Tancred Stakes Preview and Tips 01/04/25

*The Tancred Stakes will now be run on Tuesday April 1 after poor weather in Sydney on Saturday resulted in the race being postponed.*

We are backing up six Group One races last week with three epic Group One races this week. The Golden Slipper may be over for another year, but we still have the Tancred Stakes and the Vinery Stud Stakes, which are both run at Rosehill Racecourse. Don’t forget about the Australian Cup as well, which takes place at Flemington.

For the Tancred Stakes in 2025, we see a field of 14 runners confirmed and it’s somewhat of an international affair as well. We see the likes of Dubai Honour, Vauban, Arapaho, Duke De Sessa and more all confirmed for the race on Saturday. There’s a lot on the line as well, a cool $1.5 million to be exact!

My Saturday tips have landed for the 2025 Tancred Stakes. Along with the Tancred Stakes, I also have my best bets for the Vinery Stud Stakes and Australian Cup right here at OnlyRacing. So, you should check them out as well before the race. It’s one of the best recent editions of the Tancred Stakes that I’ve seen, so let’s get cracking!

Wow, there are a lot of speedy runners in this one. Six out of the 14 runners have decent barrier speed, so the race will likely be run at a fast tempo as the runners who want to lead will be fighting it out at the front of the field for the best position. I think Land Legend might be the one to take the lead in this one.

Dubai Honour, one of the more favoured runners in the race, jumps from barrier four and does have good barrier speed. I expect he’ll be close to the front of the pack, with some cover. Another one of the more favoured runners, Vauban, who jumps from barrier three, is likely to follow a similar sort of pattern as Dubai Honour.

I think the market has it right here and while it is difficult to line up international form, Dubai Honour is the in-form runner and has to be respected. The gelding is currently the narrow favourite with PlayUp, at odds of $3.20, with Vauban hot on his heels. Dubai Honour has been all around the world recently and this will be his first run in Australia this prep.

William Haggas, the trainer of Dubai Honour, has an excellent record in Australia and the gelding is also undefeated in two attempts in Sydney as well, with both of those wins coming over the 2,000m. He most recently finished second in the Group One Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin and looks very difficult to beat here.

Could have easily put Vauban up as my best bet for the Tancred Stakes, but instead he’ll have to settle for the second spot in my set of tips. The gelding did get his prep off to a great start, winning the Sky High Stakes at Rosehill across the 2,000m, a couple of weeks ago as a $9.00 beating home the $1.75 favourite, Lindermann, on the day.

You can currently pick up Vauban for odds of $4.00, thanks to Bet365, which puts him on the second line of betting. I think there is a lot of upside to the 7YO and the rise up in trip looks to be ideal. Jockey Tim Clark sticks with the gelding as well and gets a decent barrier draw (three), so there’s a lot to like.

This looks like a stepping stone for bigger things in the Autumn Racing Carnival for Warmonger, with the gelding also currently nominated for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Sydney Cup (both raced on the same day). I think he’ll end up running in the Sydney Cup though.

At the moment, you can pick up Warmonger with odds of $17 to win the Tancred Stakes, thanks to Dabble. We last saw the 4YO in the Listed Randwick Stakes, where he finished in second place, just 0.5L off the pace. He worked his way into the race quite well and finished strongly, which I think bodes well here across the 2,400m.

Duke De Sessa will be taking on the Tancred Stakes second up and after his run last time out, I think he has to be considered a real danger to the top two in the market. We last saw him in the Australian Cup Prelude, where he finished second to Middle Earth by just 0.2L. The 6YO is currently on the fourth line of betting, with odds of $7.00 at QuestBet.

He should have won the Australian Cup Prelude, but things didn’t all go his way. Duke De Sessa is a runner that won’t be scared of a little rain and it’s looking like a Soft rating on Saturday, he has a Soft record of 8:3-0-2. He’s got some good barrier speed and will enjoy jumping from barrier two with Harry Coffey in the saddle again.

I like the look of this field and there is a whole stack of quality roughies in this one. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the likes of Circle Of Fire run a really good race on Saturday. The stallion is currently going around with odds of $34 at Bet Right. He comes through the Sky High Stakes where he finished fourth, 3.3L off the leader, Vauban.

He wasn’t given much of a chance in that one either and he jumped with odds of $26. If you look back to around this time last year, it was when Circle Of Fire really got motoring in the Autumn Racing Carnival, winning the likes of the Chairman’s Quality and the Sydney Cup. Jason Collett retains the ride and will have to be on his A-game after drawing wide.

All my Tancred Stakes horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Dubai Honour (win)	$3.20
	Vauban (each-way)	$4.00/$1.80
	Warmonger (place)	$4.40
	Duke De Sessa (place)	$2.35
	Circle Of Fire (place)	$6.25