Thoroughbred horseracing is one of the major sports in Australia and there are plenty of races to watch and events to attend if you have such a proclivity for the sport. One of the more prestigious events is the Tancred Stakes which is an open Group 1 weight-for-age staying race held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney. It is currently Australia’s only weight-for-age 2400 meter Group 1 event and has a total prize purse of $1,000,000AUD.
Besides the Golden Slipper, the Tancred Stakes is regarded as one of the top staying tests on the Australian racing calendar. The event occurs during the Sydney Autumn Carnival in either March or April
The race is named after Henry Eugene Tancred, who was a former rugby player and chairman of the Sydney Turf Club. The list of champion horses who have won the H.E. Tancred Stakes over the years since its inauguration in 1963 is filled with incredible thoroughbreds who continued to make horseracing history in Australia.
Kingston Town (1980)
This champion thoroughbred horse should need no introduction. Over his extremely successful career, he won 14 Group 1 races, which include winning the esteemed W.S. Cox Plate three years in a row. He was named Australian Champion Racehorse of the year in 1980 due to his 6 Group 1 wins that year including the H.E. Tancred Stakes. He, along with other champion horses such as Phar Lap, Carbine, and Tulloch, was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame during the inaugural opening in 2000.
Bonecrusher (1986)
Bonecrusher was a beloved horse in Australia and New Zealand whose heyday was in the 1980s. He was foaled in 1982 in New Zealand and lived to a ripe old age of 33. Besides winning the Tancred Stakes in 1986 he also won the W.S. Cox Plate, the Caulfield Stakes, the Underwood Stakes, and the Australian Derby the same year. Any Tancred Stakes tips would have had this horse as a top favorite for that year. He was named the Australian Horse of the Year in 1987 and was inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Ethereal (2002)
Ethereal had quite a big year in 2001, winning both the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup. The following year she won another staying race, the BMW Stakes and, after that, the H.E. Tancred Cup. She was retired from racing that year to serve as a broodmare in New Zealand. Over the course of her short career, she amassed nearly $5,000,000 in winnings and was named Australian Champion Stayer in 2002.
Makybe Diva (2005)
Makybe Diva is considered one of the greatest racehorses to have ever raced. She is the only horse to have won the prestigious Melbourne Cup three times and the only mare to win it more than once. Among other achievements, she won the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2002, the Australian Cup, the Turnbull Stakes, and the W.S Cox Plate, all in 2005.
Verry Elleegant (2020)
This champion thoroughbred racehorse has had quite a successful career since she started racing in 2018, where she won the Ethereal Stakes showcasing her elegant style. She won other highly esteemed Group 1 races in 2020 including the Winx takes, the Turnbull Stakes, the Caulfield Cup, among others, and topped it off with winning the Melbourne Cup in 2021.
The Tancred Stakes is sure to continue seeing its fair share of champions participating in the race in future and is a great indicator as to the likely winners of other Australian races.
