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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.

*In 2021 the Percy Sykes Stakes will run on the third Saturday of April with all race meetings of the autumn in Sydney from Slipper Day onwards postponed a week due to the weather.

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 $1 million in total prize money and was upgraded to Group 2 status for the first time in 2017.

The 2020 edition of the Percy Sykes Stakes was worth a reduced $500,000 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on Australian racing before being boosted to $1,000,000 in 2021.

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 or be dropping in grade off a run in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m).

Away Game (2020) was the last Golden Slipper graduate (2nd) to win the Percy Sykes Stakes next race.

The 2021 Percy Sykes Stakes took place on Saturday April 17, 2021 and was won in an upset by Jamaea. 

Percy Sykes Stakes 2021
Date:	Saturday April 17, 2021
Track:	Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	2YO Fillies – SW+P
Status:	Group 2
Prize Money:	$1 million

2021 Percy Sykes Stakes Results

• 1st: # Jamaea
• 2nd: #5 Crystal Bound
• 3rd: #9 Joyous Legend

Tommy Berry produced a patient and well-timed ride on returning Magic Night runner-up Jamaea ($17) to score an upset win in the 2021 Percy Sykes Stakes results over Crystal Bound ($3), while Joyous Legend ($31) added further value to the trifecta out wide in third.

Click here to read more on the late win by Jamaea in the Percy Sykes Stakes 2021 results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	4	JAMAEA	Robert & Luke Price	Tommy Berry		9	54kg		$17
	2	5	CRYSTAL BOUND	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Jason Collett	0.4L	8	54kg		$3
	3	9	JOYOUS LEGEND	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Kerrin McEvoy	0.8L	3	54kg		$31
	4	10	A VERY FINE RED	Mark Newnham	Tim Clark	0.9L	5	54kg		$21
	5	11	YEARNING	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Brenton Avdulla	1.1L	1	54kg		$12
	6	8	CENTRO STORICO	Richard Litt	Craig Williams	2.1L	2	54kg		$41
	7	7	TRIFACCIA	James Cummings	Ms Rachel King	2.8L	7	54kg		$6
	8	2	NAJMATY	Peter & Paul Snowden	James McDonald	4.3L	4	55kg		$2.80F
	9	6	TESTIMONIAL	James Cummings	Glen Boss	5.9L	6	54kg		$41
		1	ARCADED	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman		0
		3	ROBODIRA	John O’Shea	Tom Marquand		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2021 Percy Sykes Stakes Odds & Betting

The latest odds on the fillies in the Percy Sykes Stakes 2021 field will be available below the week of the race complete with Percy Sykes Stakes betting markets links to Ladbrokes.com.au.

The latest favourite in Percy Sykes Stakes betting to salute for the punters was Away Game ($3.20 in 2020).

2021 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 2021 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.

Eleven two-year-old fillies make-up the Percy Sykes Stakes 2021 field including Godolphin’s last-start Magic Night Stakes winner Arcaded and the undefeated Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Najmaty.

• Scratched: #3 Robodira (8) and #1 Arcaded (7) with the latter running in Caulfield’s $1 million The Showdown on the same day in Melbourne instead.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	1101	ARCADED	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	7	57kg
2	11	NAJMATY	Peter & Paul Snowden	James McDonald	4	55kg
3	1×42	ROBODIRA	John O’Shea	Tom Marquand	8	54kg
4	1262	JAMAEA	Robert & Luke Price	Tommy Berry	11	54kg
5	1	CRYSTAL BOUND	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Jason Collett	10	54kg
6	6×346	TESTIMONIAL	James Cummings	Glen Boss	6	54kg
7	33	TRIFACCIA	James Cummings	Ms Rachel King	9	54kg
8	46×55	CENTRO STORICO	Richard Litt	Craig Williams	2	54kg
9	19	JOYOUS LEGEND	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Kerrin McEvoy	3	54kg
10	1	A VERY FINE RED	Mark Newnham	Tim Clark	5	54kg
11	2	YEARNING	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Brenton Avdulla	1	54kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2021 Percy Sykes Stakes First Acceptances

The official 2021 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 2021 Percy Sykes Stakes first acceptances closed at midday on March 9, 2021 leaving 82 fillies including the undefeated Four Moves Ahead who races next-up in the rescheduled Golden Slipper.

2021 Percy Sykes Stakes Nominations

Early nominations for the Percy Sykes Stakes in 2021 close on a Tuesday in early February and usually attract over 200 juveniles.

The 2021 Percy Sykes Stakes nominations attracted 210 young fillies led in early betting by the Chairman’s Stakes winner Enthaar who next takes on the boys in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes on February 20.

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), Shoals (2017) who went on to defeat the older mares during Melbourne Cup Carnival in the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) and the brilliant Away Game (2020).

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

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2021 Percy Sykes Stakes	1st	Jamaea	1 minute 10.92 seconds
	2nd	Crystal Bound
	3rd	Joyous Legend
2020 Percy Sykes Stakes	1st	Away Game	1 minute 12.26 seconds
	2nd	Vangelic
	3rd	See You Soon
2019 Percy Sykes Stakes	1st	Anaheed	1 minute 09.67 seconds
	2nd	Flit
	3rd	Villami
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