Golden Rose 2026 - Barrier Draw & Final Field

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Tue 22 Sep 2026 02:42

Alex Marsh 19 minutes ago

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The Golden Rose brings a high-quality field of three-year-olds together over 1400m at Rosehill
Final field and barrier positions are confirmed for the Saturday, September 26 Group 1
Several key spring form lines converge in one of Sydney’s major three-year-old features

Guest House had drawn barrier five in the Golden Rose. (Getty)

The 2026 Golden Rose brings together a strong group of three-year-olds at Rosehill on Saturday, September 26, with the Group 1 contested over 1400m.

Golden Rose 2026 - Barriers & Final Field
Golden Rose History

Golden Slipper winner Guest House (barrier 5) is one of the headline runners after making a successful return in the San Domenico Stakes, where he broke the Rosehill 1100m race record in his first start since the autumn.

The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained colt bypassed the Run To The Rose after that performance and now steps directly to 1400m, with Zac Lloyd retaining the ride from a middle draw.

Warwoven (barrier 1) comes through the traditional lead-up after defeating St Gotthard (barrier 9) in the Run To The Rose, with Under Focus (barrier 4) filling third and Central Europe (barrier 13) close behind in fourth.

Warwoven controlled the race from near the speed and held on narrowly, while St Gotthard lost his unbeaten record but was only narrowly beaten in a performance that suggested the rise to 1400m should hold no concerns.

Under Focus again closed off strongly for Kris Lees and draws well in barrier four, while Central Europe was unable to be fully tested late in the Run To The Rose and faces a different task from the outside gate.

Tron Bolt (barrier 11) also comes through the Run To The Rose, where he finished seventh first-up over 1200m, with the Chris Waller-trained colt expected to appreciate the rise in distance after ending his juvenile campaign with victory in the Group 1 J.J. Atkins Stakes over 1600m.

Waller also has Campione D'Italia (barrier 7), Stormy Marco (barrier 12), Central Europe and St Gotthard among a strong hand, giving the stable several different profiles heading into the Group 1.

Cormier (barrier 6), Berzelius (barrier 8), Plagiarism (barrier 3), Castillo King (barrier 10) and Tenenbaum (barrier 2) complete a field that combines proven juvenile form with several lightly raced horses still progressing through the spring.

With Guest House bringing a different form line into the race and much of the opposition coming through a tightly contested Run To The Rose, the barrier draw adds another important layer to one of the key three-year-old races of the Sydney spring.

Golden Rose 2026 - Barriers & Final Field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	Guest House	Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr	Zac Lloyd	5	56.5kg
2	Campione D'Italia	Chris Waller	Ben Melham	7	56.5kg
3	Tron Bolt	Chris Waller	Damian Lane	11	56.5kg
4	Warwoven	Bjorn Baker	Rachel King	1	56.5kg
5	St Gotthard	Chris Waller	James McDonald	9	56.5kg
6	Cormier	Paul Messara & Leah Gavranich	Aaron Bullock	6	56.5kg
7	Berzelius	Michael Freedman	Nash Rawiller	8	56.5kg
8	Stormy Marco	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	12	56.5kg
9	Under Focus	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons	4	56.5kg
10	Central Europe	Chris Waller	Tim Clark	13	56.5kg
11	Plagiarism	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Regan Bayliss	3	56.5kg
12	Castillo King	Michael Freedman	Tommy Berry	10	56.5kg
13	Tenenbaum	Brad Widdup	Chad Schofield	2	56.5kg

Golden Rose History

First run in 1978 as the Peter Pan Stakes, the race was originally named in honour of dual Melbourne Cup winner Peter Pan and was staged as a Group 2 event before later losing its graded status.

When it was renamed the Golden Rose, the race briefly operated as an unlisted feature despite prize money increasing to $1 million, underlining the growing importance placed on the event as a spring target for three-year-olds.

Run over 1400m at Rosehill, the Golden Rose quickly developed into one of the key races of the Sydney spring, regularly bringing together many of the leading colts and fillies of their generation.

The race was elevated to Group 1 status in 2009 and has since become one of the most important three-year-old contests on the Australian calendar, particularly for colts looking to enhance their future value at stud.

That influence is reflected in an honour roll featuring horses such as Zoustar, Exosphere, Trapeze Artist, The Autumn Sun and Ole Kirk, all of whom went on to become valuable stallion prospects after their racing careers.

The Golden Rose also sits at an important point in the spring, often linking early-season sprint form with later targets such as the Caulfield Guineas, Coolmore Stud Stakes and other major three-year-old features.

The most recent winners are Militarize in 2023, Broadsiding in 2024 and Beiwacht, who claimed the 2025 edition at Rosehill.