It is claimed that the Caulfield Cup (a metric mile and a half handicap) is the richest race of its type in the world. Held annually at the Caulfield course in Melbourne, it is certainly one of Australia’s most lucrative races with a purse of over $2million.

Where is it held?

The Caulfield Cup is held at the Caulfield track, home to the Melbourne Racing Club. Caulfield is about 8km from the centre of Melbourne in the south-east suburbs.

Racing has been held at Caulfield since 1876 although major renovation work in the mid-1990s turned Caulfield into one of the country’s premier racing venues. The track is 2080m in circumference with a straight of 367m. It is a triangle shaped, anticlockwise track with sharp corners.

When is it held?

The Caulfield Cup is held during the Caulfield Racing Carnival every spring. It is normally held in mid October, around two weeks before the Melbourne Cup. There is enough time between the two races for horses to compete in both events; indeed eleven horses have won the ‘cups double’; most recently Ethereal in 2001.

The Caulfield Cup is generally run on a Saturday afternoon and typically attracts a huge crowd to the Caulfield course.

The race

The Caulfield Cup is the biggest race held at Caulfield. It is a Group One race run over 2,400m and is worth an astonishing $2.5million in prize money plus over $40,000 in trophies.

It is one of the world’s richest thoroughbred races of its type and is one of Australia’s toughest handicap races. As a standard handicap the Caulfield Cup is regarded as one of the key lead-up races to the WS Cox Plate, the Victoria Derby and, of course, the Melbourne Cup.

Recent history

The 2009 Caulfield Cup saw a win for the Bart Cummings trained Viewed, with jockey Brad Rawiller providing one of the best rides many people had ever seen. The six year old won by two and a quarter lengths despite having been third last with 1,000 metres of the race to run. Viewed beat another Cummings horse, Roman Emperor, into second place with Vigor half a length further back in third.

The 2008 race saw one of the world’s biggest stables – the Dubai/England based Godolphin – record their first win in a major Australian race. Kerrin McAvoy rode All The Good to triumph at long odds, with Australian Derby winner Nom de Jeu in second. It looked for a while like the long shot Barbaricus would record an unlikely triumph, but the $103 chance was overhauled in the last 200 metres.

The Caulfield Cup

Whilst it may not be as famous as its Flemington based rivals – the Victoria Derby or Crown Oaks – the Caulfield Cup is one of racing’s most lucrative events. It’s an important part of the Caulfield Spring Carnival and can help punters analyse form before the biggest race of them all – the Melbourne Cup.

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