Sydney Cup 2026 - Barrier Draw & Final Field

Bets.com.au Staff

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Last updated: Tue 07 Apr 2026 02:35

Bets.com.au Staff 07 Apr 2026

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The barrier draw has taken place for the 2026 Sydney Cup
This Group 1 will be run on Saturday, April 11 at Randwick
Full field is available below

Juja Kibo and Mr Monaco both feature in the 2026 Sydney Cup. (Getty)

Chris Waller is aiming for a sixth Sydney Cup and, for the 2026 edition, the champion trainer has accepted with four runners.

Sydney Cup 2026 - Barriers & Final Field
Sydney Cup Winners

Soul Of Spain (barrier 12) is one of his main contenders, a gelding who brought up a four-peat in September when successful in the Newcastle Cup, with a Group 1 placing in The Metropolitan following that effort.

The gelding has been ticking over fairly in four runs this campaign, and coming back to handicap conditions suits in the Sydney Cup after a sixth-of-eight finish in the Tancred Stakes.

Valiant King (barrier 11) also comes through the Tancred Stakes, and while he didn’t figure in the 2025 Melbourne Cup over this distance, the galloper was well supported there following a third-place finish in the Caulfield Cup.

River Of Stars (barrier 6) hasn’t yet won in Australia, but brings strong staying credentials from the past 12 months under Chris Waller, which includes a third in last year’s Sydney Cup.

The seven-year-old improved as the distances increased last spring, with a runner-up finish in the Caulfield Cup and a fourth next start in the Melbourne Cup among the highlights.

Ciaron Maher has trained three of the last six Sydney Cup winners and, for the 2026 renewal, he is represented by Piggyback (barrier 8), Juja Kibo (barrier 10) and Mr Monaco (barrier 16).

Piggyback has been competitive either side of a second-up triumph over 1900m and comes back to handicap level after an honest showing in the Tancred Stakes.

Juja Kibo remains one of the key chances in this 3200m feature, arriving off a hat-trick of placings and receiving a sharp drop in the weights to 52kg after carrying 55.5kg in last Saturday’s Chairman’s Quality.

Mr Monaco has won three of his last four appearances, including a Sydney double via his last two starts, with the latest coming over 2400m at Randwick when successful in the Group 3 Manion Cup.

Fifteen of the last 31 Sydney Cup winners have come through the Chairman’s Quality, a 2600m event run on Day 1 of The Championships.

Newlook (barrier 1) took out that key lead-up race and carries 2kg less in the Sydney Cup, while Campaldino (barrier 14), Changingoftheguard (barrier 3), Athabascan (barrier 5) and Juja Kibo also arrive via the Chairman’s Quality.

Machine Gun Gracie (barrier 9) was a progressive youngster in the west, with a WA Oaks and WATC Derby-winning double among last season’s highlights.

The mare impressed second-up for the Hayes stable when successful in the Epona Stakes and, while this is a sharp rise in trip, the four-year-old is progressive and carries 7kg less from her last-start victory.

Sydney Cup 2026 - Barriers & Final Field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	River Of Stars (IRE)	Chris Waller	TBA	6	56.5kg
2	Campaldino (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	14	55.5kg
3	Changingoftheguard (IRE)	Kris Lees	Jason Collett	3	55.5kg
4	Soul Of Spain (IRE)	Chris Waller	TBA	12	54.5kg
5	Whisky On The Hill (GB)	Glen Thompson	Damian Lane	15	54.5kg
6	Valiant King (GB)	Chris Waller	TBA	11	54.5kg
7	Paradise Storm (FR)	Henry Dwyer	John Allen	4	54kg
8	Piggyback	Ciaron Maher	Zac Lloyd	8	53kg
9	Athabascan (FR)	Tom Charlton	Tom Sherry	5	53kg
10	Juja Kibo (IRE)	Ciaron Maher	Craig Williams	10	52kg
11	Mr Monaco (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Jamie Melham	16	52kg
12	Machine Gun Gracie	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Luke Cartwright	9	51kg
13	Newlook (FR)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Rachel King	1	51kg
14	Litzdeel	Danny O'Brien	Tyler Schiller	7	51kg
15	Highland Bling (IRE)	Phillip Stokes	Ben Thompson	2	51kg
16	Hutchence (GB)	Chris Waller	TBA	13	51kg

Sydney Cup Winners

Originally run as the Jockey Club Handicap in 1862 and rebranded as the Sydney Cup in 1866, famous early winners of this feature include The Barb and Carbine.

The Sydney Cup was elevated to Group 1 status in 1980, a milestone marked by one of Australia’s greatest gallopers, Kingston Town, taking out that year’s renewal.

Champions have long been associated with this 3200m feature, with Carbine, Galilee, Kingston Town, Tie The Knot and three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva all featuring on the honour roll.

More recent editions have been claimed by Explosive Jack (2023), Circle Of Fire (2024) and Arapaho (2025), underlining the strength of the race in the modern era.