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Sydney Cup

The $2 million Sydney Cup is a Group 1 race run at Royal Randwick over two miles (3200m) on a Saturday in early April on Day 2 of 'The Championships.

2025 Sydney Cup Results

  • 1st: TBD
  • 2nd: TBD
  • 3rd: TBD




The Group 1 Sydney Cup is held on the final race day of the esteemed ‘The Championships’ during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. Day 2 of ‘The Championships’ – also known as Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day – is one of the most exciting and valuable race days on the Australian racing calendar.

Sydney Cup 2025 Odds

Randwick R0
Sydney Cup 3200m (All In)
Open Race time:  1744424100
Runner DetailsWinPlace
Desert Hero T:
Soulcombe T:
Birdman T:
Cils Blancs T:
Vauban T:
Land Legend T:
Duke De Sessa T:
Kinesiology T:
Okita Soushi T:
Arapaho T:
Garachico T:
Grand Pierro T:
Place Du Carrousel T:
River Of Stars T:
Strathtay T:
Tajanis T:
Warmonger T:
Zardozi T:
Zarir T:
Alalcance T:
Odds are subject to fluctuation. For current odds on all of our live racing markets, please visit www.ladbrokes.com.au/racing.
Data retrieved: 20/02/2025 03:29:30 AM (Australia/Brisbane)

Held on the second Saturday of April the meeting is headlined by four Group 1 races including the richest race on the card – the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m). The other elite level features along with it and the Sydney Cup are the Group 1 ATC Oaks (2400m) for the three-year-old fillies and the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) for fillies and mares.

The Sydney Cup is one of only a few Australian races run over the traditional cup distance of 3200m, the same as Australia’s most illustrious race the Melbourne Cup. This open handicap event is worth a very lucrative $2,000,000 and generally features some of the leading stayers in Australia.

All of The Championships’ races for 2020 had reduced prizemoney due to the COVID-19 pandemic including the Sydney Cup offering $1 million before being boosted back up to $2 million in 2021.

As the premier staying event during the Sydney Autumn Carnival, the Sydney Cup field attracts a high quality field of gallopers each year and notable winners include the three time Melbourne Cup winning mare Makybe Diva (2004), Tie The Knot (1998 & 1999) and Count Chivas (1996).

The best guide to the Sydney Cup in recent years has been the Group 2 Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) held the Saturday before on Doncaster Mile Day. The Chairman’s Handicap / Sydney Cup is a very popular betting double.

Horses to claim victory in both races include Circle Of Fire (2024), The Offer (2014), Jessicabeel (2010), No Wine No Song (2008), Henderson Bay (2002), Linesman (1997), and King Aussie (1990).

The 2022 Sydney Cup form was franked with the winner Knights Order returning in the spring to run third in that year’s Caulfield Cup results in Melbourne.

Knights Order returned in 2023 to run a credible third in the Sydney Cup results behind upset winner Explosive Jack.

The 2025 Sydney Cup runs on Saturday April 12, 2025 on Day 2 of Sydney’s ‘The Championships’ in April. 

Sydney Cup 2025
Date: Saturday April 12, 2025
Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Distance: 3200m
Conditions: Open Handicap
Status: Group 1
Prize Money: $2 million
Inaugurated: 1862

2025 Sydney Cup Results

  • 1st: TBD
  • 2nd: TBD
  • 3rd: TBD

2025 Sydney Cup Betting

Sydney Cup betting is notoriously difficult and, just like the Melbourne Cup, is always a very open race.

In recent years favourites have a strong record in the Sydney Cup and the likes of Mahtoum (2005), No Wine No Song (2008), Ista Kareem (2009), Jessicabeel (2010), Niwot (2011), and The Offer (2014) have all given punters a positive result in the race.

Circle Of Fire ($5.50 in 2024) is the last Sydney Cup favourite to win. 

However there has also been plenty of upsets in the history of the Sydney Cup including by the likes of Just A Dancer ($41 in 1991), Grand Marshal ($41 in 2015), Selino ($26 in 2021), and Explosive Jack ($26 in 2023) who defeated 150/1 outsider True Marvel in that year’s quinella.

Good Sydney Cup betting tips include looking for horses that ran top four in their lead-up runs and graduates out of the previous weekend’s Chairman’s Handicap at the Randwick track.

2025 Sydney Cup Form Guide

The Sydney Cup form is often very easy to follow as most horses contest either the Group 2 Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) or Group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) in the lead-up to the race. The Chairman’s Handicap remains the key Sydney Cup form race.

Stay tuned for our insider Sydney Cup 2025 Form Guide & Betting Preview for all the race facts and stats to guide your selections on the two-mile classic.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2025 SYDNEY CUP FORM GUIDE

2025 Sydney Cup Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Sydney Cup 2025 Tips on the two-mile staying showdown of the autumn!

  • To Win: TBD

2025 Sydney Cup Field

Each year the Sydney Cup field attracts the autumn’s top-class stayers many of which have had previous experience over the two miles either via an earlier year’s Sydney Cup or even the iconic Melbourne Cup run at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

The Sydney Cup 2025 field will be released Tuesday before the race and published in full below.

2025 Sydney Cup First Acceptances

After nominations close in February the Sydney Cup first acceptances are taken four weeks out from the race on a Tuesday in early March, narrowing down the list of horses heading towards the $2 million classic.

The Sydney Cup 2025 first acceptances close on Tuesday the 11th of March 2025. 

2025 Sydney Cup Nominations

The Sydney Cup nominations are first taken by Racing NSW on a Tuesday in early-mid February about two months out from the race and can attract up to 100 stayers.

The 2025 Sydney Cup nominations will close on Tuesday the 11th of February 2025. 

The Sydney Cup 2025 nominations drew 98 autumn stayers with betting on the two-mile classic currently led by Japanese raider Cils Blancs and fellow international Desert Hero from the UK.

Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Hcp Rating
1 ABOUT TIME (NZ) M 4 Lance Noble
2 x33267x65x AGE OF SAIL (GB) G 6 Kris Lees 77
3 242x1x122x ALALCANCE (GB) M 5 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 88
4 212x2110x ALMA RISE (NZ) M 4 Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman
5 0x75x0451x ARAPAHO (FR) G 8 Bjorn Baker 110
6 0x37914x7x ASTERIX (NZ) G 6 Chris Waller 103
7 6442x8001x ATHABASCAN (FR) G 6 John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 105
8 06413x469x BACIO DEL MIST (NZ) M 7 Lee & Cherie Curtis 67
9 12x381612x BE REAL (NZ) M 4 Brad Widdup 76
10 11x14x240x BEAR ON THE LOOSE (IRE) G 5 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 84
11 1112340x5x BERKSHIRE BREEZE (IRE) G 6 Ciaron Maher
12 113x6x0x4x BIRDMAN (IRE) G 4 Chris Waller 87
13 56x811229x BUCKAROO (GB) G 6 Chris Waller
14 43x6231x7x BUR DUBAI (GB) G 4 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
15 1x8623136x CABOCHE (NZ) G 6 Chris Waller 87
16 13171x262x CHARTWELL (FR) H 4 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald
17 CILS BLANCS (JPN) H 7 Yukio Inagaki
18 4411x8906x CIRCLE OF FIRE (GB) H 5 Ciaron Maher
19 621x00x80x CLEVELAND (IRE) G 7 Kris Lees 101
20 1621170x5x DASHING DUCHESS (NZ) M 5 Symon Wilde
21 1x275x712x DEAKIN (FR) G 5 Phillip Stokes
22 85107x579x DECADENT TALE M 7 Matthew Smith 68
23 4021x5157x DENY KNOWLEDGE (IRE) M 7 Anthony & Sam Freedman
24 13x1x8113x DESERT HERO (GB) G 5 William Haggas
25 1235x21x7x DON DIEGO DE VEGA (FR) G 5 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 85
26 0x0138300x DOUBLE CHERRY (IRE) G 6 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 82
27 5524419x1x DUKE DE SESSA (IRE) G 6 Ciaron Maher
28 9165x78x1x EL JASOR (IRE) G 5 Kris Lees
29 x315155x0x ETNA ROSSO (IRE) G 5 Chris Waller 98
30 x722074x2x FATHER’S DAY (IRE) G 7 Bjorn Baker 77
31 41131x051x FAWKNER PARK (IRE) G 6 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 111
32 63x1x7x FERINO (NZ) M 5 David Vandyke
33 570x07976x FRANCESCO GUARDI (IRE) G 7 Chris Waller 102
34 008x58392x FULFILLED (GB) G 6 Kris Lees 75
35 05x5561x1x GARACHICO (GB) G 6 Dominic Sutton
36 4x4632334x GO DADDY (IRE) G 4 Ciaron Maher
37 6417x9514x GOLDENSTATEWARRIOR (IRE) G 5 Ciaron Maher
38 x06843212x GRAND PIERRO G 5 Jason Warren
39 x07117425x HERMAN HESSE (GB) G 8 Ciaron Maher
40 0622x0066x HOPEFUL (FR) G 8 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 88
41 85x050100x JUST FINE (IRE) G 7 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
42 3x442x11x KILNA (NZ) G 4 David Vandyke
43 x122225x6x KINESIOLOGY (GB) H 4 Chris Waller 90
44 234x90051x KNIGHT’S CHOICE G 5 John Symons & Sheila Laxon
45 3x41x21x2x LA CRIQUE (NZ) M 6 Simon & Katrina Alexander
46 5x1x06138x LAND LEGEND (FR) G 5 Chris Waller
47 71554×513 LASPIRIT DEELER M 4 Lee & Cherie Curtis
48 23x41x0x0x LASTOTCHKA (FR) M 6 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) 103
49 11451x037x LORDSHIP (GER) G 5 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) 84
50 0x23070x8x MANZOICE G 5 Chris Waller 92
51 441x34500x MISSION OF LOVE M 5 John Symons & Sheila Laxon
52 x258x0047x MOLLY BLOOM (NZ) M 4 Chris Waller 99
53 3564120x3x MOONLIGHT MAGIC (NZ) M 4 Andrew Forsman
54 61x02x934x MORMONA (FR) G 6 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 87
55 3622x4400x MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE) G 6 Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
56 42x086x67x MR WATERVILLE (IRE) G 6 Chris Waller 86
57 242212124x MUKTAMIL (IRE) G 5 Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
58 x5x311242x NEWFOUNDLAND (IRE) G 6 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
59 0x80213x0x OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) H 7 Ciaron Maher
60 68134x111x OUR ANCHORAGE (IRE) G 6 Bjorn Baker 90
61 110x27x88x PLACE DU CARROUSEL (IRE) M 6 Anthony & Sam Freedman 110
62 913644x83x PORT GUILLAUME (FR) G 8 Ben, Will & JD Hayes
63 91x18x460x POST IMPRESSIONIST (IRE) G 6 Anthony & Sam Freedman
64 x00264212x PROMISES KEPT G 5 Ciaron Maher
65 7x03115x9x PULCHRITUDINOUS (NZ) M 4 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 98
66 1719x9739x RATTLE AND HUM (IRE) G 5 Michael Freedman 71
67 31x0216x RED ACES C 3 Nick Ryan
68 x1224x313x RIVER OF STARS (IRE) M 6 Chris Waller
69 154x13337x ROYAL PATRONAGE (FR) H 6 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
70 2x32x2x SASSY LASS (NZ) M 4 Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott
71 3x225x3x0x SAYEDATY SADATY (IRE) G 4 Ciaron Maher
72 12110x0x SCARLET OAK M 4 Chris Waller 90
73 820x54124x SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NZ) G 8 Ciaron Maher
74 32x SO YOU ARE G 3 Stirling Osland
75 x71513115x SON OF SUN (NZ) G 5 Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley
76 682x14372x SOULCOMBE (GB) G 6 Chris Waller
77 1261x STEEL RUN G 4 Michael Kent
78 511451336x STRATHTAY (NZ) G 5 Chris Waller 89
79 383x40721x STRAWBERRY ROCK (IRE) G 8 Ciaron Maher
80 742412411x TAJANIS (IRE) G 5 Chris Waller 82
81 223x78412x TARAMANSOUR (IRE) G 8 Phillip Stokes 89
82 813x80808x TRUE MARVEL (FR) G 9 Matthew Smith
83 3550632x2x TRUMP CARD (NZ) G 4 David Vandyke
84 x63044064x TRUST IN YOU (NZ) G 6 Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley
85 3204x9x06x UNITED NATIONS (IRE) G 6 Ciaron Maher
86 7301x6126x UNLIMITED (IRE) G 5 Chris Waller 79
87 56x0090x0x VALIANT KING (GB) G 5 Chris Waller 95
88 x0x243120x VAUBAN (FR) G 7 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
89 09080x761x VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ) G 5 Liam Howley
90 115x8x943x WALTHAM (GB) G 5 Matthew Smith 84
91 521x408x0x WARMONGER (NZ) G 4 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
92 8065467x1x WHANGAEHU (NZ) G 6 Bill Thurlow
93 002328338x WUDDZZ (NZ) G 7 Henry Dwyer 64
94 211117x90x WYMARK (NZ) G 4 Michael Freedman 87
95 2x6652454x ZARDOZI M 4 James Cummings 108
96 2x2x ZARIR (IRE) G 5 Chris Waller
97 64241x920x ZECHARIAH (IRE) G 6 Chris Waller
98 32111x ZWEIG (IRE) G 4 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Sydney Cup History

The Sydney Cup was first run in 1862 as a Principal race over 16 furlongs, and Talleyrand won the inaugural race. The distance and conditions of the Sydney Cup remained the same for over a century until Australia’s adoption of the metric system caused the length to be converted to 3200m in 1973. In 1980 the Sydney Cup was elevated to Group 1 status.

The event has gone by a number of different names over the years including the Randwick Grand Handicap, Randwick Grand Handicap Sweepstakes and the Sydney Gold Cup.

In 2017 the Sydney Cup was run on April 8 but declared a No Race after the fall of Almoonqith. It ran for a second time a fortnight later with the same horse, UK raider Polarisation, first past the post again.

In 2018 Who Shot Thebarman made history winning the Sydney Cup as a nine-year-old at his fifth attempt in the two-mile classic.

In 2021 trainer Chris Waller celebrated his fifth Sydney Cup success with Selino.

Sydney Cup Records
Time Record: 3:19.0 set by Apollo Eleven in 1973 and equalled by Just A Dancer in 1991.
Most Heavily Weighted Winner (since 1970): My Good Man with 60kg in 1978.
Lightest Weighted Winner (since 1970): Palace Revolt with 48.5kg in 1989.

Recent Sydney Cup Winners

Year Place Horse Time
2025
Sydney Cup
1st TBD TBD
2nd TBD
3rd TBD
2024
Sydney Cup
1st Circle Of Fire 3 minutes 20.89 seconds
2nd Athabascan
3rd Kalapour
2023
Sydney Cup
1st Explosive Jack 3 minutes 26.91 seconds
2nd True Marvel
3rd Knights Order
2022
Sydney Cup
1st Knights Order 3 minutes 32.29 seconds
2nd Sheraz
3rd Daqiansweet Junior
2021
Sydney Cup
1st Selino 3 minutes 23.13 seconds
2nd Rondinella
3rd Miami Bound
2020
Sydney Cup
1st Etah James 3 minutes 28.46 seconds
2nd The Chosen One
3rd Raheen House
2019
Sydney Cup
1st Shraaoh 3 minutes 22.06 seconds
2nd Vengeur Masque
3rd Glory Days
2018
Sydney Cup
1st Who Shot Thebarman 3 minutes 20.04 seconds
2nd Zacada
3rd Sir Charles Road
2017
Sydney Cup
1st Polarisation 3 minutes 29.16 seconds
2nd Who Shot Thebarman
3rd Big Duke
2016
Sydney Cup
1st Gallante 3 minutes 24.5 seconds
2nd Libran
3rd Grand Marshal
2015
Sydney Cup
1st Grand Marshal 3 minutes 24.70 seconds
2nd Who Shot Thebarman
3rd Like A Carousel
2014
Sydney Cup
1st The Offer 3 minutes 23.86 seconds
2nd Opinion
3rd Sertorius
2013
Sydney Cup
1st Niwot 3 minutes 20.4 seconds
2nd Efficient
3rd Once Were Wild
2012
Sydney Cup
1st Mourayan 3 minutes 24.29 seconds
2nd Norsqui
3rd Aliyana Tide
2011
Sydney Cup
1st Stand To Gain 3 minutes 29.1 seconds
2nd Older Than Time
3rd Solid Billing
2010
Sydney Cup
1st Jessicabeel 3 minutes 21.86 seconds
2nd Divine Rebel
3rd Harris Tweed
2009
Sydney Cup
1st Ista Kareem 3 minutes 27.4 seconds
2nd Divine Rebel
3rd Mr Tipsy
2008
Sydney Cup
1st No Wine No Song 3 minutes 25.5 seconds
2nd Pentathon
3rd Lang
2007
Sydney Cup
1st Gallic 3 minutes 27.3 seconds
2nd Irazu
3rd No Wine No Song
2006
Sydney Cup
1st County Tyrone 3 minutes 22.6 seconds
2nd Zabeat
3rd Three Chimneys
2005
Sydney Cup
1st Mahtoum 3 minutes 27.6 seconds
2nd County Tyrone
3rd Philosophe
2004
Sydney Cup
1st Makybe Diva 3 minutes 21.1 seconds
2nd Manawa King
3rd Mummify
2003
Sydney Cup
1st Honor Babe 3 minutes 30.5 seconds
2nd County Tyrone
3rd Grey Song
2002
Sydney Cup
1st Henderson Bay 3 minutes 26.7 seconds
2nd Mr. Prudent
3rd Spirit Of Westbury
2001
Sydney Cup
1st Mr. Prudent 3 minutes 26.9 seconds
2nd Prophet’s Kiss
3rd Starina
2000
Sydney Cup
1st Streak 3 minutes 30.3 seconds
2nd Sharscay
3rd Ears’ Ronny

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