Sky High Stakes

Looking for this year’s Sky High Stakes betting odds, field and tips? The experts at Neds have put together everything you need to know before this year’s race.

Sky High Stakes 2026 Results

The official 2026 Sky High Stakes results will be available below once the race takes place on Saturday, March 14, 2026.  

Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s rising nine-year-old import Vauban ($3.40) showed he still had plenty of racing left in him when resuming a first-up winner to successfully defend his title in the 2026 Sky High Stakes results. In his first run since a Melbourne Cup sixth last November, the gun stayer went back-to-back in the autumn lead-up event thanks to a perfectly timed ride by Tim Clark. Sitting on pace, the galloper began to work through his gears 200m out from the line before tackling the leader Just Fine and charging clear for a one-length win over Soul Of Spain who flashed home late into second. Bott named the Tancred Stakes at Rosehill on March 28, an event Vauban ran third in last year, as the likely next-up option and he’s firmed in from $8 to $4.50 to win in futures Tancred Stakes betting.

Sky High Stakes 2026 Tips

Our insider 2026 Sky High Stakes tips will be detailed here the week of the race and a full betting preview published on the Neds Blog.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2026 COOLMORE CLASSIC DAY PREVIEW & TIPS

The Sky High Stakes is a prestigious Group 3 race held annually in mid-March at Rosehill Gardens as part of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

This $350,000 event features horses aged three and above and is typically run on the same day as the Coolmore Classic.

Originally a quality handicap race, it has been contested under set weights plus penalties conditions since 2016.

Established in 1989, the Sky High Stakes achieved Group 3 status in 2014.

It honours the legendary racehorse Sky High, winner of the 1960 Golden Slipper Stakes and an impressive 16 Group 1 victories throughout his career.

The Group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) serves as a potential target for some of the Sky High Stakes’ top performers, with Hartnell (2015) being the last horse to achieve the double.

The 2025 Sky High Stakes form held up superbly, with Vauban backing up his win by running third in the Tancred Stakes, while runner‑up Arapaho went one better later in the prep and claimed the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) to really stamp the race as a strong form reference.

Vauban returned in 2026 to go back-to-back and become the latest dual Sky High Stakes winner.

Sky High Stakes 2026 – Quick Information

• Race Day: Saturday, March 14, 2026
• Track Location: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
• Track Surface: Turf
• Track Direction: Right-handed
• Race Distance: 2,000 metres
• Weight Conditions: Set weights plus penalties
• Qualification: Three-year-olds and upwards
• Type: Thoroughbred
• Grade: Group 3
• Operator: Australian Turf Club
• Prize Purse: $350,000
• Inaugural Race: 1989
• 2026 Sky High Stakes Winner: Vauban

Sky High Stakes Betting 2026

There are many different ways to bet on the Sky High Stakes, and we have included some of the most popular options below:

Bet Type	How To Place This Type of Bet on This Year’s Sky High Stakes
Win Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will take first place in this year’s Sky High Stakes.
Place Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will place in the top three finishers at this year’s Sky High Stakes. Pays less than a win bet but offers safer odds.
Each-Way Bet	If your runner finishes 1st in the Sky High Stakes, you will collect both the Win and the Place dividend. If your horse finishes 2nd or 3rd you will collect the Place dividend.
Quinella Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in any order, within the Sky High Stakes, in order to win the Quinella.
Exacta Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in the correct order, within the Sky High Stakes to win the Exacta.
Trifecta Bet	You must select runners to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order, within the Sky High Stakes to win the Trifecta.
First Four	You must select runners that finish 1st, 2nd ,3rd and 4th in the correct order, within the Sky High Stakes to win the First 4.
Quadrella Bet (Quaddie)	You must select the winners of four nominated races to win the Quaddie. This means you would have to select three other races apart from the Sky High Stakes, in order to be eligible to place a Quaddie.

How To Bet on The Sky High Stakes in 2026

1. Login at neds.com.au
2. Make a deposit, using your credit card, PayPal or other safe electronic method
3. Make sure to check out form guide, once it’s released
4. Decide what kind of bet you’re going to place (Win, Place, Each-Way, Trifecta + more betting options, please read our section on Sky High Stakes Betting above).
5. Select the horse(s) for the race.

Which Horse Will Win the Sky High Stakes in 2026

The best way to pick which horse will win the Sky High Stakes in 2026 is to take into account their lead-up Sydney racing form, assess the barriers, consider the weights and look at the track/distance records of all the runners. 

Additional factors to consider when picking the Sky High Stakes winner include: 

• Avoid Mares: Toffee Tongue (2021) was the first mare to beat home the boys in the Sky High since 2011 making the colts and geldings a better bet historically.
• Four-Year-Old Factor: Four-year-olds have a great strike-rate in the Sky High with eight winning since 2008 most recently Lindermann (2024).

Sky High Stakes Favourites 2026

Favourites in 2026 Sky High Stakes betting include Chris Waller’s Rosehill Gold Cup winner from the spring Wootton Verni and Dubawi entire Trinity College having just his second start for the Waller stable since arriving down under.

Master Of Wine ($2.20 in 2020) and Lindermann ($1.90 in 2024) are the latest Sky High Stakes favourites to win.

Sky High Stakes 2026 Field

The official 2026 Sky High Stakes field of final acceptances is announced on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below once confirmed.

The Sky High Stakes 2026 final field features a diminutive but top-class line-up of staying types with seven of the nine acceptors hailing from the Chris Waller stables including his last start Group 2 Blamey Stakes winner in Melbourne – Birdman.

Rosehill R5

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. Vauban J: Tim Clark T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	36506x	G	7	57.5kg
	2. Birdman (8)  Scratched:
	3. Just Fine J: Regan Bayliss T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	x929x9	G	4	56.5kg
	4. Soul Of Spain J: Tommy Berry T: Chris Waller	123x94	G	2	56.5kg
	5. Wootton Verni J: James McDonald T: Chris Waller	411x75	G	6	56.5kg
	6. Trinity College (1)  Scratched:
	7. Valiant King J: Zac Lloyd T: Chris Waller	0130x8	G	5	56.5kg
	8. Zarir J: Sam Clipperton T: Chris Waller	2x97x0	G	3	56kg
	9. River Of Stars J: Kerrin Mcevoy T: Chris Waller	8024x0	M	1	54kg

View Results

Sky High Stakes Race Day 2026

The 2026 Sky High Stakes takes place at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, March 14, 2026, as part of 2026 Coolmore Classic Day.

The meeting’s other key races include the:

• Group 1 $1,000,000 Coolmore Classic (1500m),
• Group 2 $300,000 Ajax Stakes (1500m),
• Group 2 $300,000 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m),
• Group 3 $250,000 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m),
• Group 3 $250,000 Magic Night Stakes (1200m), and the
• Group 3 $250,000 Maurcie McCarten Stakes (1100m).

Sky High Stakes Barrier Draw 2026

The 2026 Sky High Stakes barrier draw will be released to the public a few days before the race and published in our above Sky High Stakes Field section. 

Sky High Stakes Nominations 2026

2026 Sky High Stakes nominations close at 11 AM on the Monday of race week. 

2026 Sky High Stakes nominations extended until 11:00am (AEDT) – 10/03/2026

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	x251768x41	BIRDMAN (IRE)	G	5	Chris Waller
2	2x821069x6	CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (IRE)	G	7	Kris Lees	104
3	2443×5	DEAL DONE FAST	C	3	Matt Cumani
4	0100x929x9	JUST FINE (IRE)	G	8	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	107
5	0x069552x1	LIGHT INFANTRY MAN (FR)	G	7	Ciaron Maher	112
6	0x01211x39	LINDERMANN	G	6	Chris Waller	114
7	0111x780x5	NEWLOOK (FR)	G	5	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	88
8	3070×83984	REDSTONE WELL (IRE)	G	7	Annabel & Rob Archibald	88
9	73x78024x0	RIVER OF STARS (IRE)	M	7	Chris Waller	110
10	6x5x35x703	SAGANTI (FR)	G	5	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	89
11	1x11123x94	SOUL OF SPAIN (IRE)	G	5	Chris Waller	105
12	42x12412x7	TRINITY COLLEGE (IRE)	H	4	Chris Waller	103
13	693x0130x8	VALIANT KING (GB)	G	6	Chris Waller	102
14	130x36506x	VAUBAN (FR)	G	8	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	111
15	5x85411x75	WOOTTON VERNI (FR)	G	5	Chris Waller	104
16	235x2x97x0	ZARIR (IRE)	G	6	Chris Waller	105

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Sky High Stakes Weights 2026

Set weights plus penalties apply to this race. Final weights are announced at 4 PM on the Tuesday of race week with the official 2026 Sky High Stakes weights on the final acceptors to be published in our above Sky High Stakes Field section. 

Sky High Stakes Acceptances 2026

2026 Sky High Stakes final acceptances must be declared before 9 AM on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in our above Sky High Stakes Field section. 

Sky High Stakes Jockeys 2026

The final riders must be announced by 12 PM on the Wednesday of race week and the official 2026 Sky High Stakes jockeys will be published in our above Sky High Stakes Field section. 

Sky High Stakes Scratchings 2026

2026 Sky High Stakes scratchings close at 7:30 AM on Saturday, March 14, 2026.

Sky High Stakes Prize Money 2026

The 2026 Sky High Stakes prize purse is worth $350,000 in total, distributed from places first through to tenth.

Place	Prize Money
1st	$198,500
2nd	$65,000
3rd	$32,000
4th	$15,625
5th	$8,250
6th	$4,375
7th	$4,375
8th	$4,375
9th	$4,375
10th	$4,375

Sky High Stakes Race Number 2026

The 2026 Sky High Stakes race number is scheduled as Rosehill Race 5 at 2:50pm (AEDT) on Saturday, March 14, 2026. There are ten races in total that day at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse.

Sky High Stakes Form Guide 2026

The final form guide will be available the week of the race. You can check below for a link to our full 2026 Sky High Stakes Form Guide following final acceptances. 

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 SKY HIGH STAKES FORM GUIDE

Sky High Stakes Live 2026

You can watch or listen to the 2026 Sky High Stakes live, across the following mediums.

Pay television: Sky Racing 1 (channel 526 on Foxtel)

Radio: Radio Sport National

Streaming: Racing NSW

Sky High Stakes Winners

Winners of the Sky High Stakes going back to the year 2000 are displayed in the table below.

Year	Winner	Second	Third
2026	Vauban	Soul Of Spain	Just Fine
2025	Vauban	Arapaho	Lindermann
2024	Lindermann	Kalapour	Stockman
2023	Protagonist	Zeyrek	Sunshine Rising
2022	Stockman	Mount Popa	Great House
2021	Toffee Tongue	Spirit Ridge	Mirage Dancer
2020	Master Of Wine	Mustajeer	Carif
2019	Red Cardinal	Rodrico	Goathland
2018	Auvray	Libran	Mackintosh
2017	Tavago	Antonio Giuseppe	Allergic
2016	Sir John Hawkwood	Messene	Who Shot Thebarman
2015	Hartnell	Opinion	Hawkspur
2014	Entirely Platinum	Midsummer Sun	Desert Jeuney
2013	Julienas	Lunayir	Le Roi
2012	Single	Southern Skye	Flumicino
2011	Older Than Time	Luen Yat Forever	Syreon
2010	Bellagio Wynn	Hadaaf	Cousin Wal
2009	Kettledrum	Brave Lancer	Twin Wing
2008	Nuclear Sky	Musket	Bundoran Breeze
2007	Coalesce	Grand Zulu	Prince Of Midnight
2006	County Tyrone	No Wine No Song	October Son
2005	Seul Amour	Sunday Service	Havana Wind
2004	Daniel’s The Man	County Tyrone	Striking Victory
2003	National Treasure	Natural Blitz	County Tyrone
2002	Restless	Grampians	Spirit Of Westbury
2001	Bello Signor	The Druidess	Cheverny
2000	Spysept	Bombast	Yippyio