Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025 VRC Champions Sprint Preview
Established in 1960 as the Craven 'A' Stakes but is known these days as the Champions Sprint having previously been known as the Sprint Classic.
The race takes place on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival as one of three 'Champions' races which is the Saturday after the Melbourne Cup. This Group 1 is run over a distance of just 1,200m and is open to runners who are aged three or older.
VRC Champions Sprint Information:
- VRC Champions Sprint Past Winners
- VRC Champions Sprint Trainer Statistics
- VRC Champions Sprint Jockey Statistics
Our dedicated Flemington tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the VRC Champions Sprint but will also have predictions for each meeting at Flemington throughout the season so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival section for links to these.
How competitive is the VRC Champions Sprint market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2007 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2022 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 119%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the VRC Champions Sprint, the over-round has been 113%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £113 which is bet.
VRC Champions Sprint Trends:
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the VRC Champions Sprint next time out then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -3.06. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2025 VRC Champions Sprint.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 1:07.96 was set by Black Caviar in 2010, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Peter G Moody and ridden by Ben Melham. The slowest winning time was set in 2008 when Swick won in a time of 1:11.05, booked to ride was Michael Rodd by the trainer Bart Cummings.
These are the top three quickest-run VRC Champions Sprint over the last 20 renewals:
- Black Caviar (1:07.96) in 2010
- Black Caviar (1:08.32) in 2011
- Dance Hero (1:08.62) in 2006
VRC Champions Sprint Past Winners
Here are the VRC Champions Sprint past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the VRC Champions Sprint are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 1:09.25 | Sunshine In Paris (AUS) 5yo 8-13 (9 of 12) 4/1 | James McDonald Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald (AUS) |
| 2023 1:09.08 | Imperatriz (AUS) 5yo 8-13 (8 of 11) 23/20F | Opie Bosson Mark Walker (SIN) |
| 2022 1:09.19 | Roch N Horse (NZ) 6yo 8-13 (6 of 14) 19/1 | Jamie Mott Michael Moroney (AUS) |
| 2021 1:08.78 | Nature Strip (AUS) 7yo 9-3 (2 of 9) 2/7F | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
| 2020 1:08.69 | Bivouac (AUS) 4yo 9-3 (6 of 10) 11/5F | Glen Boss James Cummings (AUS) |
| 2019 1:09.23 | Nature Strip (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (9 of 9) 13/5 | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
| 2018 1:08.66 | Santa Ana Lane (AUS) 6yo 9-3 (5 of 14) 9/1 | Mark Zahra Anthony Freedman (AUS) |
| 2017 1:08.74 | Redzel (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (9 of 13) 3/1F | Kerrin McEvoy Peter & Paul Snowden (AUS) |
| 2016 1:10.25 | Malaguerra (AUS) 5yo 9-3 (11 of 12) 17/2 | Ben Melham Peter Gelagotis (AUS) |
| 2015 1:10.07 | Delectation (AUS) 4yo 9-3 (8 of 9) 13/1 | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the VRC Champions Sprint have been based:
- AUS: 18 winners with an additional 37 placings from 201 runners
- SIN: 2 winners with an additional 0 placings from 6 runners
- HK: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 6 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 5 runners
- NZ: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 5 runners
- GB: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
- USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
VRC Champions Sprint Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the VRC Champions Sprint over the last 20 renewals is Chris Waller who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Delectation (2015) and Nature Strip (2019 & 2021). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the VRC Champions Sprint is Peter G Moody (2 wins).
Here are some of the top VRC Champions Sprint trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Waller | 14-3-5 | +4.89 | -0.12 |
| Peter G Moody | 12-2-4 | -9.06 | -6.11 |
| Robert Heathcote | 6-1-2 | +5.00 | +6.50 |
| Joseph Pride | 6-1-3 | +4.00 | +5.25 |
| James Cummings | 6-1-3 | -2.80 | -1.58 |
| Gai Waterhouse | 4-1-3 | +11.00 | +9.15 |
| Danny O'Brien | 4-1-3 | +4.50 | +4.95 |
| Peter Snowden | 4-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.60 |
| Bart Cummings | 3-1-2 | +13.00 | +10.63 |
| Grahame Begg | 3-1-1 | +1.00 | -0.20 |
VRC Champions Sprint Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the VRC Champions Sprint over the last 20 renewals is James McDonald who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Delectation (2015), Nature Strip (2019 & 2021) and Sunshine In Paris (2024). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the VRC Champions Sprint are Kerrin McEvoy (2 wins) and Ben Melham (2 wins). Two jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the VRC Champions Sprint, Craig A Williams has ridden 15 runners to the race without recording any wins whilst Damien Oliver has ridden 10 without a winner.
Here are some of the top VRC Champions Sprint jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| James McDonald | 10-4-6 | +13.89 | +7.25 |
| Kerrin McEvoy | 10-2-3 | +1.00 | -0.97 |
| Ben Melham | 9-2-2 | +2.40 | -1.34 |
| Hugh Bowman | 10-1-5 | +0.00 | +3.33 |
| Luke Nolen | 9-1-3 | -7.96 | -4.67 |
| Craig Newitt | 8-1-2 | -6.40 | -5.56 |
| Mark Zahra | 6-1-2 | +4.00 | +6.90 |
| Glen Boss | 5-1-1 | -1.80 | -2.68 |
| Michael Rodd | 4-1-1 | +12.00 | +6.00 |
| Damian Browne | 3-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.00 |
2025 VRC Champions Sprint Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 13, 8, 1, 8, 1, 1, 1, 2, 6, 2, 2, 10, 1, 5, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1, 3
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the racing post in terms of previous runs etc.
- 20 / 20 (54%) - Within the first 6 of the market
- 20 / 20 (57%) - No bigger than 19/1
- 20 / 20 (60%) - Break of 7 - 49 days (Last Place)
- 20 / 20 (65%) - Achieved an RPR of 112+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (68%) - Had 1 - 3 placings (90 Days)
- 20 / 20 (69%) - Carried 123 - 129lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Had 2 - 7 placings (Season)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Had 1 - 4 placings (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Ran in 6 - 33 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Carried 114 - 126lbs (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Ran in 3 - 9 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Had 3 - 24 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Ran over 5½f - 6½f (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Placed 6f - 1m
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST/Cl2
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Flemington racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the VRC Champions Sprint. How well do you know your horse racing? Are there certain types of races that you are unsure of? Why not take a look at this Types Of Horse Race article to familiarise yourself with the different types of racing, that is just one of many helpful horse racing articles in the OLBG Betting School.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the VRC Champions Sprint by adding a tip on the race here.
VRC Champions Sprint Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +29.70 is when runners had 2 places in the past 180 days.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 places in the past 90 days, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-70.
Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2024: Winner in 9 (3,12) [12 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 8 (11,5) [11 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 6 (12,5) [14 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 2 (9,6) [9 Runners]
- 2020: Winner in 6 (9,5) [10 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the VRC Champions Sprint is Moonee Valley, there has been a total number of 8 winners of this race who ran at Moonee Valley last time out. The next best courses which have produced the second most winners are Flemington and Randwick, there has been a total number of 5 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 13 winners from a total of 163 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 7 winners from a total of 62 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the VRC Champions Sprint:
- Bel Esprit (2 Wins)
- Nicconi (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the VRC Champions Sprint despite multiple attempts:
- Fastnet Rock (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Encosta De Lago (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Redoutes Choice (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Commands (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Zoustar (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Roch N Horse in 2022, winning for Michael Moroney at odds of 19/1 under the guidance of Jamie Mott. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 VRC Champions Sprint why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today? All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs are based on the information that is available on the racing post.
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this VRC Champions Sprint Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival
Here are the other races that take place at the Flemington Racetrack during the Melbourne Cup Carnival that we also cover with blogs.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Coolmore Stud Stakes Victoria Derby Day | Switzerland (AUS) 3yo - 9/2 | Chris Waller James McDonald |
| Empire Rose Stakes Victoria Derby Day | Atishu (NZ) 7yo - 13/5 | Chris Waller James McDonald |
| Victoria Derby Victoria Derby Day | Goldrush Guru (AUS) 3yo - 7/1 | Andrew Gluyas Jamie Kah |
| Melbourne Cup Melbourne Cup Day | Knights Choice (AUS) 5yo - 90/1 | John Symons & Sheila Laxon Robbie Dolan |
| Crown Oaks Kennedy Oaks Day | Treasurethe Moment (AUS) 3yo - 21/10 | Matt Laurie Damian Lane |
| VRC Champions Mile Champions Stakes Day | Mr Brightside (NZ) 7yo - 4/1 | Ben, Will & JD Hayes Craig A Williams |
| VRC Champions Sprint Champions Stakes Day | Sunshine In Paris (AUS) 5yo - 4/1 | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald James McDonald |
| VRC Champions Stakes Champions Stakes Day | Via Sistina (IRE) 6yo - 3/5 | Chris Waller James McDonald |
