Neha Patil (Editor)

Caulfield Cup

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Inaugurated
  
1879

Surface
  
Turf

Sponsor
  
BMW (2016)

Caulfield Cup

Location
  
Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia

Race type
  
Thoroughbred - Flat racing

Distance
  
2,400 metres (1.5 miles)

The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, for horses aged three years old and older, over a distance of 2400 metres. It is held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in mid October. The prizemoney is A$3,000,000.

Contents

Race history

The race has become one of Australia's richest Thoroughbred horse races and the richest of its type in the world (2,400 metre or 1 1⁄2 miles). The race is held annually in October on the third day and final day of the MRC Spring Carnival. Performances in the Caulfield Cup are one of the possible qualification methods for a run in the Melbourne Cup which is held 16 days later.

During World War II the race was run at Flemington Racecourse and in 1943 the race was run in divisions.

Race qualification

The field is limited 18 starters with 4 emergency entries which is decided by a ballot system. The prize money, wins, and placing in lead up races are among the major factors that determine the eligibility of a horse. Automatic entry are awarded to winners of the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes and the Listed Mornington Cup.

Race distance

  • 1879–1971 - 1 1⁄2 miles (~2400 metres)
  • 1972 onwards - 2400 metres

    • Race grade

  • 1879–1978 - Principal Race
  • 1979 onwards - Group 1

    • Doubles wins

    The following thoroughbreds have won the Cups Double: Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup in the same year.

  • Poseidon (1906), The Trump (1937), Rivette (1939), Rising Fast (1954), Even Stevens (1962), Galilee (1966), Gurner's Lane (1982), Let’s Elope (1991), Doriemus (1995), Might and Power (1997) and Ethereal (2001).

    • Notable runnings

  • The Australian Test cricketer Clem Hill was the handicapper for the Victoria Amateur Turf Club (VATC) and responsible for setting the weights for the Caulfield Cup from 1937 to 1943.
  • Jockey Scobie Breasley rode the winner of four consecutive Caulfield Cups from 1942 to 1945. This included a division of the 1943 race, which was run in two divisions. He also holds the record for most wins by a jockey of the race - 5 wins.
  • Trainer Bart Cummings holds the record for training Caulfield Cup winners with seven - Galilee, Big Philou, Leilani, Ming Dynasty (twice), Let's Elope and Viewed.
  • 2014 Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti died after his run in the Melbourne Cup by natural causes
  • Horses trained outside Australia and New Zealand have been participating in the race since 1998. Four have won the race. They are Taufan's Melody (1998) for British trainer Lady Herries, All the Good (2008) for Saeed bin Suroor of the Godolphin stables, Dunaden (2012) for French trainer Mikel Delzangles and Admire Rakti (2014) for Japanese trainer Tomoyuki Umeda.
  • The worst race fall in Australian history occurred at the 1885 Caulfield Cup when 15 of the 44 horses competing fell as they turned onto the straight, resulting in the death of 25-year-old jockey Donald Nicolson.
  • In 2007, Maldivian and Eskimo Queen were late scratchings. Maldivian, shortest price favourite for 41 years, misbehaved and injured himself in the starting stalls, frightening second priced favourite Eskimo Queen who for a time was trapped beneath the stalls. The race started almost nine minutes late.

    • Sponsorship

    In March 2015, BMW Australia and Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) announced a reunion in partnership, effective as of August 1, 2015, after the 8-year partnership ended in 2014.

    References

    Caulfield Cup Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA