The latest edition of the Newcastle Gold Cup ran on Friday, September 18, 2026 as a spring lead-up to the Group 1 staying races and was won in a huge performance by the odds-on Matthew Smith-trained favourite Aethelwulf ($1.20F) to keep his Melbourne Cup dream alive.
The Newcastle Gold Cup is one of the headline staying races of the early spring, and it’s a major betting highlight thanks to its deep fields, proven form lines and strong link to upcoming Group features. Run over 2300m at Newcastle, this Group 3 handicap consistently attracts a mix of seasoned stayers and emerging spring contenders looking to launch their campaigns toward bigger targets like The Metropolitan and Caulfield Cup. With shifting markets, sharp early moves and plenty of value for punters who read the form well, the Newcastle Gold Cup delivers a genuine spring‑shaping contest — and Ladbrokes has every price update, futures angle and betting opportunity covered to keep you ahead of the action.
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Results
The official Newcastle Gold Cup Results 2026 and race finishing order will be known once the race is run and won on Friday, September 18, 2026 and published below.
- #6 Aethelwulf
- #8 Steel Blaze
- #3 Bella Montagna
Aethelwulf ($1.20 favourite) strengthened his spring staying credentials with an emphatic victory in Friday’s 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup results, the progressive Matthew Smith-trained son of Saxon Warrior extending his winning streak to four with a comfortable 2.25 length success over Steel Blaze, while Bella Montagna finished third. Expertly ridden by Zac Lloyd, the emerging stayer settled just behind the pace before taking control approaching the 1000m and proving far too strong late to secure his maiden stakes victory and improve his record to five wins from just seven starts. With bigger targets now firmly in sight, Aethelwulf is being aimed towards races such as The Metropolitan and The Bart Cummings as connections chase a coveted start in the 2026 Melbourne Cup. Following the dominant Newcastle performance, Ladbrokes reacted by slashing his Melbourne Cup odds from $51 into $21, while he has also been installed as the $3.20 favourite in futures betting for The Metropolitan 2026.
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Race Replay
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Odds & Finishing Order
The leading Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 betting odds will be available here for punters the week of the race so stay tuned to access the premium Group 3 spring racing odds in Sydney this season.
Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 Results
| 6. Aethelwulf (4) J: Zac Lloyd 54kg 15111 T: Matthew Smith | ||
| 8. Steel Blaze (1) J: Reece Jones 54kg 08936 T: Brett Lazzarini | ||
| 3. Bella Montagna (3) J: Regan Bayliss 54kg 425×4 T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | ||
| 7. Amplify (6) J: Dylan Gibbons 54kg 94313 T: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 5. Elliptical (2) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 54kg 95453 T: Chris Waller | ||
| 1. Changingoftheguard (5) J: Tim Clark 59.5kg 910×8 T: Kris Lees | ||
| 4. Age Of Sail (7) J: Tom Sherry 54kg 38×97 T: Kris Lees |
Newcastle Gold Cup Tips
Newcastle Gold Cup tips include backing stayers coming off a top three run in a Group status Sydney lead-up race and looking for any returning runners that have previous experience in the event.
Getting behind any in-form Chris Waller trained horses is also a top Newcastle Gold Cup betting tip with the horseman having prepared seven winners including his back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022, and again with Etna Rosso (2024) and Soul Of Spain (2025).
Gai Waterhouse however holds the Newcastle Gold Cup training record with eight wins, the latest of which was in 2023 with Military Mission.
Ladbrokes Tip: The Newcastle Gold Cup is a key lead-up into the Group 1 The Metropolitan!
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Predictions & Best Bets
Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 betting tips and Group 3 Broadmeadow racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race.
| 6. Aethelwulf (4) J: Zac Lloyd 54kg 15111 T: Matthew Smith |
| 5. Elliptical (2) J: Kerrin Mcevoy 54kg 95453 T: Chris Waller |
| 7. Amplify (6) J: Dylan Gibbons 54kg 94313 T: Ciaron Maher |
Latest News
The Newcastle Gold Cup is a popular Group 3 staying showdown run over 2300m at Newcastle’s Broadmeadow Racecourse on a Friday in mid to late September each Sydney Spring Racing Carnival.
The open handicap event offers a lucrative $300,000 in prize money and serves as an excellent lead-up into Randwick’s Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m) run on Epsom Handicap Day, and the Newcastle Gold Cup winner earns a ballot exemption into that race.
Glencadam Gold (2012) was the last horse to complete the Newcastle Gold Cup – The Metropolitan double, while in 2020 the Newcastle Gold Cup winner Mugatoo ran a next-up second in that year’s The Metropolitan quinella.
Royal Supremacy (2nd in 2025) was the last Newcastle Gold Cup graduate to go on and win The Metropolitan.
In 2023 Spirit Ridge ran second in both the Newcastle Cup and The Metropolitan, while the Newcastle Gold Cup winner Military Mission ran a next-up The Metropolitan fourth.
Mugatoo, who handed local trainer Kris Lees his first home-town Cup victory, also ran fourth in the 2020 Cox Plate results and returned the following autumn to take out the then $5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) in Melbourne first-up.
A time-honoured staying classic, the Newcastle Gold Cup has been run and won since 1898 and has held Group 3 status since 2001.
In 2022 trainer Chris Waller celebrated his fifth Newcastle Gold Cup success thanks to a big win by that year’s subsequent Caulfield Cup champion Durston.
Waller became a six-time Newcastle Gold Cup winning trainer in 2024 with Etna Rosso.
Newcastle Gold Cup Day also features the Group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m) for Epsom Handicap hopefuls and the Group 3 Tibbie Stakes (1400m) for fillies and mares.
Newcastle Gold Cup Race Facts
- Date: Friday, September 18, 2026
- Track: Newcastle Racecourse
- Distance: 2300m
- Conditions: Open Handicap
- Status: Group 3
- Prize Money: $300,000
- First Run: 1898
Newcastle Gold Cup Betting
Newcastle Gold Cup betting markets are dominated by in-form Sydney-trained spring stayers in good form coming off strong runs in lead-up races including Rosehill’s Group 3 Premier’s Cup (1900m) with Mugatoo (2020) the last to do the double.
Mugatoo ($2.40 in 2020), Etna Rosso ($3.40 in 2024), Soul Of Spain ($2.45 in 2025) and Aethelwulf ($1.20 in 2026) are the latest favourites in Newcastle Gold Cup betting odds to salute for the punters.
In 2023 Military Mission ran 2nd in the Premier’s Cup before taking out the Newcastle Gold Cup two starts later in an upset at $16.
Newcastle Gold Cup Field
The Newcastle Gold Cup race field attracts a quality line-up of mainly Sydney-trained stayers coming off lead-up runs in earlier spring races over 2000m plus in distance.
A good lead-up race into the Newcastle Gold Cup field is the Listed Wyong Gold Cup (2100m) held a fortnight earlier and Carzoff (2018) followed by subsequent Caulfield Cup champion Durston (2022) are the latest horses to do the double.
The 2024 Newcastle Gold Cup winner Etna Rosso came off a lead-up fifth in that year’s Wyong Gold Cup results.
Horses out of the Newcastle Gold Cup field may back-up in Rosehill’s Group 3 Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) the following Saturday chasing the Group 1 The Metropolitan ballot exemption on offer.
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Field
The official Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 field and barrier draw will be released on the Wednesday of race week and published in full below so stay tuned to see the horses that make the line-up.
The 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup field features a small but quality line-up of spring stayers including the flying Matthew Smith-trained four-year-old Aethelwulf chasing a fourth win on the trot.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Changingoftheguard
J: Tim Clark
T: Kris Lees |
9910x8 | G | 5 | 59.5kg | |
| 2. So You Are (3) Scratched: | |||||
|
3. Bella Montagna
J: Regan Bayliss
T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott |
2425x4 | M | 3 | 54kg | |
|
4. Age Of Sail
J: Tom Sherry
T: Kris Lees |
638x97 | G | 7 | 54kg | |
|
5. Elliptical
J: Kerrin Mcevoy
T: Chris Waller |
695453 | G | 2 | 54kg | |
|
6. Aethelwulf
J: Zac Lloyd
T: Matthew Smith |
x15111 | G | 4 | 54kg | |
|
7. Amplify
J: Dylan Gibbons
T: Ciaron Maher |
594313 | M | 6 | 54kg | |
|
8. Steel Blaze
J: Reece Jones
T: Brett Lazzarini |
x08936 | G | 1 | 54kg | |
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Nominations
The early Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 nominations are taken the Monday ahead of the race with the full list of entries to be published for punters below.
Newcastle Gold Cup Form Guide
The Newcastle Gold Cup form guide features all the facts and stats you need to place a well-informed wager on the race including the jockey, trainer, weight allocation, barrier, age and lead-up form of all the horses in the field.
The Newcastle Gold Cup form has stacked-up plenty of times in tougher staying races including when the 2011 winner Green Moon ran second next-up in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup before a win in the following year’s Melbourne Cup.
In 2022 Newcastle Gold Cup winner Durston went on to win that year’s Caulfield Cup in an upset at $18 after gaining a start as the first emergency the morning of the race.
Looking further back in Newcastle Gold Cup history, after running second to stablemate The Brotherhood in the 1987 edition of the race Kensei would go on to win that year’s Melbourne Cup over the two-miles at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.
Gurner’s Lane (1982) meanwhile was the last horse to complete the Newcastle Gold Cup – Melbourne Cup double in the same year.
Soul Of Spain boosted the form with a next‑up second in The Metropolitan and later returned in the 2026 autumn to finish runner‑up in the Group 1 Sydney Cup over two miles. The 2025 Newcastle Gold Cup also produced that year’s Metropolitan winner, with Royal Supremacy improving on his lead‑up second to Soul Of Spain to turn the tables in the Group 1.
2026 Newcastle Gold Cup Form
A link to our detailed Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 Form Guide & Betting Preview will be available for punters below the week of the race.
Past Newcastle Gold Cup Results
The Newcastle Gold Cup race results are known each year after the event runs at Broadmeadow Racecourse on a Friday in mid-September and display the winning horse, successful trifecta, winning margin and time so you can see how your bets went.
Bianca (2008) was the last Newcastle Gold Cup winning mare.
Aethelwulf holds the current Newcastle Gold Cup race record setting a new track record in 2026 winning in 2 minutes 22.02 seconds.
Recent Newcastle Gold Cup Winners
Recent Newcastle Gold Cup winners dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.
| Year | Winner | Trainer/s | Jockey | Weight | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Aethelwulf | Matthew Simth | Zac Lloyd | 54 kgs | 2:22.02 (R) |
| 2025 | Soul Of Spain | Chris Waller | Zac Lloyd | 54 kgs | 2:25.00 |
| 2024 | Etna Rosso | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 54 kgs | 2:24.06 |
| 2023 | Military Mission | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Rachel King | 54 kgs | 2:22.40 |
| 2022 | Durston | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 55.5 kgs | 2:26.72 |
| 2021 | Great House | Chris Waller | Jeff Penza | 54 kgs | 2:28.04 |
| 2020 | Mugatoo | Kris Lees | Kerrin McEvoy | 59 kgs | 2:25.10 |
| 2019 | Hush Writer | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 54 kgs | 2:24.25 |
| 2018 | Carzoff | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 54 kgs | 2:24.44 |
| 2017 | Broadside | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 54 kgs | 2:24.26 |
| 2016 | Sacred Master | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 56.5 kgs | 2:14.59 |
| 2015 | Beyond Thankful | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 58 kgs | 2:23.55 |
| 2014 | Disclaimer | Paul Snowden | Jason Collett | 54 kgs | 2:23.16 |
| 2013 | Winning Glory | David Payne | Nash Rawiller | 56.5 kgs | 2:24.96 |
| 2012 | Glencadam Gold | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 58 kgs | 2:23.34 |
| 2011 | Green Moon | Robert Hickmott | Brenton Avdulla | 53 kgs | 2:22.47 |
| 2010 | Stratofortress | Gai Waterhouse | Peter Robl | 53 kgs | 2:22.22 |
| 2009 | Streetfighter | Terry Mathrick | Kerrin McEvoy | 54 kgs | 2:26.99 |
| 2008 | Bianca | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 56.5 kgs | 2:23.45 |
| 2007 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2006 | Bikkie Tin Blues | Brian Smith | Brad Pengelly | 54 kgs | 2:21.13 |
| 2005 | Carael Boyhigh Cee | Bob MilliganBart Cummings | Larry CassidyBlake Shinn | 56 kgs52 kgs | 2:25.58 |
| 2004 | Another Warrior | Alan Bailey | Glen Colless | 55.5 kgs | 2:20.54 |
| 2003 | Comforts | John Hawkes | Corey Brown | 55.5 kgs | 2:21.58 |
| 2002 | Time Off | John Hawkes | Corey Brown | 53 kgs | 2:23.40 |
| 2001 | Agincourt Express | Gai Waterhouse | Glen Boss | 54 kgs | 2:24.88 |
| 2000 | Silent Impact | Neville McBurney | Darryl McLellan | 51 kgs | 2:28.46 |
FAQs
How do I bet on the 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup?
Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at Ladbrokes. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods. Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.
Which horse will win the 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup?
The best way to pick which horse will win the Newcastle Gold Cup is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out Ladbrokes in the lead up to the race for full form information.
When is the Newcastle Gold Cup 2026?
The Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 is scheduled to run on Friday the 18th of September, forming a key part of the Newcastle Cup Carnival and kicking off a major stretch of early‑spring staying races for Ladbrokes punters. It is set to run as Newcastle Race 6 at 4:05pm (AEST).
What is the prize money for the Newcastle Gold Cup 2026?
The 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup prize money is set at $300,000 which is paid from 1st to 10th place including $170,000 going to the Newcastle Gold Cup winner.
Where is the Newcastle Gold Cup 2026?
The Newcastle Gold Cup 2026 will be run at Newcastle Racecourse, one of Australia’s premier provincial tracks and home to the iconic Newcastle Cup Carnival, which is located at Darling St, Broadmeadow, NSW 2292.
What distance is the Newcastle Gold Cup run over?
The Newcastle Gold Cup is run over 2300 metres, a genuine staying trip that helps identify which runners are ready to progress toward the major spring staying features.
How many horses run in the Newcastle Gold Cup?
The Newcastle Gold Cup generally attracts a field of around 12–16 runners, with final numbers depending on acceptances for the 2300m Group 3 each spring.
Who won the 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup
The 2026 Newcastle Gold Cup was won by four-year-old Saxon Warrior gelding Aethelwulf at heavy odds-on $1.20 favouritism for trainer Matthew Smith with jockey Zac Lloyd aboard on 54kg from barrier 4 to win by 2.47 lengths in a new race record time of 2:22.02 on a Good (4) track.
Who won the 2025 Newcastle Gold Cup?
The 2025 Newcastle Gold Cup winner was five-year-old Phoenix Of Spain five-year-old Soul Of Spain at $2.45 favoritism for the race's now seven-time winning trainer Chris Waller with jockey Zac Lloyd aboard on 54kg from barrier 1 to win by 0.61 lengths on a Good (4) track in a time of 2:25.00.