The Gong 2023

The Gong is one of the newer events taking place during the recently revamped Sydney Spring Racing Carnival that sees the festival offer around $60 million in prize money across the six weeks surrounding the world’s richest turf race, October’s $20 million The Everest (1200m) in October.

There are now over a dozen seven-figure Sydney spring races giving away at least $1 million in prize money, the last of which is the $1 million The Gong held at Wollongong in late November at the Kembla Grange track.

2022 The Gong winner Riodini. Photo: Steve Hart.

A week prior Newcastle hosts the $1 million The Hunter (1300m), which is proceeded by The Gong over the 1600m at another new stand-along metropolitan meeting outside of Sydney’s premier tracks – Rosehill and Randwick.

In 2019 jockey James McDonald rode the inaugural winners of both The Hunter and The Gong aboard Savatiano and Mister Sea Wolf respectively.

The addition of this new feature meeting for the Illawarra region – best known for their NRL club the Dragons – sees the spring racing spotlight stay on the greater Sydney area for far longer than in previous seasons as the attention tends to head south for the iconic Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Like The Hunter, The Gong is a quality handicap race with no class or gender restrictions open to horses aged three-years-old and above that offers a generous $580,000 to the winner.

The $300,000 The Warra (1000m) for sprinters is the key support act on The Gong Race Card.

This spring’s edition of The Gong ran on 2023 at Kembla Grange at the tail end of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival and was won in explosive fashion by Detonator Jack ($4.60) from the Maher/Eustace stable. 

2023 The Gong Results

The official The Gong 2023 Results & Finishing Order will be provided below once the race is run and won on Saturday November 25, 2023.

2023 The Gong winner Detonator Jack was huge late running away for a big win in the wet. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 1st: #9 Detonator Jack
• 2nd: #18e Loch Eagle
• 3rd: #3 Osipenko

The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Detonator Jack ($4.60) exploded clear inside the 150m to dominate The Gong 2023 results with an impressive 2.3 length romp home on the Heavy (8) Kembla Grange track on the back of his third in the $2 million The Five Diamonds.

2023 The Gong Odds

The season’s premier The Gong 2023 odds and betting market links will be provided below as soon as released.

The Gong Info

• Date: Saturday November 25, 2023.
• Track: Kembla Grange Racecourse
• Distance: 1600m
• Conditions: Quality Handicap
• Status: Special Condition
• Prize Money: $1 million
• First Run: 2019

The Gong Betting

Betting on The Gong is led by in-form spring gallopers coming off a good lead-up campaign in similar distance / class races.

Proven milers with a good 1600m record, any local hopes with previous form at Kembla Grange and the quality Group 1 runners down in grade dominate The Gong betting.

There are a number of key lead-up races that impact The Gong betting markets including the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) open only to NSW country-trained horses and held at Randwick in October’s The Everest Day and the recently revamped $500,000 Group 2 Hot Danish Stakes for mares.

In 2019 The Gong was won for the first time in an upset by $21 outsider Mister Sea Wolf and there was another upset in 2020 with Archedemus ($18).

In 2021 Count De Rupee ($4.80) became the first (equal) favourite in The Gong betting to salute for the punters.

The favourites were on top again for the fourth edition of the region’s richest race with Riodini saluting at $6.50 in 2022.

Detonator Jack won the 2023 The Gong at $4.60 odds on the back of a third in the $2 million The Five Diamonds (1800m).

The Gong Field

The Gong race field features a line-up of quality spring gallopers, many stepping up to a mile off lead-up runs in shorter distance features over the 1400m distance range.

Any four-year-olds in The Gong field may have come via a run in the $10 million The Golden Eagle (1500m). In 2021 Count De Rupee improved on a lead-up second in the Golden Eagle to win The Gong.

The best runners out of The Gong field are now likely to press onto Randwick’s Group 2 $2 million The Ingham Stakes (1600m) the next month, which replaces the Villiers Stakes as the premier Sydney race of the summer.

2023 The Gong Field

The official The Gong 2023 Final Field and Barriers will be announced by Racing NSW the Wednesday of race week and published in full below.

The 2023 The Gong field features a capacity line-up of spring / summer milers led in betting by the Chris Waller-trained Pierro entire Osipenko.

2023 The Gong Nominations

The early 2023 The Gong nominations will close on the Monday of race week and the list of potential runners in the seven-figure feature will be available below.

The Gong 2023 nominations attracted a bumper 32 end-of-spring hopefuls led in all-in betting by Chris Waller’s Pierro four-year-old Osipenko who was third in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) in Melbourne earlier this prep.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

The Gong Form

The Gong Form Guide details the full race field, horse statistics including track / distance records for all the runners, the race track conditions for the day and early betting previews.

Following The Gong form on the in-form milers that get in well weight-wise under the handicap conditions will be key to picking The Gong winner in the spring.

The Gong form was recently franked with the 2020 winner Archedemus winning the next year’s Group 3 Hawkesbury Cup.

The 2022 The Gong form was franked the next autumn with the second placed mare Hope In Your Heart going on to perform well in a host of Group 1 races in 2023 including a Doncaster Mile fourth and Queen Of The Turf Stakes second.

2023 The Gong Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive The Gong 2023 Form Guide and race selections will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

The Gong Tips

The Gong betting tips centre around the spring’s best performing metropolitan milers coming off good lead-up campaigns in earlier races over at least 1400m.

Any stakes performers staying in Sydney to target The Gong over a trip to Melbourne will make good The Gong race tips as they are being set specifically for the $1 million feature.

2023 The Gong Tips

Our insider Ladbrokes’ The Gong 2023 race tips will be detailed below once the final field is out so stay tuned for the milers to back and sack in the lucrative Illawarra feature race.

• To Win: #9 Detonator Jack ($4.80 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Good edition of The Gong and following the early money with market mover Detonator Jack looking ready to strike. The five-year-old hails from the gun Maher/Eustace stable and presents rock hard fit at the end of a strong campaign. Drawn well in gate nine with Jason Collett retaining the ride. The horse is two-from-two at the distance and comes via some solid Sydney form lines. Second two back in the $1 million Five Diamonds Prelude before a third in the $2 million feature at Rosehill on November 11. Was only a half-length beaten in the Five Diamonds over 1800m and will relish the 1600m now.

The Gong Results

The Gong race results detailing The Gong winners and place-getters along with the winning time from the race’s inauguration in 2019 to the present are detailed in the table below.

The Gong Winners