Bendigo Cup Tips & Predictions 2026: Best Bets

It could be a busy week for KINGS VALLEY (12), who ran second in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup on Saturday, and he’s making the quick back-up.

The six-year-old son of Territories flashed home for second behind Juja Kibo, who is already in the Melbourne Cup, and Kings Valley wouldn’t look out of place winning this race, and punters have already come for him.

He has a solid winning record of six wins from 30 starts, which isn’t bad for a stayer, and he could score an overdue win at the most important time. He opened at $4 before firming to $3.10, which is a big betting move in an open staying contest, and he should give punters a sight at Bendigo.

Ethan Brown will likely settle him back in the field, and he owns one of the best sprints over the final 200m in this race, so he could finish over the top of them.

It’s rare to see stayers string wins together, which is why we’re including SO YOU ARE (1) in our Bendigo Cup predictions.

The Sydney-based stayer has two wins at Randwick and one at Rosehill from his last three starts, and we love the way he looms into the race before putting them away late. It’s a good asset to have as a stayer, and trainer Bjorn Baker can’t do much wrong this season.

The five-year-old gelding hasn’t been racing against the top-level stayers, but Sydney form should always be respected, and he’ll get every chance in the run off the inside barrier with in-form jockey Rachel King in the saddle.

SOULCOMBE (4) is a seven-year-old son of Frankel who knows what it takes to run well in big staying races, and we’re prepared to give him another chance.

He ran in the Geelong Cup last week when finishing sixth, and although it was only a moderate run behind Point of Law, not many runners in that field made up ground from the back of the field.

With five wins from 20 starts overall, he has a good win rate, and after four races this campaign, he looks ready to peak, so include him in Bendigo Cup tips.

Punters get value odds with our Bendigo Cup SRM, which includes our three selected runners.

• Top 3 – No. 6 Kings Valley
• Top 3 – No. 4 So You Are
• Top 5 – No. 5 Soulcombe

We have Kings Valley Top 3, So You Are Top 3, and Soulcombe Top 5, which pays $8.50 for our three-runner SRM.

We have our top two tips running in the first three home, which boosts payouts, and Soulcombe is good enough to post a top five finish for punters who want more value.