The Metropolitan 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: Sydney stayers have a dominant recent record in The Metropolitan over interstate runners.

The Metropolitan is a well-known handicap race conducted at Randwick Racecourse in early October each Sydney Spring Racing Carnival. Worth $750,000 in prize money, the staying classic is conducted over 2400m and The Metropolitan winner takes out over $430,000 in prize money.

2022 The Metropolitan winner No Compromise. Photo: Steve Hart.

Held on Epsom Handicap Day that features three Group 1 races The Metropolitan Handicap was first run in 1863 and has held elite level status since 1979. Originally called the Great Metropolitan Stakes it was run on the Labour Day holiday on the first Monday in October until 2004. Many top stayers have enjoyed success in The Metropolitan over the years including Magic Hurricane (2015), Railings (2005), Ming Dynasty (1978) and Redcraze (1956).

Each spring The Metropolitan winner is exempt from ballot for the following autumn’s $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes race in Sydney.

The winner of the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) race run a fortnight earlier meanwhile earns a The Metropolitan ballot exemption and Herculian Prince (2010) followed by the fellow Tulloch Lodge-raced Just Fine (2023) are the latest to do the double.

The Group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m) also offers the winner a The Metropolitan ballot exemption. In 2023 Spirit Ridge ran second in both the Newcastle Gold Cup and The Metropolitan when nearly scoring an upset in the latter at 40/1 after a huge run.

This season The Metropolitan Handicap ran on Saturday, October 5, 2024 as part of Epsom Handicap Day in Sydney and was won in a thrilling late battle by the Chris Waller-trained Land Legend ($7.50). 

2024 The Metropolitan Handicap Results

The official The Metropolitan 2024 results and race finishing order will be provided below once the race takes place on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

Land Legend (red silks) and Zardozi (blue silks) fight it out in the 2024 The Metropolitan results in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #14 Land Legend
• 2nd: #10 Zardozi
• 3rd: #21e Unusual Legacy

Land Legend ($7.50) dug deep to salute by the barest of margins when denying Zardozi victory and surviving a subsequent protest to claim the 2024 The Metropolitan win in Sydney. Jockey Reece Jones secured his first Group 1 success aboard the potential Spring Cups-bound Chris Waller-trained import who he guided to a barnstorming and thrillingly close photo showdown win over the Zac Lloyd-ridden James Cummings-trained mare Zardozi.

2024 The Metropolitan Odds

The season’s updated The Metropolitan 2024 betting odds and links to our markets will be available below so make sure you stay tuned for access to the best Group 1 Randwick racing odds online.

The Metropolitan Race Info

• Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 2400m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $750,000
• First Run: 1863

The Metropolitan Betting

The Metropolitan Handicap betting markets open as soon as the nominations for the mile and a half classic close in late August each Sydney Spring Racing Carnival. Futures betting on Group 1 races like The Metropolitan give you the chance to lock in juicy prices on potential runners.

Many punters however prefer to wait until the field is released and The Metropolitan odds are often led by horses that ran well in races like the Group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup, the Group 3 Colin Stephen Quality or Caulfield’s Group 3 Naturalism Stakes.

Horses that come off nice lead-up runs in Sydney, are well-weighted in The Metropolitan weights and older gallopers traditionally sit at the top of The Metropolitan odds each season.

Just Fine ($1.75 in 2023) was the last The Metropolitan favourite to salute for the punters.

The Metropolitan Handicap Field

The Metropolitan field has a capacity of 18 starters but hadn’t had the maximum number of runners line up on race day since 2005 when Railings won from barrier 14 of 18 until 2020 when Mirage Dancer saluted.

The final field of The Metropolitan acceptances is out on the Tuesday before the race runs on the Saturday and is considered a nice lead-up for Melbourne-bound hopefuls that could back-up in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup. The Metropolitan nominations meanwhile close in early September with up to 100 runners making up the early entries.

2019 The Metropolitan winner Come Play With Me. Photo: Steve Hart.

Horses come into The Metropolitan field via a number of different lead-up races, a number of which offer a ballot exemption to the winner into the Group 1 including the Newcastle Gold Cup. The last galloper to complete the Newcastle Cup – The Metropolitan double without another run in between was Glencadam Gold (2012).

A fortnight prior to the Newcastle Gold Cup, the Listed Wyong Gold Cup (2100m) also serves as a potential early The Metropolitan lead-up race and The Verminator (2011) was the last to do the double.

Rosehill’s Group 3 Premier’s Cup (1900m) run in late August is another good early The Metropolitan lead-up race and recent horses to do the double include Railings (2005), Glencadam Gold (2012) and Magic Hurricane (2015).

2024 The Metropolitan Field

The official The Metropolitan 2024 Final Field & Barrier Draw is set for release the Tuesday of race week and will be published in full below, so stay tuned to see what spring stayers make the starting line-up in the mile and a half feature.

A capacity final field is gathered for Saturday’s 2024 The Metroplitan handicap in Sydney including Chris Waller’s three-length Group 3 Colin Stephen Quality winner from last weekend First Light on the quick back-up. 

2024 The Metropolitan Nominations & Weights

Early nominations for The Metropolitan 2024 are taken by Racing NSW on Monday the 9th of September, 2024 followed by the official The Metropolitan weights on September 16. 

The 2024 The Metropolitan nominations attracted 75 hopeful stayers led in betting by Joe Pride’s Rosehill Guineas and ATC Derby runner-up from the autumn Ceolwulf and lightly raced French import Eliyass now with the Waterhouse/Bott stable who won the Group 3 Premier’s Cup on debut down under. 

The Metropolitan 2024 weights have been confirmed with last year’s Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double champion, Without A Fight, allocated the 61kg top-weight.

The Metropolitan Handicap Tips

The Metropolitan tips are often a mixed affair with the race know to attract a big field.

Winners of the race in recent years have come via a host of different lead-ups and the only last start winners to back up and take out The Metropolitan since Railings (2005) are Glencadam Gold (2012) and Just Fine (2023).

Just Fine was Gai Waterhouse’s ninth champion in the event making Waterhouse-trained runners a good The Metropolitan Handicap tip each spring.

Other key The Metropolitan betting tips include looking for horses weighted 55.5kg and under and those coming off a Sydney lead-up run.

2024 The Metropolitan Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive The Metropolitan 2024 tips and Randwick exotic betting selections will be detailed for punters below the week of Epsom Handicap Day.

The Metropolitan features a competitive field of stayers, with Future History emerging as a promising value bet third-up for top trainer Ciaron Maher. The seven-year-old has been in consistent form building to a race like this and comes off a narrow loss in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes over 2000m at Caulfield when boxing on well. He will appreciate the extra distance coming to Sydney now, looks well placed and rated by the stable, and will be airborne coming right back in weight. Has an apprentice without Group 1 experience in the saddle which is the only question mark. Still, an attractive horse at a good price for a master trainer.

The Metropolitan Handicap Form Guide

The Metropolitan Handicap form guide lists all of the final acceptors, their barriers, jockeys, trainers and allocated weights. The winning weight range in the race over the past decade ranges from a light 50 kg to 56kg that Opinion (2014) carried to victory for trainer Chris Waller.

Junoob originally won the 2014 race but was later disqualified for a failed drug test. The race favourites meanwhile aren’t always the most likely to win in this spring major with just three saluting since 2005 with plenty of long-priced roughies scoring an upset including Newport (40/1 in 2008) and The Verminator (20/1 in 2011).

The Metropolitan form has stacked-up in other elite level races many times over the years including in 2021 with the winner Montefilia running a next-up fourth in the Caulfield Cup results before returning in the autumn of 2022 to win the Ranvet Stakes.

The Metropolitan Form Facts

• Mirage Dancer (2020), Foundry (2017), Seville (2013) and Newport (2008) are the only The Metropolitan winners from 2008 – 2024 to come off a non-Sydney lead-up race.
• Since 2005 just three horses have come off a victory before winning The Metropolitan including the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Kingston Town Stakes winner Just Fine in 2023.
• Favourites have a poor recent record in The Metropolitan results with only four saluting from 2006-2024.
• Since Railings (2005) the only The Metropolitan winner younger than five-years-old was Montefilia (4YO mare in 2021).
• Trainer Gai Waterhouse holds the record with nine The Metropolitan winners as of 2024.

2024 The Metropolitan Form

A link to our detailed The Metropolitan 2024 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

The Metropolitan Handicap Results

The Metropolitan race results display the exact finishing order of all the starters, any scratched horses, the winning margin, time, weight and starting price of each galloper.

In recent years The Metropolitan Handicap results have been dominated by Sydney-trained horses coming off lead-up runs in New South Wales. Favourites only have an average record in The Metropolitan results of the past decade, with the last to salute for the punters being Just Fine (2023).

Notable recent The Metropolitan winners include Coco Cobanna (2000), Glencadam Gold (2012), Sir John Hawkwood (2016), and Montefilia (2021).

Montefilia (2021) is the last The Metropolitan winning mare.

Just Fine holds the current The Metropolitan race record winning in 2023 in a time of 2 minutes 26:11 seconds.

Past The Metropolitan Winners

Recent The Metropolitan winners and placegetters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.

FAQ

When is The Metropolitan 2024?

What is the prize money for The Metropolitan 2024?

$750,000

Where is The Metroplitan 2024?

Randwick Racecourse, Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031.