The Big Dance

The $3 million Big Dance race is a lucrative Listed feature run at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day each year.

2024 The Big Dance Results

  • 1st: #4 Gringotts
  • 2nd: #17 Vivy Air
  • 3rd: #8 Suparazi



The Big Dance is a $3 million race introduced by Racing NSW that runs at Randwick Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day each year that gained Listed status in 2024.

2024 The Big Dance Results

  • 1st: #4 Gringotts ($5)
  • 2nd: #17 Vivy Air
  • 3rd: #8 Suparazi

The Big Dance 2024 results went the way of Ciaron Maher’s Tamworth Cup winner Gringotts ($5) who overcame a wide barrier to sit on speed and hit the front on the straight in a perfectly timed ride by Tommy Berry. Holding in a fighting finish third-up and fit the galloper had a length to spare on stablemate Vivy Air to hand Maher the quinella in Tuesday’s $3 million Sydney feature race.

Click here for the full story.

The Big Dance 2024 Odds & Results

Randwick R5
Big Dance (L)
Final Race time:  1730776975
Runner DetailsWinPlace
1st
4. Gringotts (19) J: Tommy Berry 58.5kg
T: Ciaron Maher
2nd
17. Vivy Air (5) J: Andrew Adkins 53kg
T: Ciaron Maher
3rd
8. Suparazi (8) J: Tim Clark 54kg
T: Ben Brisbourne
4th
12. Tavi Time (7) J: Chad Schofield 53kg
T: Kris Lees
5th
11. Ducasse (15) J: Regan Bayliss 53kg
T: Michael Freedman
6th
7. Redstone Well (10) J: Tom Sherry 55.5kg
T: Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald
7th
2. Detonator Jack (17) J: Jason Collett 59.5kg
T: Ciaron Maher
8th
5. Sky Lab (6) J: Ashley Morgan 58.5kg
T: Paul Perry
9th
13. Overriding (16) J: Jay Ford 53kg
T: Nathan Doyle
10th
1. Here To Shock (1) J: Nash Rawiller 62kg
T: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes
11th
14. Cranky Harry (9) J: Jake Bayliss 53kg
T: Matthew Dunn
12th
10. Floating (12) J: Zac Wadick 53kg
T: Matthew Smith
13th
16. Green Shadows (20) J: Alysha Collett 53kg
T: G Ryan & S Alexiou
14th
6. Hezashocka (2) J: Dylan Gibbons 58kg
T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr
15th
3. Lion's Roar (14) J: Josh Parr 59kg
T: John O'Shea & Tom Charlton
16th
20. Money From The Sky (13) J: Reece Jones 53kg
T: Sara Ryan
17th
18. Prince Of Helena (3) J: Jake Duffy 53kg
T: Craig Weeding
18th
15. Sneak Preview (4) J: Mathew Cahill 53kg
T: Peter Nestor
19th
9. Time Quest (11) J: Christian Reith 54kg
T: Matthew Smith
20th
19. Zouatica (18) J: Molly Bourke 53kg
T: B Joseph & P & M Jones
Odds are subject to fluctuation. For current odds on all of our live racing markets, please visit www.ladbrokes.com.au/racing.
Data retrieved: 24/12/2024 01:36:40 PM (Australia/Brisbane)

A key addition to the lucrative Sydney Spring Racing Carnival, the mile showdown takes place over 1600m on the first Tuesday of November, the same date as Flemington’s famous Melbourne Cup.

Further adding to the prestige of the wider The Everest Carnival, offering in excess of $50 million in prize money, The Big Dance is a quality handicap event open to horses aged three-years-old and upwards.

Eligibility for the event is via a win or second place in a host of selected Country Cup races held throughout the year including the Listed Scone Cup (1600m) and the Listed Wagga Wagga Gold Cup (2000m).

The winner and runner-up in The Big Dance Wild Card event at Randwick on The Everest Day are also exempt from ballot for the feature.

The 2023 The Big Dance form was franked with the upset winner Attractable going on to run second in the $2 million Group 2 The Ingham (1600m) that December.

For the 2024 The Big Dance field there are 28 Country Cups designated as qualifiers held during 2023/24.

The third edition of The Big Dance in 2024 ran on Tuesday November 5, 2024 at Royal Randwick as an official Listed event and was won in style third-up by the Ciaron Maher-trained Gringotts ($5). 

The Big Dance 2024
Date: Tuesday November 5, 2024
Track: Randwick Racecourse
Distance: 1600m
Race Type: Quality Handicap – 3YOs & Upwards – Eligibility via runs in selected 28 Country Cup races annually
Status: Listed
Prize Money: $3 million

2024 The Big Dance Finishing Order

The official The Big Dance 2024 race results and finishing order will be updated below following the inaugural running of the $3 million event this Melbourne Cup Day in Sydney.

Finish No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Bar. Weight Penalty Starting Price
1 4 GRINGOTTS (NZ) Ciaron Maher Tommy Berry 19 58.5kg $5
2 17 VIVY AIR Ciaron Maher Andrew Adkins 0.85L 5 53kg $26
3 8 SUPARAZI Ben Brisbourne Tim Clark 1.71L 8 54kg $14
4 12 TAVI TIME (NZ) Kris Lees Chad Schofield 1.81L 7 53kg $3.50F
5 11 DUCASSE Michael Freedman Regan Bayliss 1.85L 15 53kg $14
6 7 REDSTONE WELL (IRE) Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald Tom Sherry 3.31L 10 55.5kg $21
7 2 DETONATOR JACK (NZ) Ciaron Maher Jason Collett 4.05L 17 59.5kg $16
8 5 SKY LAB Paul Perry Ashley Morgan 4.19L 6 58.5kg $21
9 13 OVERRIDING Nathan Doyle Jay Ford 4.57L 16 53kg $61
10 1 HERE TO SHOCK (NZ) Ben, Will & JD Hayes Nash Rawiller 4.88L 1 62kg $5
11 14 CRANKY HARRY Matthew Dunn Jake Bayliss 5.58L 9 53kg $41
12 10 FLOATING Matthew Smith Zac Wadick (a) 5.82L 12 53kg $31
13 16 GREEN SHADOWS Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou Ms Alysha Collett 5.85L 20 53kg $101
14 6 HEZASHOCKA (NZ) Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) Dylan Gibbons 6.16L 2 58kg $71
15 3 LION’S ROAR (NZ) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton Joshua Parr 6.49L 14 59kg $26
16 20 MONEY FROM THE SKY Sara Ryan Reece Jones 7.57L 13 53kg $101
17 18 PRINCE OF HELENA Craig Weeding Jake Duffy 7.82L 3 53kg $101
18 15 SNEAK PREVIEW Peter Nestor Mathew Cahill 9.43L 4 53kg $91
19 9 TIME QUEST (GB) Matthew Smith Christian Reith 9.44L 11 54kg $101
20 19 ZOUATICA Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones Ms Molly Bourke (a) 14.94L 18 53kg $101
23e MAYFAIR SPIRIT (IRE) Kris Lees 0
24e WINNING POINT Paul Murray 0
21e SHARP SHOCK Rodney Northam 0
22e LOCKDOWN GAMBLE David J Smith Ms Coriah Keatings (a) 0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 The Big Dance Betting

The Big Dance 2024 betting odds and links to the latest prices at Ladbrokes.com.au are available here at Races.com.au.

There was a notable upset in the inaugural event with Rustic Steel (2022) winning at Big Dance odds of $12 and again in 2023 with Attractable winning the second edition at $19.

2024 The Big Dance Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024 BIG DANCE FORM GUIDE

2024 The Big Dance Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Big Dance 2024 Tips on the $3 million event this Melbourne Cup Day.

  • To Win: #12 Tavi Time ($5.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Big, open field of country horses taking to the Sydney track on Melbourne Cup Day but like the price on last start winner Tavi Time to make it back-to-back victories down in weight at his pet distance. This Kris Lees-trained Tavistock gelding carried 60kg over the mile at Warwick Farm in a BenchMark 88 last time out and will relish the drop back to just 53kg here. He has won four from five over 1600m, brings the confidence of that last start win in here and is drawn to get the run of the race from barrier nine. With a host of the dangers wider out and with more weight he can salute.

2024 The Big Dance Field

The confirmed The Big Dance 2024 field of eligible Country Cup performers is announced on the Friday prior to the race and will be published below once confirmed.

The 2024 The Big Dance final field features a bumper line-up of country gallopers led in betting by the 62kg topweight Here To Shock chasing a hat-trick after lead-up wins in the Cameron Handicap and Alan Brown.

Click here to read more on top runners in The Big Dance 2024 field and betting markets.

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 x31210x211 HERE TO SHOCK (NZ) Ben, Will & JD Hayes Nash Rawiller 1 62kg 111
2 7x3628x540 DETONATOR JACK (NZ) Ciaron Maher Jason Collett 21 59.5kg 106
3 1x737x7210 LION’S ROAR (NZ) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton Joshua Parr 18 59kg 105
4 313x111x22 GRINGOTTS (NZ) Ciaron Maher Tommy Berry 23 58.5kg 104
5 063638x14x SKY LAB Paul Perry Ashley Morgan 8 58.5kg 104
6 x95317105x HEZASHOCKA (NZ) Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) Dylan Gibbons 3 58kg 103
7 625×003171 REDSTONE WELL (IRE) Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald Tom Sherry 13 55.5kg 98
8 1382×23326 SUPARAZI Ben Brisbourne Tim Clark 10 54kg 92
9 2364143103 TIME QUEST (GB) Matthew Smith Christian Reith 14 54kg 85
10 21414×9514 FLOATING Matthew Smith Zac Wadick (a) 16 53kg 91
11 87719×0971 DUCASSE Michael Freedman Regan Bayliss 19 53kg 90
12 11x1256x61 TAVI TIME (NZ) Kris Lees Chad Schofield 9 53kg 90
13 x5144x6383 OVERRIDING Nathan Doyle Jay Ford 20 53kg 89
14 3×51215182 CRANKY HARRY Matthew Dunn Jake Bayliss 12 53kg 87
15 7055467014 SNEAK PREVIEW Peter Nestor Mathew Cahill 6 53kg 86
16 1758417108 GREEN SHADOWS Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou Ms Alysha Collett 24 53kg 85
17 x235x32482 VIVY AIR Ciaron Maher Andrew Adkins 7 53kg 84
18 x404417x53 PRINCE OF HELENA Craig Weeding Jake Duffy 5 53kg 81
19 102130×619 ZOUATICA Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones Ms Molly Bourke (a) 22 53kg 79
20 55x166x510 MONEY FROM THE SKY Sara Ryan Reece Jones 17 53kg 78
21e 2220×62011 SHARP SHOCK Rodney Northam 4 54kg 76
22e 0x13D31x15 LOCKDOWN GAMBLE David J Smith Ms Coriah Keatings (a) 15 53kg 72
23e 4x35616x90 MAYFAIR SPIRIT (IRE) Kris Lees 2 53kg 71
24e 9x35715x07 WINNING POINT Paul Murray 11 54kg 66

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2024 The Big Dance Nominations

Early The Big Dance 2024 nominations are updated following the official results from the qualifying races throughout the year.

2024 Big Dance Qualifying Races

The Big Dance History

The Big Dance ran for the first time on Melbourne Cup Day 2022 at Randwick Racecourse and was won by Scone Cup winner Rustic Steel for Newcastle horseman Kris Lees and jockey Nash Rawiller.

The qualification process for the inaugural The Big Dance race in 2023 starts with the Goulburn Cup on October 30, 2022.

In 2024 The Big Dance became a Black-Type Australin horse race being upgraded to Listed status.

The Big Dance Winners

Previous The Big Dance winners going back to the race’s inauguration in 2022 are detailed below following the first edition on Melbourne Cup Day.

YEAR WINNER 2ND 3RD TIME
2024 Gringotts Vivy Air Suparazi 1 minute 34.43 seconds
2023 Attractable Cepheus Super Helpful 1 minute 34.49 seconds
2022 Rustic Steel Cisco Bay Sibaaq 1 minute 33.87 seconds

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