<h2>Sydney Cup 2024 Racing Tips</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Although the Sydney Cup will never have the aura of the Melbourne Cup, it has found its place as a significant part of the variety of Group 1 races at The Championships.</p> <p>The 2024 G1 Sydney Cup, worth $2 million and run over 3200m, is race seven – 3.15 pm (AEST) – on the card of the second day of the Championships at Randwick racecourse.</p> <p>This is a traditional handicap race with a great history going back to 1866. Some of the champion stayers to win the Sydney Cup are in the Who’s Who of Australian racing, such as Makybe Diva, Tie The Knot, Kingston Town, Galilee, Carbon Copy, Eurythmic, Wakeful, Carbine and The Barb.</p> <p>Although the 2024 Sydney Cup lacks the superstar a race of its stature deserves, often as you would expect of a handicap, it is an open affair with a variety of horses featuring in the racing tips. Unfortunately, two highly rated horses – More Felons and Post Impressionist – who were significant in the early Sydney Cup tips are missing from the field. More Felons injured a tendon during the week and Post Impressionist was sent to the paddock after his flop in the Tancred Stakes at Rosehill on March 30.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Expect a Fast Pace</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>That said, it will take a very good stayer to win the 2024 Sydney Cup, which is expected to be run at a hectic tempo thanks to two Derby winners, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, who are expected to set the pace and have a big influence on the Sydney Cup tips and result.</p> <p>The 2020 Epsom Derby winner Serpentine and the 2023 Australian Derby winner Major Beel won their classics by leading from start to finish, and they will be expected to share the duties on Saturday.</p> <p>Serpentine led in last year’s Melbourne Cup, but he dropped out under pressure to finish 19th. He’s a late inclusion into the Sydney Cup field after winning his past two races – the Randwick City Stakes (2000m) and Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) – impressively. Each time he looked beaten but fought back late.</p> <p>Major Beel has struggled to find his form since his upset Derby win.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Follow the Best Stayers</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Waterhouse-Bott pair will set it up for the best stayer, and on his best form that horse is Ashrun.</p> <p>If you take a line through last year’s Melbourne Cup, Ashrun only needs to run to his fourth behind Without A Fight to win this race. He has been at the top of the Sydney Cup tips since winning the Pakenham Cup on March 15. His last start third in the G1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill is good enough to suggest he can win for his master trainer Ciaron Maher who has two Sydney Cups to his name, including last year with Explosive Jack.</p> <p>Heavily supported and now in most experts’ racing tips is Ashrun’s stablemate Circle Of Fire, who broke through for his first win in Australia in the G2 Chairman’s Quality (2600m) at Randwick last Saturday. It’s worth noting that he raced very keenly early in that race, but he still finished off strongly.</p> <p>Maher has sprung a surprise by booking European jockey Andrea Atzeni to ride Circle Of Fire. Atzeni, with 30 Group 1 wins, is one of the leading jockeys in Hong Kong, but this will be his first ride in Sydney.</p> <p>The Waterhouse and Bott team probably have its best chance of winning the Sydney Cup ­– a race they won in 2022 with Knights Order – with the grey Military Mission, who carries top weight of 56.5kg.</p> <p>If you are looking for some value in your Sydney Cup tips, the much-travelled Mahrajaan is an interesting prospect. The 3200m is his sweet spot having won the G1 Auckland Cup (3200m) at his most recent start and the G3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) last November. Importantly, Mahrajaan gets a likely good track that he will relish – lucky the Sydney Cup wasn’t run last week!</p> <p>Trainer Kris Lees can be confident his stayer Kalapour is in peak form after winning the Tancred Stakes at Rosehill. He drops 5kg from 59kg to 54kg. An eye-catching run behind him in the Tancred was Athabascan, who finished fourth. The French-bred gelding drops 7kg to 52kg and he gets in-form young jockey Tyler Schiller in the saddle.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>The Leading 2024 Sydney Cup Tips</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Ashrun</strong></em></p> <p>His fourth in the 2023 Melbourne Cup is the right form line and trainer Ciaron Maher has him racing in peak form. Importantly, he will relish the likely strong tempo, so he’s top of the Sydney Cup tips.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Circle Of Fire</strong></em></p> <p>Emerging young stayer and stablemate of Ashrun. Earned his Sydney Cup place with a win last Saturday in the Chairman’s Quality. He’s a raw talent who might just be something special, so don’t leave him out of your racing tips.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Athabascan</strong></em></p> <p>There was a lot to like about his fourth in the Tancred Stakes behind Kalapour. He finished his race off strongly, he drops a massive 7kg and Tyler Schiller is on his back. All big ticks.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Mahrajaan</strong></em></p> <p>American-bred stayer who started his career in Europe, but he’s found his form “down under” in New Zealand, especially over 3200m. English jockey Tom Marquand rides. This fellow should be in your Sydney Cup tips if you are chasing some value.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Kalapour</strong></em></p> <p>It’s 18 years since trainer Kris Lees won the Sydney Cup, and he’s found a real prospect in Kalapour who won the Tancred Stakes at Rosehill and he drops 5kg. His jockey Dylan Gibbons won the Sydney Cup in 2023.</p>