The Golden Eagle 2021

In a hurry? We’ve listed all the quick facts that you need to know about The Golden Eagle:

This race was brought into the calendar in 2019 by Racing NSW in a further attempt to compete with the Melbourne Spring Carnival, throwing massive amounts of prizemoney to owners, trainers and connections to keep their horses in Sydney. Not only that, but also to turn down lucrative money in breeding possibilities, hoping to extend their horses into a four-year-old season.

Due to its infancy as a race, it is not eligible to have group status. However, the prizemoney on offer is more than enough incentive for connections to consider sending their horse to The Golden Eagle. In 2021, the race will be held on Saturday, October 30th.

The Golden Eagle is a $7,500,000 race for four-year-olds over 1500m and is held at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney. The race is the third richest race held in Australia, behind The Everest and the Melbourne Cup.

The connections of each horse in the race get to select a charity which receives a donation in the amount of 10% of the prize money that they win. The winner receives $4,100,000 of the total prize pool, with $410,000 of that going to their selected charity and $3,690,000 going to connections.

Held under Set Weights conditions, The Golden Eagle benefits the more experienced and accomplished horses in the race, who have experience competing at a high level under different weights. Regardless of benchmark rating, every horse of each gender will be tasked with carrying the same weight.

In 2020, Colette won The Golden Eagle. She had previously won just one Group One race, the 2020 Australian Oaks at Randwick, and one other group race, the 2020 Group Three Adrian Knox Stakes. She outclassed Icebath, second, and Dawn Passage, third, who filled out the minor placings.

Kolding won the inaugural running of The Golden Eagle in 2019. He came on well towards the end of his three-year-old season, winning the Group Two Queensland Guineas before being spelled.

He then returned as a four-year-old to win a Group Three Ritchie Handicap and Group One Epsom Handicap before being having four weeks off between runs. The Chris Waller trained gelding finished ahead of Sunlight, second, and Mizzy, third.

Many believe that the eligible horses for this race, new four-year-olds, performed poorly as a three-year-old cohort, leaving the race wide open for those that are still yet to come on in maturity or may have underperformed last season. That leaves the race, to be held on Saturday, October 30th, with plenty of possible winners and some good odds to be had!

The Golden Eagle is a fairly new race, especially compared to the other Spring Racing Carnival races like the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup. But it’s interesting concept and large amount of prizemoney make it one of the most popular races that most Aussies like to have a casual punt on. Our expert tipsters will put together a short list of The Golden Eagle tips to look out for in the leadup to the big race.

Often attracting the best four-year-olds from around the country, and even from New Zealand, The Golden Eagle tips are often very different amongst tipsters. The field is still yet to be announced, but if you are after The Golden Eagle horse tips already, we will analyse some of the favourites in the futures markets.

As of mid-July, Ayrton is the $6.50 favourite for the 2021 Golden Eagle. After winning the Group Three Gunsynd Classic in June, co-trainer Mike Price stated that he would love Ayrton to target The Golden Eagle, thinking it would be the best suited race for the gelding. In his career to date, he has run in just five races, winning four of them, with the Gunsynd being the highest quality of those.

Mo’unga, who already has five Group One races under his belt, winning one of them, is on the second line of betting at $8. After changing trainers from Chris Waller to Annabel Neasham after the 2020 Spring Carnival, Mo’unga came back in the Autumn like a brand new horse.

The backmarker ran 3rd in the Group 3 CS Hayes, 2nd in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas before breaking through for his first Group 1 win in the Rosehill Guineas. The last run of his Autumn prep was the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth where he raced the world’s best and finished within 2.6L of Addeybb and Verry Elleegant.

Hungry Heart, Private Eye, Rothfire and Aegon make up the next best options. All of who, except Private Eye who has won a Group Two, have tasted Group One success, bringing some class to the race, should they choose to run in The Golden Eagle.

We will list The Sharks’ The Golden Eagle best tips for the race this year closer to the time of the race. Make sure you check back on this page for updates!

The Golden Eagle Tips From Experts

Our tips are not out for The Golden Eagle in 2021 as it is too far out from the event. But the good news is that when the final field for The Golden Eagle is announced, we will provide guidance on each and every runner in The 2021 Golden Eagle.

The Golden Eagle Trifecta Tips

Winning The Golden Eagle trifecta is not simple, to say the least. But there are definitely tips and tricks that you can consider to make punting a little bit easier.

The Golden Eagle Trifecta Tip 1

Don’t blindly trust other punters, always go with your gut when it comes to choosing your favourites. Do your own research and look at stats into runners you think may have a shot at the The Golden Eagle trifecta.

The Golden Eagle Trifecta Tip 2

If you’re a bit unsure where to start with your research, consider checking out The Golden Eagle form guide – bookies like Sportsbet and Neds have them available year-round.

The Golden Eagle Trifecta Tip 3

Consider placing a box trifecta as opposed to a straight trifecta. A box trifecta is great because it covers you in all combinations of finishing positions, once you’ve chosen three runners. It will cost a bit more money extra to place, but improves your chances of winning The Golden Eagle trifecta by a great amount.

Where to Place The Golden Eagle Trifecta?

You’re able to place The Golden Eagle trifecta through an online bookie – or in store at TAB. Online bookies often offer elite punting services – with plenty of fans placing a box trifecta with the 3 favourites in their bet.

Online bookies are also not subject to business hours or location – which means you’re able to place The Golden Eagle trifecta from your living room! Online bookies also offer a step-by-step guide into placing The Golden Eagle trifecta.

The Golden Eagle betting presents a unique opportunity to find value with some inexperienced horses on the rise, or proven four-year-olds with a point to prove. There are a lot of important factors to consider before betting on The Golden Eagle. Make sure you have a read on below before you place your bets:

Should I Bet On The Favourite in The Golden Eagle?

When looking at the two previous editions of The Golden Eagle, there has been a sub-$5 favourite in both years. Arcadia Queen finished 5th in 2019 at $3.30 and Funstar finished 17th in 2020 at $4.80.

In 2019, Kolding was actually second favourite at $6 and went on to win while Colette was fourth favourite at $10 when she won last year. While they aren’t favourites, both were in the top four in betting and priced at $10 or less, indicating that the punters knew that they were definitely in with a chance.

There is also nothing wrong with backing an outside chance. In 2019, Sunlight (2nd) and Mizzy (3rd) were priced at $26 and $41 respectively while last year saw Dawn Passage run a third at $21. That is some incredible value and with some agencies offering bonus back for 2nd and 3rd, there is an opportunity to be a bit more risk averse with your betting.

Formlines from Lead Up Races

Given there has only been two years of The Golden Eagle, it is hard to find certain races that prove more successful than others in the lead up. However, both Colette and Kolding had three runs prior to winning The Golden Eagle and two of those three races happened to be the same.

Both contested the Group Two Tramway Stakes first up, with Kolding finishing 5th and Colette finishing 10th. Kolding then went to the Group Three Ritchie Handicap, which he won, while in 2020, Colette went to the Group One George Main Stakes, where she finished 5th.

They both then went to the Epsom third up, with Kolding winning in 2019 while Colette ran sixth. They both then had four weeks between runs after the Epsom, going into The Golden Eagle relatively fresh.

Gender & Weight

Given The Golden Eagle is run under Set Weights, there are typically only two weights that the race is run at, 57.5kg for colts/geldings and 55.5kg for mares. With the race only being run in two years, of course, a male (Kolding carrying 57.5kg) and a mare (55.5kg) have won the race, showing that there is no particular gender or weight that has any advantage in the race.

When looking at the six horses that have placed in The Golden Eagle, across the two years, there are four mares carrying 55.5kg and just two males carrying 57.5kg. In both years, second place has been run by a mare.

The Golden Eagle Best Bets

Our The Golden Eagle best bets for 2021 are not out just yet, make sure you keep an eye out on this page as we will provide more details about our best bets when the final field is announced.

The Golden Eagle Bet Types

Below is a table that outlines the basics on how to bet on The Golden Eagle:

Long before The Golden Eagle field is officially announced – online bookies will open early markets, or all-in markets, for betting. This is prime time to place a punt on your horse, as you’re able to bet on strong contenders for The Golden Eagle at double-digit odds, with just two horses currently at single-figure odds.

The Golden Eagle odds will obviously fluctuate frequently in the lead up to the race, especially when horses come back to begin Spring and we can get a better idea of how they will be going this preparation.

Punting early on these markets can find you a favourite at prices much higher than their expected starting price, which will retain you a much higher return on investment. However, there is increased risk with doing this and you should be well aware.

Depending on when you place a futures bet on The Golden Eagle for 2021, your horse may not even run but you won’t get your money back, occurring when the market is ‘All-In’ or closer to the starting date.

If you are betting when it says ‘Before Noms’, you have the security of receiving your money back if your horse doesn’t run, but they could return from a spell in terrible form or with an underlying issue, seeing your bet potentially wasted and their odds balloon out even more.

It is still a while away meaning that it is hard to know which four-year-olds will run in the event. Most trainers will hope that their horses can either sprint their way into a slot for The Everest or prove that they can become a stayer and compete in either the Caulfield Cup or Cox Plate. However, we will keep you updated with which horses have this as their target, giving you more confidence to bet in futures markets.

The odds for the 2021 edition of The Golden Eagle are already out, but make sure to compare these prices between different bookies. Although they usually agree on a horse’s price, you may stumble across much higher odds – with an obvious higher profit involved. The below table shows the current 2021 Golden Eagle odds as of mid-July, courtesy of Sportsbet:

The Golden Eagle field for 2021 is yet to be announced and is still some time away! It is hard to judge which four-year-olds will tackle the race or have other aspirations in the Spring. The final Golden Eagle field and barriers will be announced on Tuesday, October 26th. Until that time we are unable to confirm which horses will run in the race but we will let you know of any news and updates that trainers provide.

In 2019, the first year of the race, there were 16 horses in The Golden Eagle field but last year that increased to 18. The field is typically set for 16 but obviously exceptions can be made depending on the quality of nominated horses, as seen last year.

Looking back at last year’s The Golden Eagle field, there were plenty of Group One winners and talented four-year-olds throughout, with Colette (55.5kg) winning from barrier 6 on a Heavy9 Rosehill track.

Have a look a below at the field for the 2020 race:

The Golden Eagle Barrier Draw

While The Golden Eagle barrier draw isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to being able to win the race, there are some clear trends that have occurred from the first two years of the race being run.

Kolding won in 2019 from barrier 4 while Colette won in 2020 from barrier 6. That means that the two winners have both come in the lower third of the gates, indicating that it pays to get on the inside with cover.

Two other horses that placed over the two years of the race came from barriers six or lower. In both years, the horse that drew barrier 1 and the outside barrier (16 in 2019 and 18 in 2020) finished in the bottom half of the field.

With the race yet to be run, we still don’t know what The Golden Eagle results for 2021 will be! However, check back in after the race and we will have all of the information on how the big race went and what the results are.

Looking back at the 2020 Golden Eagle results, Colette won by 0.1 lengths, out dueling Icebath, who finished second, with Dawn Passage finishing in third, 0.8 lengths back. With 800m left to go, Colette was in the back half of the field, settling for 12th and then drifted further back with 400m to go, sitting in 15th at the top of the straight. Her incredible turn of foot in the wet conditions was matched by no other, storming over the top to secure the win.

Icebath sat in 13th, one behind Colette, with 800m to go and then improved to sit 11th prior to the last 400m of the race before finishing in second. Dawn Passage took a different map to finish third, sitting 4th at the 800m and 2nd at the 400m, being able to hold on for the minor placing.

Just Thinkin’ went out at a blistering pace to start the race, being the clear leader with 800m to go but then slowly drifting back in the field. She was 5th at the 400m before finishing 12.3 lengths back in last at the finish.

You’ve read the words, now watch the video! Have a squiz below at The Golden Eagle race in 2020:

Have a look below at the full results from the 2020 race:

The Golden Eagle Winners

The results for the upcoming The Golden Eagle are not yet available, but in the meantime, you can have a look below at all the recent past winners:

With many star hoops in Melbourne, given this race is between the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, it gives an opportunity for other jockeys to step up to the plate and seize the moment! To be a Golden Eagle jockey is a massive moment in their career, given the extremely high prizemoney on offer in the race.

In 2020, little known jockey Koby Jennings steered Colette home to earn connections a $3,690,000 payday, and he will have received a decent chunk of that. In 2019, Glen Boss was lucky enough to be aboard Kolding and take home the chocolates, adding another big name race to his illustrious career.

While this year’s winner is yet to be decided, take a look back at previous winning jockeys of The Golden Eagle:

Given the status and prizemoney surrounding this race, there is no surprise to see the big name trainers dominate the first two runnings of The Golden Eagle. Chris Waller took out the inaugural race in 2019 while James Cummings, for Godolphin, was the winning Golden Eagle trainer in 2020.

Given it is in the final week of the Spring Carnival, this is often the last race of the preparation for these four-year-olds, being their last effort before being spelled over the summer weeks. That means that The Golden Eagle trainers are doing everything they can to ensure that the horses are at the peak of their powers come raceday.

While this year’s winner is yet to be decided, take a look back at previous winning trainers of The Golden Eagle: