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2026 VRC Champions Sprint Preview
Established in 1960 as the Craven 'A' Stakes, it is known these days as the Champions Sprint, having previously been known as the Sprint Classic.
The race takes place on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival as one of three 'Champions' races, which is the Saturday after the Melbourne Cup. This Group 1 is run over a distance of just 1,200m and is open to runners who are aged three or older, having been adjusted in 2021, as it was previously open to 2-year-olds too.
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Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
VRC Champions Sprint Information:
- VRC Champions Sprint Past Winners
- VRC Champions Sprint Trainer Statistics
- VRC Champions Sprint Jockey Statistics
You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026 (UKGC Regulated)
How competitive is the VRC Champions Sprint market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2017, when the race had an over-round of 113%. The race in 2022 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 119%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the VRC Champions Sprint, the over-round has been 116%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £116 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 VRC Champions Sprint Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the VRC Champions Sprint Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run VRC Champions Sprint races over the last 10 renewals:
- Santa Ana Lane (1:08.66) in 2018
- Bivouac (1:08.69) in 2020
- Redzel (1:08.74) in 2017
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 10 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the VRC Champions Sprint next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 10 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -8.40. See which other runners are being backed today on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 10 renewals, a time of 1:08.66 was set by Santa Ana Lane in 2018, trained by Anthony Freedman and ridden by Mark Zahra, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2025 when Giga Kick won in a time of 1:13.30 for trainer Clayton Douglas, who booked Mark Zahra in the saddle.
VRC Champions Sprint Past Winners
Here are the VRC Champions Sprint past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the VRC Champions Sprint are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 1:13.30 | Giga Kick (AUS) 6yo 9-3 (3 of 9) 4/1 | Mark Zahra Clayton Douglas (AUS) |
| 2024 1:09.25 | Sunshine In Paris (AUS) 5yo 8-13 (9 of 12) 4/1 | James McDonald Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald (AUS) |
| 2023 1:09.08 | Imperatriz (AUS) 5yo 8-13 (8 of 11) 23/20F | Opie Bosson Mark Walker (SIN) |
| 2022 1:09.19 | Roch N Horse (NZ) 6yo 8-13 (6 of 14) 19/1 | Jamie Mott Michael Moroney (AUS) |
| 2021 1:08.78 | Nature Strip (AUS) 7yo 9-3 (2 of 9) 2/7F | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
| 2020 1:08.69 | Bivouac (AUS) 4yo 9-3 (6 of 10) 11/5F | Glen Boss James Cummings (AUS) |
| 2019 1:09.23 | Nature Strip (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (9 of 9) 13/5 | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
| 2018 1:08.66 | Santa Ana Lane (AUS) 6yo 9-3 (5 of 14) 9/1 | Mark Zahra Anthony Freedman (AUS) |
| 2017 1:08.74 | Redzel (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (9 of 13) 3/1F | Kerrin McEvoy Peter & Paul Snowden (AUS) |
| 2016 1:10.25 | Malaguerra (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (11 of 12) 17/2 | Ben Melham Peter Gelagotis (AUS) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the VRC Champions Sprint have been based:
- AUS: 9 winners with an additional 20 placings from 102 runners
- SIN: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
- NZ: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
- GB: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
2025 VRC Champions Sprint Replay
VRC Champions Sprint Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the VRC Champions Sprint over the last 10 renewals is Chris Waller, who has won the race twice, with those two winners coming from Nature Strip (2019 & 2021).
Here are some of the top VRC Champions Sprint trainer statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Waller | 11-2-5 | -6.11 | -5.25 |
| James Cummings | 6-1-3 | -2.80 | -1.58 |
| Clayton Douglas | 3-1-1 | +2.00 | +0.40 |
| Michael Moroney | 2-1-1 | +18.00 | +10.40 |
| Anthony Freedman | 2-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.40 |
| Peter Gelagotis | 2-1-1 | +7.50 | +4.10 |
| Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | 2-1-1 | +3.00 | +1.40 |
| Peter & Paul Snowden | 2-1-1 | +2.00 | +0.80 |
| Mark Walker | 2-1-1 | +0.15 | -0.31 |
| David A & B Hayes & Tom Dabernig | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
VRC Champions Sprint Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the VRC Champions Sprint over the last 10 renewals is James McDonald, who has won the race three times, with those three wins coming from Nature Strip (2019 & 2021) and Sunshine In Paris (2024). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the VRC Champions Sprint is Mark Zahra (2 wins).
Here are some of the top VRC Champions Sprint jockey statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| James McDonald | 8-3-6 | +1.89 | +1.12 |
| Mark Zahra | 6-2-3 | +9.00 | +10.30 |
| Ben Melham | 6-1-1 | +3.50 | +0.10 |
| Kerrin McEvoy | 4-1-1 | +0.00 | -1.20 |
| Jamie Mott | 1-1-1 | +19.00 | +11.40 |
| Glen Boss | 1-1-1 | +2.20 | +1.32 |
| Opie Bosson | 1-1-1 | +1.15 | +0.69 |
| Craig A Williams | 7-0-2 | -7.00 | -5.01 |
| Damian Lane | 6-0-0 | -6.00 | -6.00 |
| Michael Dee | 5-0-1 | -5.00 | -3.50 |
2026 VRC Champions Sprint Trends
Favourites' finishing positions (oldest to latest): 10, 1, 5, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3
The percentage shown is the proportion of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the Racing Post in terms of previous runs, etc.
- 10 / 10 (50%) - Achieved an RPR of 115+ (Last 3)
- 10 / 10 (50%) - Highest Won is G1
- 10 / 10 (54%) - Within the first 6 of the market
- 10 / 10 (57%) - No bigger than 19/1
- 10 / 10 (65%) - Ran in 4 - 7 races (1 Year)
- 10 / 10 (66%) - Ran in 3 - 11 races (Class)
- 10 / 10 (66%) - Break of 7 - 43 days (Last Place)
- 10 / 10 (73%) - In a field of 6 - 12 (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (75%) - Had 1 - 3 placings (180 Days)
- 10 / 10 (75%) - Highest Placed is G1
- 10 / 10 (77%) - Carried 125 - 129lbs (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (80%) - Sex is not Filly/Horse
- 10 / 10 (81%) - Had 2 - 7 placings (Season)
- 10 / 10 (88%) - Ran in 6 - 33 races (Career)
- 10 / 10 (89%) - Carried 118 - 128lbs (Debut)
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2026 VRC Champions Sprint Runners & Shortlist
The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2026 renewal of the VRC Champions Sprint will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually made 48 hours before the race.
VRC Champions Sprint Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 5+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +23.79, is when runners had 6 season starts.
❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 career wins in the class; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-56.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 3 (4,6) [9 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 9 (3,12) [12 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 8 (11,5) [11 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 6 (12,5) [14 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 2 (9,6) [9 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the VRC Champions Sprint is Randwick; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Randwick last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 7 winners from a total of 76 runners, while female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 37 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the VRC Champions Sprint; that stallion, Nicconi, has produced 2 winners (2021,2019).
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the VRC Champions Sprint; that stallion is Zoustar, who has failed to produce a winner from 6 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Roch N Horse in 2022, winning for Michael Moroney at odds of 19/1 under the guidance of Jamie Mott. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 10 renewals, there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.
Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival
Here are the other races that take place at the Flemington Racetrack during the Melbourne Cup Carnival that we also cover in our blogs.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Coolmore Stud Stakes | Tentyris (AUS) 3yo - 19/10 | Anthony & Sam Freedman Mark Zahra |
| Empire Rose Stakes | Pride Of Jenni (AUS) 8yo - 19/5 | Ciaron Maher Declan Bates |
| Victoria Derby | Observer (AUS) 3yo - 29/20 | Ciaron Maher Mark Zahra |
| Melbourne Cup | Half Yours (AUS) 5yo - 8/1 | Tony McEvoy & Calvin McEvoy Jamie Melham |
| Crown Oaks | Strictly Business (AUS) 3yo - 13/2 | Thomas D Carberry John Allen |
| VRC Champions Mile | Ceolwulf (NZ) 5yo - 4/1 | Joseph Pride Chad Schofield |
| VRC Champions Sprint | Giga Kick (AUS) 6yo - 4/1 | Clayton Douglas Mark Zahra |
| VRC Champions Stakes | Via Sistina (IRE) 7yo - 4/5 | Chris Waller James McDonald |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this VRC Champions Sprint Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for International racing.
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