---

---

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 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes took place on Saturday April 14, 2018 and was won by the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained favourite Pure Elation.

Percy Sykes Stakes 2018
Date:	Saturday April 14, 2018
Track:	Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	2YO Fillies – SW+P
Status:	Group 2
Prize Money:	$600,000

2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Results

• 1st: #6 Pure Elation
• 2nd: #2 Fiesta
• 3rd: #4 Outback Barbie

See below for the full Percy Sykes Stakes 2018 Results & Finishing Order, following the link to read more on the win by the favourite Pure Elation who had form around the Golden Slipper winner and who co-trainer Peter Snowden was spruiking post-win as a potential runner in the $13 million The Everest this October.

Place	#	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Br.	Weight	SP
1	6	PURE ELATION	Peter & Paul Snowden	Michael Walker	–	3	53kg	$4F
2	2	FIESTA	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	1.3L	2	55kg	$6.50
3	4	OUTBACK BARBIE	Tony Gollan	Joao Moreira	1.5L	1	54kg	$5
4	5	GONGS	James Cummings	Corey Brown	1.6L	5	53kg	$8.50
5	7	CRISTOBAL	James Cummings	Brenton Avdulla	2.3L	4	53kg	$10
6	8	SWEET AVA	Gerald Ryan	Michael Dee	3.6L	7	53kg	$20
7	1	SETSUNA	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ben Melham	5.1L	6	55kg	$21
8	3	KHULAASA	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Damien Oliver	5.2L	9	55kg	$12
9	10	SISTER SLEDGE	Anthony & Edward Cummings	Glyn Schofield	7.4L	10	53kg	$7
10	13	KARA’S HOPE	Tim Martin	Adam Hyeronimus	10.6L	8	53kg (cd 53.5kg)	$31
–	9	FISH ’N’ SNITZ	Stuart Kendrick	–	–	0	–	–
–	12	MADAM ROUGE	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	–	0	–	–
–	11	BOLD ARIAL	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	–	0	–	–

2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Tips

• 1st: #2 Fiesta
• 2nd: #6 Pure Elation
• 3rd: #7 Cristobal

Read our insider Percy Sykes Stakes 2018 Tips & Betting Preview now.

2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Odds & Betting

The latest odds on the fillies in the Percy Sykes Stakes 2018 field will be available below the week of the race complete with Percy Sykes Stakes betting markets links to Ladbrokes.com.au.

2018 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 2018 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 2018 Final Field is now out with 11 of the original 13 acceptors still in the mix after the early scratchings of #9 Fish ‘N’ Snitz (12) and Bold Atrial (8). Leading the line-up are the likes of Peter & Paul Snowden’s last start Warwick Farm winning filly Pure Elation and the Chris Waller-trained Fiesta down in grade after a seventh in the Golden Slipper.

Update: The 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Field is down to 10 with a third scratching, Chris Waller withdrawing the lightly-raced Madam Rouge (13) who had the outside barrier.

Read more on the 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Field & Odds now.

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	211×40	SETSUNA	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ben Melham	6	55kg
2	32×127	FIESTA	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	2	55kg
3	221	KHULAASA	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Damien Oliver	10	55kg
4	135	OUTBACK BARBIE	Tony Gollan	Joao Moreira	1	54kg
5	11×34	GONGS	James Cummings	Corey Brown	5	53kg
6	5721	PURE ELATION	Peter & Paul Snowden	Michael Walker	3	53kg
7	12	CRISTOBAL	James Cummings	Brenton Avdulla	4	53kg
8	1×530	SWEET AVA	Gerald Ryan	Michael Dee	7	53kg
9	544×3332	FISH ’N’ SNITZ	Stuart Kendrick	–	12	53kg
10	3	SISTER SLEDGE	Anthony & Edward Cummings	Glyn Schofield	11	53kg
11	0x422	BOLD ARIAL	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	8	53kg
12	5×1	MADAM ROUGE	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	13	53kg
13	8×55	KARA’S HOPE	Tim Martin	Adam Hyeronimus	9	53kg

2018 Percy Sykes Stakes First Acceptances

The official 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes First Acceptances are taken in mid-March along with all the other The Championships races narrowing down the list of potential runners in the lucrative Group 2 race.

The Percy Sykes Stakes 2018 First Acceptances are now out with 70 remaining hopefuls in the race for two-year-old fillies. Heading the early Percy Sykes Stakes betting is Golden Slipper-bound Estijaab who won the Reisling Stakes on March 10 followed by the likes of Pure Elation who was runner-up in the same Group 2 on Randwick Guineas Day and the Chris Waller-trained Sweet Embrace Stakes second placed I Am Invincible filly Fiesta.

2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Nominations

The Percy Sykes Stakes 2018 Nominations are taken by Racing NSW on a Monday in early-mid February and attract in excess of 100 juveniles, many of which are unraced at the time of entry.

The 2018 Percy Sykes Stakes Nominations attracted a bumper 168 two-year-olds including the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Terminology who has form around Magic Millions Classic winner Sunlight, her Group 3 winning stablemate from the Melbourne Cup Carnival Setsuna, the highly-spruiked Tony McEvoy-trained Kinky Boom and Peter & Paul Snowden’s well-bred daughter of Pierro Satin Slipper.

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), Missrock (2016) and Shoals (2017) who went on to defeat the older mares during Melbourne Cup Carnival in the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m).

See below for the list of Percy Sykes Stakes winners and placegetters going back to 2000.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2019 Percy Sykes Stakes	1st	TBD	TBD
	2nd	TBD
	3rd	TBD
2018 Percy Sykes Stakes	1st	Pure Elation	1 minute 10.08 seconds
	2nd	Fiesta
	3rd	Outback Barbie
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