa Ana Lane and boom The Everest-bound Queensland-trained three-year-old Rothfire.
Click here view the full list of Darley Classic 2020 nominated horses.
VRC Sprint Classic History
The VRC Sprint Classic’s inaugural winner was Gulnare in 1868. The race was upgraded to Group 1 status in 2007. The race distance has changed many times over the years, with the being a 1200m, 1400m and 1600m. The race name has also changed many times, with the race being known as the Flying Stakes, Linlithgow Stakes, Emirates Classic, Lexus Classic, The Age Classic, Patinack Farm Classic before changing to the VRC Sprint Classic in 2013. It has also been run as the Darley Classic in recent years.
Many great horses have won the VRC Sprint Classic including the legendary Phar Lap in 1930. Champion sire Fastnet Rock win the race in 2004.
A number of horses have won the race multiple times including most recently the undefeated mare Black Caviar (2010-11).
VRC Sprint Classic Results & Winners
The VRC Sprint Classic results including the winners and placegetters dating back to 2000 can be found on our Darley Classic Winners & Results page, and used to help you with VRC Sprint Classic betting this spring.
