Australia has some of the biggest horse racing events in the world, with events such as the Melbourne Cup and the Sydney Spring Cup, to name just a couple. The H.E. Tancred Stakes is also a major event that is raced at the Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney. It was inaugurated in 1963 and was named after Henry Eugene Tancred, who was a vital member of the Sydney Turf Club.
The main race currently has total prize winnings of $1,500,000AUD. The distance of the turf race is 2400-meters and occurs during the Sydney Autumn Carnival every year in March or April. Some of the most famous champion racehorses have entered and won the Tancred Stakes over the years.
Octagonal 1996 and 1997
Known affectionately as the ‘The Big O’ or ‘Occy,’ this New Zealand-bred thoroughbred stallion was foaled in 1992 and amassed nearly $6,000,000 in earnings over his illustrious career. He was named Australian Horse of the Year in 1996 and has won important races such as the W.S. Cox Plate, the Rosehill Guineas, the Australian Guineas, and the Australian Cup.
He sadly died aged 24 in 2016 but left quite an imprint on the horse racing world in Australia during his time with his owner Bob Ingham describing him as ‘life changing’ and ‘heroic.’
Kingston Town 1980
Kingston Town is known as one of the greatest racehorses to ever race. He won the H.E. Tancred Stakes in 1980 and has had many major wins during his career; and was the first racehorse to earn over $1,000,000. With a total of 14 Group 1 races, he was considered an elite racehorse and thus was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2000. Other major races that he won include the Queensland Derby, the W.S. Cox Plate, the Sydney Cup, and the Caulfield Stakes. He even has a race named after him, The Kingston Town Classic, which has a total prize purse of $1,000,000AUD.
Tie the Knot 1999 and 2000
The second horse on this list to win the race twice is Tie the Knot. He was an Australian-bred champion, was named the Australian Champion Stayer during the 1999-2000 season, and was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2021. Any Tancred Stakes odds would have had this horse as a top favorite for that year, although it was known as the Mercedes Classic during his tenure. He also won notable races such as the Japan Cup, the Sydney Cup, and the Chipping Norton Stakes. Tie the Knot was foaled in 1994 and died in 2012.
Makybe Diva 2005
No list would be complete without Makybe Diva being on it. This champion mare has won over $14,000,000 during her career and was oddly once underrated due to her small size. She proved everyone wrong, however, winning races such as the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Australian Cup, the Turnbull Stakes, and the W.S Cox Plate and topped it off by winning the esteemed Melbourne Cup 3 times in a row, the only horse to have achieved that feat so far. She was not surprisingly inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2006 and had a statue of her at Port Lincoln in South Australia.
Though the Tancred Stakes has seen several champions enter and win over the years, these are the four that are true standouts in Australian horse racing.
