Belmont Sprint

Winners and Past Results

The Belmont Sprint is an open handicap race for two year olds and over held at the Belmont Park Racecourse in Perth during the winter racing carnival in June. Bonus $250 Bet That Can't Lose

The 1400 meter race is a Group 3 event hosted by Perth Racing, formerly known as the Western Australian Turf Club.

Prize money worth $125,000 is at stake for quality sprinters that desire to stamp their authority on the racing tracks over the winter session. The Group 3 Roma Cup is the perfect warm up for the Belmont Sprint with many horses scoring a Roma Cup/Belmont Sprint double in recent years.

The 1200 meter Roma Cup is run under the same conditions as the Belmont Sprint, with a number of local sprinters competing for the double. Horses to achieve the feat include Tribula in 2003, Modem in 2004, and Grand Nirvana in 2011.

Free Style was the first horse to win the Belmont Sprint in 1963. The event remained a principal race until 1980 when it was elevated to Group 3. The horses to score a double are National Boy in 1978-79, and Grand Nirvana in 2010-11. Other notable winners include Bold Extreme in 1994, Corporate Bruce in 2001, Let Go Thommo in 2006, and Marasco in 2008.

The Perth Winter Racing Carnival includes only two race days, one held in May and the other in June. The Group 3 Roma Cup takes place in the first race meeting at Belmont, while the Belmont Sprint is held on the second race day in June, the concluding group racing event in Perth for the winter season. In recent years, the Pinjarra Cup also serves as an excellent form guide for runners in the Belmont Sprint.

For many sprinters, the Belmont Sprint is the perfect warm up for the summer racing carnival at Ascot.

The Belmont race track is regarded as one of the best wet weather tracks for thoroughbred racing in the world with an excellent drainage system.

Among the notable jockeys to win the cup is Paul Harvey, nicknamed by punters as ‘The Pontiff', who steered Universal Ruler to victory in 2009. Universal Ruler was to be retired after winning the Belmont Sprint but trainer Darren McAuliffe and his owners decided to let him continue with an eye on the 1600 meter York Stakes at Belmont followed by a series of races at Caulfield.

2011 Belmont Sprint

Course specialist Grand Nirvana won his second consecutive Belmont Sprint but had to do it the hard way. After settling at the rear of the field, the top weight - carrying 60 kilos - was asked for a big finish but he had his work cut out to overcome a dogged King Kool Kat. Grand Nirvana eventually nabbed his rival at the post and won by the shortest of margins with Battle Emblem a head further back in third.

2011 Belmont Sprint result

1. Grand Nirvana
2. King Kool Kat
3. Battle Emblem

Then came:

4. Escadaire
5. Superscenic
6. Admiring
7dh. Megatic
7dh. Reimbursement
9. Noble Steed
10. Foxy Boy
11. Inarticulate
12. Phenomenons
13. Premardal
14. God Has Spoken
15. Mekong Miss