Geelong Cup 2023

Ladbrokes Tip: The Geelong Cup form often stacks up in the Melbourne Cup field

The Geelong Cup is a Group 3 feature for stayers held  on a Wednesday in late October days before the premier 2040m Cox Plate during the annual Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

2022 Geelong Cup winner Emissary. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The Geelong Cup field features stayers possibly coming out of the quick five day back-up out of the Caulfield Cup and heading towards November’s iconic Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) run over the two miles at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

Run at Geelong Racecourse over 2400m the open handicap offers prize money of $500,000 as of 2022 and runs the Wednesday after Caulfield Cup Day, around a fortnight before Melbourne Cup Day, and has done so since 1947. First held back in 1872 when Flying Scud saluted, the Geelong Cup has been run over a host of different distances including originally over the same two miles (3200m) as the Melbourne Cup.

It has held Group 3 status since 2002 and notable Geelong Cup winners in recent years include Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) who all went on to win the ‘race that stops a nation’ saluting in that year’s Melbourne Cup.

More recently the 2019 Geelong Cup winner Prince Of Arran backed-up to run second to Vow And Declare in that year’s Melbourne Cup results, a feat repeated in 2022 by Geelong Cup winner Emissary who ran a next-up second to Gold Trip in the Melbourne Cup quinella.

This year the Geelong Cup ran on Wednesday October 25, 2023 as a lead-up into the Melbourne Cup field and was won in a notable upset by 10-year-old Amade ($31) for trainer Phillip Stokes. 

2023 Geelong Cup Results

The official Geelong Cup 2023 Results & Finishing Order will be published below once the race takes place on Wednesday October 25, 2023.

2023 Geelong Cup winner Amade broke a 912-day drought saluting in the Group 3. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 1st: #11 Amade
• 2nd: #2 Ashrun
• 3rd: #10 Sir Lucan

Amade ($31) was good at big odds charging up the middle late in a blanket finish in the 2023 Geelong Cup results with the 10-year-old posting his first win in over 900 days but unlikely to run in the Melbourne Cup field on November 7.

2023 Geelong Cup Odds

The season’s updated Geelong Cup 2023 odds and links to our markets on the key Melbourne Cup form race will be detailed below over the spring so stay tuned for the best Geelong Cup betting offers.

Geelong Cup Race Info

• Date: Wednesday October 25, 2023
• Track: Geelong Racecourse
• Distance: 2400m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $500,000
• First Run: 1872

Geelong Cup Betting

Geelong Cup betting is traditionally led by stayers with form over the distance who are heading into the Melbourne Cup. Internationals have featured prominently in the Geelong Cup odds since the success of French visitors Americain and Dunaden in successive years.

Before the 2019 victory by Prince Of Arran in an all-international Geelong Cup trifecta, Qewy had been the last raider to salute in the Geelong Cup in 2016 and was the second elect to salute, while in 2017 the Michael Moroney-trained import Vengeur Masque broke his maiden status down under winning at Geelong Cup odds of $15 ahead of the short-priced favourite. The following year in 2018 Runaway saluted at similar Geelong Cup odds of $16.

Trainer Michael Moroney won his second Geelong Cup in 2022 with another import, Emissary, who scored an upset at $18.

There was also a boil-over in the 2023 Geelong Cup results with veteran 10-year-old Amade saluting narrowly up the middle at $31.

Favourites though do have a good record in the Geelong Cup so check the form on the horses at the top of the markets. Prince Of Arran ($4.20 in 2019) followed by Steel Prince ($3.50 in 2020) and Tralee Rose ($2.60 in 2021) are the latest favourites in Geelong Cup betting to salute.

Geelong Cup Tips

Geelong Cup tips are usually dominated by proven staying types that are heading into the Melbourne Cup over 3200m. Classy city horses with form over 2400m or further or that ran solidly in the Caulfield Cup the previous week are a good tip, as are those not weighted too heavily in the handicap showdown.

Any strong international horses contesting the race also make a good Geelong Cup betting tip with the raiders boasting a dominant recent record in the event, as do graduates out of the Herbert Power Stakes roughly a fortnight prior.

2023 Geelong Cup Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Geelong Cup 2023 betting tips and exotic selections will be detailed in full below the week of the race so bookmark this page for the stayers to back and sack in the important spring event.

• To Win: #13 First Immortal ($2.70 at time of publish) – BET NOW
  

Hard to knock the favourite here for Mark & Levi Kavanagh. The ultra-consistent Churchill four-year-old is progressing nicely with a potential Melbourne Cup target in sight. Co-trainer Mark Kavanagh won that back in 2009 with Shocking and could be in with a lightweight chance should this gelding salute for the punters here and make the 24-horse field. He is a seven-time winner from 14 starts and has won up to 2500m so the mile and a half is ideal. Carted a hefty 63kg to a big 3.5 length win over 2000m at Caulfield in Benchmark 78 two back, before crossing second in the Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington when up in grade last start. Had barrier 16 of 16 that run, and he is drawn wide again here with gate 15. Jamie Kah comes aboard. Big chance.

Geelong Cup Field

The Geelong Cup race field is released two days before the race runs on Geelong Cup Day that Wednesday, which is a public holiday in Geelong, with nominations closing the previous week.

A host of the season’s premier stayers, both local hopes and interstate raiders, feature in the final Geelong Cup acceptances for the mile and a half handicap that has produced three Melbourne Cup winners since 2002 including the two French-trained winners of the world’s richest handicap.

Plenty of horses in the Geelong Cup field also come out of the previous Saturday’s Caulfield Cup field, while the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) over the same track / distance as the Group 1 Caulfield Cup a week earlier is another good lead-up into the Geelong Cup race.

Emissary (8th in 2022) was the last Herbert Power Stakes graduate to take out the Geelong Cup.

Dunaden (2011) was the last horse to complete the Geelong Cup – Melbourne Cup double. Photo Credit: Taron Clarke.

2023 Geelong Cup Field

The official Geelong Cup 2023 Final Field & Barriers will be announced on the Monday of race week and detailed in full below so stay tuned to see what spring stayers make the starting line-up on way to the Melbourne Cup.

The 2023 Geelong Cup final field features a bumper line-up of spring stayers eyeing a Melbourne Cup start on the first Tuesday of November with First Immortal heading markets off a lead-up Group 3 The Bart Cummings second.

2023 Geelong Cup Nominations

The early Geelong Cup 2023 Nominations are released the Thursday prior to the race and will be listed below.

The 2023 Geelong Cup nominations attracted 32 potential Melbourne Cup-bound stayers led in all-in betting by the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained The Bart Cummings winner Future History, eye-catching runner-up in the same key Group 3 lead-up First Immortal, the Peter Moody-trained top-weight Spanish Mission with 60kg, and 2019 Melbourne Cup champion Vow And Declare.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Geelong Cup Form Guide

The Geelong Cup form guide has all the basic information like the trainers and jockeys of all the runners plus extra details like the lead-up runs, weight and barriers for each starter. Looking for a well-weighted runner that comes out of the Caulfield Cup on the Geelong Cup form guide is important, as is seeking out the in-form international visitors heading towards the Melbourne Cup.

The Geelong Cup form has stacked up plenty of times on the first Tuesday of November in the Melbourne Cup results, so watching the form out of the Group 3 as an early guide to Melbourne Cup betting is crucial for savvy spring punters.

2023 Geelong Cup Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Geelong Cup 2023 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Geelong Cup Results

The Geelong Cup race results show the winner and exact finishing order of all the runners plus the winning time and margin, and starting price of all the horses. It can also reveal the value in the upcoming Melbourne Cup betting markets heading into November’s famous Flemington showdown.

Notable recent Geelong Cup winners include Bauer (2008); French raiders Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) who both did the Geelong Cup – Melbourne Cup double; and Qewy (2016) who ran fourth in the Melbourne Cup next race before winning the Sandown Cup as the odds-on favourite over the two miles.

Tralee Rose (2021) was the last Geelong Cup winning mare.

Pacific Dancer holds the current 2400m Geelong Cup race record winning in 2004 in a time of 2 minutes 26:51 seconds.

Past Geelong Cup Winners

Recent Geelong Cup winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.