Caulfield Cup History

Held during the three-day Caulfield racing carnival, the Caulfield Cup is one of the most prestigious Group 1 events on the calendar each year. It is held in mid-October each year and is a premier open handicap which uses a ballot system to determine the final field.

First run in 1879, the Caulfield Cup was won by Newminster and has since grown in stature to become one of the richest 2400m handicaps in the world.

With over $3 million in prizemoney, it attracts the country’s best middle distance/staying types and is a natural progression for horses looking to secure a berth in Australia’s most famous race, the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) held 17 days later.

In recent times, the Caulfield Cup has had more of an international flair with some of the world’s best staying types using the Caulfield Cup as a lead-up race to the iconic Melbourne Cup.

In 2014, Japanese stayer Admire Rakti carried top weight of 58kg and came with a withering burst to claim the race from four-year-old mares Rising Romance and Lucia Valentina.

The following year, it was race favourite Mongolian Khan, a New Zealand-trained stayer, who defeated Trip To Paris by a half-length.

Eleven horses have gone on to win the Melbourne Cup after contesting the Caulfield Cup (known as the Cups Double) with 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) achieving the rare feat.  Visit our Melbourne Cup Tips page to find out this year’s favorite to win the Melbourne Cup.

Other races on Caulfield Cup Day include the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1000m), Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m), Group 3 Caulfield Classic (2000m), Group 3 David Jones Cup (2000m), Group 3 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) and the Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m).

The most reliable lead up race to the Caulfield Cup is the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) held at Flemington Racecourse two weeks earlier with eight of the past 17 winners coming through the Turnbull.

Other successful lead-up races in recent times have been the Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m) at Royal Randwick two weeks prior and the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) held one week earlier; this is the race that Mongolian Khan used in 2015.

The long and illustrious honour roll includes Paris (1892 & 1894), Poseidon (1906-07), Eurythmic (1920), Amounis (1930), Tranquil Star (1942), Rising Fast (1954-55), Tulloch (1957), Galilee (1966), Tobin Bronze (1967), Big Philou (1969), Leilani (1974), Ming Dynasty (1977 & 1980), Gurner’s Lane (1982), Let’s Elope (1991), Doriemus (1995), Might And Power (1997), Ethereal (2001), Northerly (2002), Mummify (2003), Elvstroem (2004), Viewed (2009), Dunaden (2012), Fawkner (2013), Admire Rakti (2014), Mongolian Khan (2015), Jameka (2016) and Boom Time (2017).

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