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Sydney Cup TIPS & BETTING ADVICE

2020 Sydney Cup

Date Saturday 11 April
Track Royal Randwick
Distance 3200m
Class Group 1
Race Type Handicap
Prizemoney $2 million
Age 3YOs and upward

SYDNEY CUP BETTING SELECTIONS & TIPS

Our experts will have their pre-race predictions and Sydney Cup betting selections available for the Group 1 race.

Some key pointers are:

  • Drawing in the first half of the field has been an advantage
  • Five-year-olds have been the most successful in recent times
  • The Chairmans Hadicap has been the best guide to the race

WHERE TO BET ON THE SYDNEY CUP

Bookmakers Ladbrokes and Sportsbet are some of the best places to bet on the Sydney Cup and all Randwick races. They offer some of the best odds and promotions on the big race. Or take advantage of the top 5 bookmaker deals below.

SYDNEY CUP HISTORY AND GUIDE

The Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) takes place at Royal Randwick Racecourse annually in April and is Sydney’s premier staying event.

The Open Handicap race takes place on the second to last week of the Sydney Autumn Carnival and is one of four Group 1 races on the card.

Other races include the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) and Group 1 Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m).

Odds on favourite Talleyrand won the inaugural Sydney Cup in 1862 when the race was known as the Jockey Club Handicap.

The following year the race was named the Randwick Grand Handicap and in1865 the name was changed to the Randwick Grand Handicap Sweepstakes.

In 1866, with the influx of money being offered in the Melbourne Cup the race name was changed to the Sydney Gold Cup and later on dropped the ‘Gold’ to be known as the Sydney Cup.

The Sydney Cup is the longest race at Randwick and first received Group 1 status in 1980 when won by Kingston Town.

The Sydney Cup attracts the country’s best stayers in the autumn, with many set to tackle the Melbourne Cup later in the spring.

The Group 2 Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) held at the same track one week earlier and the Group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) are the most reliable guides to the Sydney Cup, with 22 of the last 28 winners coming through those two races.

Some of Australia’s most talented stayers have won the premiere set-weights event and winners of the Sydney Cup have generally gone on to compete in feature staying races during the Melbourne Spring Carnival with the Melbourne Cup high on the agenda of most winning trainers.

Other notable winners of the Sydney Cup include: The Barb (1868-69), Carbine (1889-90), Wakeful (1902), Rogilla (1933), Galilee (1967), Apollo Eleven (1973), Kingston Town (1980), Tie The Knot (1998-99), Makybe Diva (2004), The Offer (2014), Grand Marshal (2015), Gallante (2016), Polarisation (2017) and Who Shot Thebarman (2018).

Sydney Cup Winners (Since 2000)

2000 Streak
2001 Mr Prudent
2002 Henderson Bay
2003 Honor Babe
2004 Makybe Diva
2005 Mahtoum
2006 County Tyrone
2007 Gallic
2008 No Wine No Song
2009 Ista Kareem
2010 Jessicabeel
2011 Stand To Gain
2012 Niwot
2013 Mourayan
2014 The Offer
2015 Grand Marshal
2016 Gallante
2017 Polarisation
2018 Who Shot Thebarman
2019 Shraaoh
2020 Etah James

RANDWICK RACECOURSE TRACK DESCRIPTION

Randwick is the largest racetrack in New South Wales and all races are run in a clockwise direction. It is a sweeping track with a rise from the 300m mark to the winning post in the home straight.

As well as the main track, Randwick Racecourse contains a second track known as Kensington. Due to large rainfall in the area, Kensington has been reconstructed using the Strathayr racing surface which is similar to Moonee Valley.

Strathayr is a turf cover over a base of sand, this means it is a free draining track which can take a substantial amount of rain without affecting the rating.

RANDWICK RACECOURSE HISTORY

Originally known as the ‘Sandy Course,’ Randwick Racecourse was first used in 1833 where a private match race between two horses was held.

In 1840 the track was abandoned as a racecourse and used for training purposes before the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) moved its headquarters to Randwick and held a meeting in 1860.

The Queen Elizabeth II stand was opened to the public on August 4, 1969, and in 1992, Queen Elizabeth II visited Randwick and opened the new $30 million Paddock Grandstand.

The Australian Derby (2400m) remains one of the longest standing races to be held at Randwick after its inaugural running took place in 1861.

Randwick hosts some of Australia’s most iconic Group 1 races throughout the year, during both the spring and autumn carnivals in Sydney.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Doncaster Mile and TJ Smith Stakes are some of the elite races taking place at Randwick during the prestigious The Championships during the autumn.