This spring’s edition of The Gong ran on 2025 at Kembla Grange at the tail end of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival and saw the Ciaron Maher trained favourite Gringotts ($2.45F) overcome the 61kg topweight and a Heavy (8) track to go back-to-back and salute for the punters in the wet!
2025 The Gong Results
The official The Gong 2025 Results & Finishing Order will be provided below once the race is run and won on Saturday November 22, 2025.
- 1st: No. 1 Gringotts
- 2nd: No. 3 Estadio Mestalla
- 3rd: No. 4 New Endeavour
Gringotts ($2.45F) went back-to-back in the 2025 The Gong results at Kembla Grange with a daring rails ride from Nash Rawiller securing the $1 million Group 3 mile feature. The Ciaron Maher-trained Per Incanto gelding justified his favouritism, digging deep to hold off Estadio Mestalla by half a length in testing heavy conditions. Rawiller’s bold decision to stick to the inside rail, while most jockeys fanned wide in search of better ground, proved decisive as he guided Gringotts through the heavier going to produce a trademark tough finish.
The victory made Gringotts the first dual winner of The Gong, having also saluted in 2024, and added to his remarkable record of five $1 million-plus race wins in just over a year, including dual triumphs in The Big Dance and a Group 1 George Ryder Stakes success.
For Maher, it was his third consecutive Gong victory, cementing his stable’s dominance in the feature, while Rawiller’s ride drew comparisons to his famous outside-fence steer on Think It Over in the 2022 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
2025 The Gong Odds
The season’s premier The Gong 2025 odds and betting market links will be provided below as soon as released.
| 1. Gringotts (5) J: Nash Rawiller 61kg 0x521T: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 3. Estadio Mestalla (14) J: Adam Hyeronimus 55.5kg 31x16T: Joseph Pride | ||
| 4. New Endeavour (2) J: Regan Bayliss 55.5kg 512x7T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | ||
| 2. Duke De Sessa (3) J: Adam Farragher 58.5kg 1220xT: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 8. Loch Eagle (13) J: Jason Collett 54kg 817x0T: Kris Lees | ||
| 6. Waterford (11) J: Dylan Gibbons 55kg x0100T: Chris Waller | ||
| 13. Tavi Time (12) J: Tommy Berry 53.5kg 2x458T: Kris Lees | ||
| 18. Ducasse (7) J: Kerrin McEvoy 54kg x4535T: Michael Freedman | ||
| 17. Regal Azmon (10) J: Tyler Schiller 53kg 4x725T: Phillip Stokes | ||
| 7. Territory Express (15) J: Jean Van Overmeire 54kg x00x3T: Paul Niceforo | ||
| 14. Amor Victorious (1) J: Rachel King 53kg 187x8T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 5. Victoria Road (6) J: Josh Parr 55.5kg 397x8T: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 12. Sandpaper (8) J: Ashley Morgan 53.5kg 15x07T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 15. Democracy Manifest (4) J: Zac Lloyd 53kg x9505T: Chris Waller |
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.
2025 The Gong Tips
Our insider Ladbrokes’ The Gong 2025 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: No. 1 Gringotts
Reigning champ GRINGOTTS (7) heads the markets at $2.20 at time of publish and remains the standout in Saturday’s $1 million feature at Kembla Grange despite lumping the 61kg topweight. The classy Per Incanto six-year-old is chasing history as the first dual winner of the race and brings in the perfect form lines to do it.
Twelve months ago, he saluted from barrier 14 with 60kg fresh off his Melbourne Cup Day triumph in Sydney’s The Big Dance. Fast forward a year and he’s back in identical fashion, again arriving off a Randwick Big Dance victory on November 4 – this time carrying 62kg in a brave performance that underlined his toughness.
Now a Group 1 winner courtesy of his George Ryder success in the autumn, Gringotts has proven time and again that weight is no barrier. With Nash Rawiller sticking solid and a far kinder draw in barrier seven, everything points to him defending his crown.
History beckons and I’m here for it.
|
1. Gringotts (5)
J: Nash Rawiller 61kg
0x521T: Ciaron Maher
|
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.
The Gong was upgraded to Group 3 status for the first time in 2024.
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.
The Gong Info
- 2025 Race Name: THE ILLAWARRA MERCURY GONG
- Date: Saturday November 22, 2025.
- Track: Kembla Grange Racecourse
- Distance: 1600m
- Conditions: Quality Handicap
- Status: Group 3
- 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).
Gringotts ($2.60 in 2024 and $2.45 in 2025) was the last The Gong favourite to win.
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.
Another key lead-up into The Gong field is the lucrative $3 million The Big Dance race held in Sydney on Melbourne Cup Day.
Gringotts (2024 and 2025) was the last horse to complete The Big Dance – The Gong double.
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.
2025 The Gong Field
The official The Gong 2025 Final Field and Barriers will be announced by Racing NSW the Wednesday of race week and published in full below.
The 2025 The Gong field features a capacity line-up of mile types including the defending champion Gringotts carrying the 61kg topweight and coming off a successful The Big Dance title defence.
| Entrant | Last 6 | Sex | Barrier | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Gringotts
J: Nash Rawiller
T: Ciaron Maher |
10x521 | G | 5 | 61kg | |
|
2. Duke De Sessa
J: Adam Farragher
T: Ciaron Maher |
x1220x | G | 3 | 58.5kg | |
|
3. Estadio Mestalla
J: Adam Hyeronimus
T: Joseph Pride |
331x16 | G | 14 | 55.5kg | |
|
4. New Endeavour
J: Regan Bayliss
T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott |
3512x7 | G | 2 | 55.5kg | |
|
5. Victoria Road
J: Josh Parr
T: Ciaron Maher |
7397x8 | G | 6 | 55.5kg | |
|
6. Waterford
J: Dylan Gibbons
T: Chris Waller |
4x0100 | G | 11 | 55kg | |
|
7. Territory Express
J: Jean Van Overmeire
T: Paul Niceforo |
0x00x3 | G | 15 | 54kg | |
|
8. Loch Eagle
J: Jason Collett
T: Kris Lees |
x817x0 | G | 13 | 54kg | |
| 9. Steparty (10) Scratched: | |||||
| 10. Detonator Jack (17) Scratched: | |||||
| 11. Port Lockroy (12) Scratched: | |||||
|
12. Sandpaper
J: Ashley Morgan
T: Bjorn Baker |
515x07 | G | 8 | 53.5kg | |
|
13. Tavi Time
J: Tommy Berry
T: Kris Lees |
12x458 | G | 12 | 53.5kg | |
|
14. Amor Victorious
J: Rachel King
T: Bjorn Baker |
3187x8 | G | 1 | 53kg | |
|
15. Democracy Manifest
J: Zac Lloyd
T: Chris Waller |
5x9505 | G | 4 | 53kg | |
|
16. Palmetto
J: Alysha Collett
T: John Sargent |
x47065 | G | 9 | 53kg | |
|
17. Regal Azmon
J: Tyler Schiller
T: Phillip Stokes |
14x725 | G | 10 | 53kg | |
|
18. Ducasse
J: Kerrin McEvoy
T: Michael Freedman |
0x4535 | G | 7 | 54kg | |
| 19. Shadizi (6) Scratched: | |||||
| 20. Touristic (3) Scratched: | |||||
2025 The Gong Nominations
The early 2025 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.
| Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Ballot | Weight | True Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10x310x521 | GRINGOTTS (NZ) | G | 6 | Ciaron Maher | 1 | 61kg | 61kg | 118 | |
| 2 | 4419x1220x | DUKE DE SESSA (IRE) | G | 7 | Ciaron Maher | 2 | 58.5kg | 58.5kg | 113 | |
| 3 | 7015331×16 | ESTADIO MESTALLA (IRE) | G | 7 | Joseph Pride | 3= | 55.5kg | 55.5kg | 107 | |
| 4 | 0x623512x7 | NEW ENDEAVOUR (IRE) | G | 6 | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | 3= | 55.5kg | 55.5kg | 107 | |
| 5 | 111x7397x8 | VICTORIA ROAD (IRE) | G | 6 | Ciaron Maher | 3= | 55.5kg | 55.5kg | 107 | |
| 6 | 81x64x0100 | WATERFORD (IRE) | G | 7 | Chris Waller | 6 | 55kg | 55kg | 106 | |
| 7 | x9275x4301 | OSIPENKO (NZ) | G | 6 | Chris Waller | 7 | 54.5kg | 54.5kg | 105 | |
| 8 | x6250x00x3 | TERRITORY EXPRESS | G | 6 | Paul Niceforo | 8 | 54kg | 54kg | 104 | |
| 9 | 0150x817x0 | LOCH EAGLE | G | 7 | Kris Lees | 9= | 54kg | 53.5kg | 103 | |
| 10 | 3221515×07 | SANDPAPER | G | 6 | Bjorn Baker | 9= | 54kg | 53.5kg | 103 | |
| 11 | 2235×88349 | STEPARTY | G | 5 | Paul Preusker | 9= | 54kg | 53.5kg | 103 | |
| 12 | 1x2512x458 | TAVI TIME (NZ) | G | 6 | Kris Lees | 9= | 54kg | 53.5kg | 103 | |
| 13 | 07×6057752 | DETONATOR JACK (NZ) | G | 7 | Ciaron Maher | 13 | 54kg | 53kg | 102 | |
| 14 | 74x23187x8 | AMOR VICTORIOUS | G | 6 | Bjorn Baker | 14 | 54kg | 53kg | 101 | |
| 15 | 00x05x9505 | DEMOCRACY MANIFEST | G | 7 | Chris Waller | 15= | 54kg | 53kg | 100 | |
| 16 | 2155×47065 | PALMETTO (NZ) | G | 7 | John Sargent | 15= | 54kg | 53kg | 100 | |
| 17 | x897x00078 | PORT LOCKROY | H | 5 | Annabel & Rob Archibald | 15= | 54kg | 53kg | 100 | |
| 18 | x43114x725 | REGAL AZMON | G | 8 | Phillip Stokes | 18 | 54kg | 53kg | 98 | |
| 19 | 3330x11x84 | MELODY AGAIN | M | 6 | Scott Singleton | 19 | 54kg | 53kg | 97 | |
| 20 | 15340×4535 | DUCASSE | G | 5 | Michael Freedman | 20= | 54kg | 53kg | 96 | |
| 21 | 1x1x0x7946 | SHADIZI (FR) | G | 5 | Chris Waller | 20= | 54kg | 53kg | 96 | |
| 22 | 774841744x | TOURISTIC (GB) | G | 7 | Peter Snowden | 22 | 54kg | 53kg | 94 | |
| 23 | 5839×53906 | OUR GOLD HOPE | M | 5 | Robert & Luke Price | 23 | 54kg | 53kg | 93 | |
| 24 | 11118×7534 | ENXUTO | G | 5 | Robbie Griffiths | 24= | 54kg | 53kg | 92 | |
| 25 | 7619x5x090 | JOJO WAS A MAN | G | 8 | John Thompson | 24= | 54kg | 53kg | 92 | |
| 26 | 6324×31561 | MAGNATEAR | G | 6 | Richard & Will Freedman | 24= | 54kg | 53kg | 92 | |
| 27 | 1x1122x61 | SABAJ | G | 4 | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | 27= | 54kg | 53kg | 90 | |
| 28 | x34147x740 | SHANGRI LA SPRING | H | 4 | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | 27= | 54kg | 53kg | 90 | |
| 29 | 97×0919029 | RUBY FLYER | G | 7 | Brad Widdup | 29= | 54kg | 53kg | 89 | |
| 30 | 000×102252 | WELL TIMED | G | 5 | Kerry Parker | 29= | 54kg | 53kg | 89 | |
| 31 | 81122×3637 | LORD OF BISCAY (IRE) | G | 6 | Kris Lees | 31 | 54kg | 53kg | 88 | |
| 32 | 595100×200 | LAVISH EMPIRE | G | 6 | Peter Snowden | 32 | 54kg | 53kg | 87 | |
| 33 | 65×3121 | MARGOT’S DEEL | M | 4 | Jason Edwards | 33 | 54kg | 53kg | 70 | |
| 34 | 7×29027003 | MISS EMMA | M | 5 | Geoffrey Crothers | 34 | 54kg | 53kg | 61 | |
| 35 | 41010×7058 | ELOPED | M | 8 | Geoffrey Crothers | 35 | 54kg | 53kg | 60 |
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 racetrack 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.
In 2023 The Gong runner-up Loch Eagle franked the form with a next-up win in the Group 2 Ingham Stakes.
The 2024 The Gong winner, Gringotts, would go on to win the following autumn’s Group 1 George Ryder Stakes in March of 2025 as well as successfully defend both his The Big Dance and The Gong titles that spring.
2025 The Gong Form Guide
A link to our comprehensive The Gong 2025 Form Guide and race selections will be provided for punters below the week of the race.
The Gong Results
The Gong race results detailing The Gong winners and placegetters along with the winning time from the race’s inauguration in 2019 to the present are detailed in the table below.
The Gong Winners
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Gringotts | Estadio Mestalla | New Endeavour | 1:37.44 |
| 2024 | Gringotts | Suparazi | Steparty | 1:33.67 |
| 2023 | Detonator Jack | Loch Eagle | Osipenko | 1:36.70 |
| 2022 | Riodini | Hope In Your Heart | Old Flame | 1:33.57 |
| 2021 | Count De Rupee | Nudge | Yamazaki | 1:36.98 |
| 2020 | Archedemus | Dawn Passage | Think It Over | 1:35.27 |
| 2019 | Mister Sea Wolf | Quackerjack | Star Of The Seas | 1:34.52 |
FAQ
Who won the 2025 The Gong?
The 2025 The Gong was won by the defending champion, six-year-old Per Incanto gelding Gringotts, at $2.45 favouritism for trainer Ciaron Maher with jockey Nash Rawiller aboard on the 61kg topweight to win by 0.4 lengths on a Heavy (8) track in a time of 1:37.44.
When is The Gong 2025?
Saturday November 22, 2025What is the prize money for The Gong 2025?
$1,000,000
Where is The Gong 2025?
Kembla Grange Racecourse, Princes Highway, Kembla Grange NSW 2526.
How do I bet on the 2025 The Gong?
Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at ladbrokes.com.au. 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 2025 The Gong?
The best way to pick which horse will win The Gong is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out ladbrokes.com.au in the lead up to the race for full form information.