Easter Cup 2024

The Easter Cup is a Group 3 race held at Caulfield Racecourse each April. It is traditionally held on Easter Saturday, however in 2024 ran the Saturday after on the first weekend of April.

2023 Easter Cup winner White Marlin. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Run over 2000m the unrestricted handicap event offers $200,000 in prize money and in 2024 runs on the same day as Sydney’s Doncaster Mile Day card at Royal Randwick.

In 2023 it took place at Sandown with Caulfield undergoing renovations.

First held back in 1909 it gained Group 3 status in 1980 and from 1949 – 1961 it was known as the Sandown Cup.

It has been contested over both 2000m and 2600m throughout its history but from 1957 onwards has held the current 2000m distance.

Because the Easter Cup date changes, the lead-up and next-up options for runners also change year-to-year.

Maldivian (2007), subsequently scratched at the gates as the favourite in that year’s Caulfield Cup, is the most notably Easter Cup winner throughout history going on to win a number of Group 1 races including the 2008 Cox Plate.

The latest edition of the Easter Cup ran on Saturday April 6, 2024 at Caulfield Racecourse and was won in an upset by the Paul Preusker-trained Ballarat Cup winner from the summer, Captain Envious, at 25/1.

2024 Easter Cup Results

The 2024 Easter Cup results and finishing order will be known on Saturday April 6, 2024 and published below once the race is run and won.

2024 Easter Cup winner Captain Envious. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 1st: #7 Captain Envious
• 2nd: #8 Jennilala
• 3rd: #4 Deny Knowledge

2024 Easter Cup Odds

The Easter Cup 2024 betting odds will be listed below as soon as markets on the Group 3 event are released.

Easter Cup Race Info

• Date: Saturday April 6, 2024
• Track: Caulfield Racecourse
• Distance: 2000m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $200,000
• First Run: 1909

Easter Cup Betting

Easter Cup betting markets are led by in-form autumn runners coming off similar grade races around Sydney or Melbourne. 

Runners with previous experience in Group 3 or higher company that campaign and those proven over the 2000m distance or further are usually found at shorter Easter Cup odds. 

Plein Ciel ($3.30 in 2019), Inverloch ($4.20 in 2020), and White Marlin ($2 in 2023 at Sandown) are the latest favourites in Easter Cup betting to salute. 

There was a notable upset in 2024 with Captain Envious winning at Easter Cup odds of $26. 

Easter Cup Field

Horses in the Easter Cup race field may come via a host of different lead-up races depending on when the event falls.

2019 Easter Cup winner Plein Ciel. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Should the Easter Cup run early in April, graduates out of the Easter Cup field may head to Sydney for a shot at an All Aged Stakes Day race like the Group 3 JRA Plate (2000m). In 2021 the Easter Cup winner Hang Man ran a next-up second in the JRA Plate at Randwick. 

Easter Cup nominations close on the Monday before the race with final acceptances taken on the Wednesday.

2024 Easter Cup Field

The official Easter Cup 2024 field is announced by the Melbourne Racing Club the Wednesday leading-up to the race and the full line-up will be announced below once released.

The 2024 Easter Cup final field features a dozen autumn staying types led in betting by the Mark & Levi Kavanagh-trained First Immortal coming off a black-type win at the track. 

2024 Easter Cup Nominations

The early Easter Cup 2024 nominations close the Monday ahead of the event and will be made available below once released. 

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

Easter Cup Tips

Easter Cup tips including backing any proven Group 3 staying types from the local Melbourne stables and those with a previous victory over the 2000m distance or further. 

Backing the older horses has been profitable in recent years as from 2013 – 2021 all nine Easter Cup winners were six-years-old or above and all but the entire Jet Away (2013) were geldings. 

In 2022 Milford broke the run of older runners saluting as a four-year-old. 

Before Milford (2022), the last four-year-old Easter Cup winner was Folding Gear (2012). The last five-year-old to win was Paddy O’Reilly (2011) while punters have to look back to Adolescence (2001) to find the last three-year-old to salute. 

Like It Is (2008) and Miss Maren (2009) meanwhile are the only Easter Cup winning mares in the past 20 odd yeas, so backing the boys is another good tip. 

2024 Easter Cup Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Easter Cup 2024 betting tips and exotic selections on the autumn racing event will be detailed below the week of the race so bookmark this page to see the horses to back and sack in your Melbourne Saturday racing tips.

• To Win: #3 First Immortal ($3 at time of publish) – BET NOW

First Immortal is up in weight but going good enough to stick with here at his preferred track. He is two-from-two at Caulfield after a narrow Listed Anniversary Vase victory over the mile here last time out. Three weeks between runs looks ideal for the Churchill four-year-old who gets the run of the race from barrier four with Jamie Mott coming aboard. Second-up now so fitter for the resuming victory and will relish the step up in distance over the 2000m that he boasts a stellar record over (7:5-1-0). 

Easter Cup Form Guide

The Easter Cup form guide is a must to look over before betting as it gives punters all the essential information like the jockeys, trainers and barriers of the gallopers in the field.

The Easter Cup form shows that six-year-old geldings have the best overall record in the race from the past 20 years, while Hang Man (14 in 2021) was the first winner to jump from a double-digit barrier since Bush Padre (10 in 2003). 

The Easter Cup form in 2021 was franked when the runner-up Persan went on to finish third in that year’s Caulfield Cup trifecta in the spring. 

In 2023 the Easter Cup runner-up Right You Are won the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) next run. 

2024 Easter Cup Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Easter Cup 2024 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Easter Cup Results

Notable recent Easter Cup winners include Maldivian (2007), Our Voodoo Prince (2014), and Sertorius (2015). 

Easter Cup Winners

A list of Easter Cup winners and place-getters dating back to 1988 can be found below.

In 2021 Hang Man won the Easter Cup in a record time of 2:00.33. 

The 2023 Easter Cup winner White Marlin won the race at Sandown over 2100m.