2026 Sydney Cup Results

Stay tuned for the official 2026 Sydney Cup results and finishing order at Randwick on Saturday April 11, 2026 and to see what horses could have the 2026 Melbourne Cup in sight this spring!

• 1st: No. 3 Changingoftheguard ($51)
• 2nd: No. 4 Soul Of Spain
• 3rd: No. 15 Highland Bling

Winning Margin: 0.26 lengths

Winning Time: 3:23.27

Kris Lees’ Galileo seven-year-old Changingoftheguard ($51) was enormous up in trip on the quick back-up leading all-the-way for an upset 2026 Sydney Cup result for the ages. Rated to perfection by jockey Jason Collett, the galloper hit the front early from a good gate three draw and never relinquished his lead holding on to deny the fast-finishing Soul Of Spain with the still untapped Adelaide Cup runner-up Highland Bling in third.

Click here for the full story.

Sydney Cup Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Sydney Cup 2026 Tips on the two-mile staying showdown of the autumn!

Each Way: No. 15 Highland Bling

The Sydney Cup is always a tricky betting puzzle, and this year is no exception, but there’s genuine each way appeal around the progressive Phillip Stokes trained HIGHLAND BLING (2), who looks beautifully placed with just 51kg on his back. The OTI-owned five-year-old has proven staying credentials, boasting winning form to 2550m and giving every indication he’ll handle the two miles after his excellent recent runs. Lightly raced with only 15 starts behind him, his Flemington BM70 win last spring carrying 58kg showcased his talent, and he’s gone to another level this year with two outstanding seconds in the Lord Reims (2600m) and Adelaide Cup (3200m), beaten a combined margin of less than a quarter-length. He was stiff not to claim the Cup last start after working early from a wide draw with 53kg, but he gets a far kinder alley here and drops even further in weight. With Ben Thompson taking the reins and the chance to land on speed without burning petrol, Highland Bling looks set to run a huge race at value.

Sydney Cup News

Sydney Cup 2026 Results: Changingoftheguard Wins at 50/1

• 2026 Sydney Cup Field & Betting Update: Mr Monaco Firms into Favouritism
• NE Manion Cup Winner Mr Monaco Races into 2026 Sydney Cup Favouritism
• 2025 Sydney Cup Results: Arapaho Scores Big Upset
• 2025 Sydney Cup Tips & Best Bets
• Alalcance Heads Sydney Cup 2025 Field & Odds

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.

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).

Changingoftheguard (9th in 2026) was the last Sydney Cup winner to come off a lead-up run in the Chairman’s Quality Handicap.

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.

2026 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.

There was also an upset in 2025 with Arapaho winning at $20.

In 2026 Changingoftheguard scored a huge all-the-way upset at a Sydney Cup starting price of $51! 

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.

Sydney Cup Field

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.

Arapaho (4th in 2025) was the last Tancred Stakes graduate to continue on and win the Sydney Cup. 

Stay tuned for our insider Sydney Cup 2026 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 2026 SYDNEY CUP FORM GUIDE

2026 Sydney Cup Nominations

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

The 2026 Sydney Cup nominations will close on Tuesday the 10th of February 2026. 

The Sydney Cup 2026 nominations drew 80 autumn stayers with betting on the two-mile classic currently led by the Chris Waller-trained Caulfield Cup third placegetter from the spring Valiant King.

2026 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 2026 first acceptances close on Tuesday the 10th of March 2026. 

2026 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 2026 field will be released Tuesday before the race and published in full below.

The 2026 Sydney Cup final field features 16 class stayers led in betting by the widely drawn Ciaron Maher-trained NE Manion Cup champ Mr Monaco.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the Sydney Cup 2026 field and betting markets.

Sydney Cup Barrier & Speedmap

1

Newlook Midfield

2

Highland Bling Pace

3

Changingoftheguard Leader

4

Paradise Storm invalid settling lengths

4

Athabascan Midfield

5

River Of Stars Pace

6

Litzdeel Off Pace

7

Piggyback Midfield

8

Machine Gun Gracie Leader

9

Juja Kibo Pace

10

Valiant King Off Midfield

11

Soul Of Spain Off Pace

12

Hutchence Midfield

13

Whisky On The Hill Off Pace

14

Campaldino invalid settling lengths

14

Mr Monaco Pace

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.

In 2025 Arapaho won the Sydney Cup in a record time of 3 minutes 18.31 seconds. 

Sydney Cup Previous Race Winners