The 2024 Caulfield Cup is this weekend, and we have spent the week in the Ladbrokes office reminiscing about some of the equine superstars that have won previous editions of the race.
There was a great deal of debate about the merits of many of the winners of the G1 event and we scoured the internet far and wide for replays of past Caulfield Cups – without a great deal of success – but we eventually managed to settle on this list of Caulfield Cup greats.
1997 Caulfield Cup – Might And Power Dominates
You can’t have a list of great Caulfield Cup winners without starting with Might And Power.
Might And Power showed a great deal of talent as a younger horse and he struggled to put it altogether, but the Caulfield Cup was his coming out party and he never looked back.
Jockey Jim Cassidy elected to take Might And Power to the lead in the early stages of the Caulfield Cup and the Zabeel gelding responded extremely well to be able to stride freely to record a dominant seven and a half lengths victory in track record time!
2009 Caulfield Cup – Viewed Wins For Bart
Viewed recorded an upset win in the 2008 edition of the Melbourne Cup to give Cups King Bart Cummings his 12th win in ‘the race that stops nation’, but there was not a great deal expected of the tough stayer ahead of the 2009 Caulfield Cup.
Nobody told the horse or Cummings that because Viewed stormed home from the tail of the field to record a most impressive win in the Caulfield Cup and in the process he became the first original top weight to win the race and the first Melbourne Cup winner to win the following year’s Caulfield Cup since the great Rising Fast in 1955.
1957 Caulfield Cup – Tulloch Enhances His Legend
You can make an argument that Tulloch is one of the greatest horses in the history of Australian racing and a key part of his legacy was the fact that he was able to win the Caulfield Cup as a three-year-old.
Tulloch took out the Warwick Stakes, Rosehill Guineas and AJC Derby before he was sent to Melbourne where he took out the Caulfield Guineas.
The Tommy Smith-trained galloper went into the Caulfield Cup as a dominant favourite and he did not let down his punters as he recorded a dominant victory before taking out the VRC Derby a fortnight later.
1998 Caulfield Cup – Taufan’s Melody Wins For England
Taufan’s Melody was the first English-trained horse to win the Caulfield and he did so in extremely controversial circumstances.
Taufan’s Melody was the first horse to cross the line in the 1998 Caulfield Cup, but he appeared certain to lose the race on protest after jockey Ray Cochrane scored major interference to both Jezabeel and Champagne.
Surprisingly, stewards allowed Taufan’s Melody to keep the race, much to the delight of trainer Lady Herries, but not before they suspended Cochrane for two months.
2012 Caulfield Cup Dunaden Storms Home Late
Taufan’s Melody led the way for the international influx on the Caulfield Cup and Dunaden is arguably the most talented overseas horse to have taken out the Caulfield Cup.
Dunaden scored a narrow win over Red Cadeaux in the 2011 Melbourne Cup and he returned to Australia a year later for the Caulfield Cup, but he was a big drifter in betting after drawing the outside gate.
The French stayer was settled towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the race, but he absolutely savaged the line late to join the select group of horses that have won the Caulfield Cup after taking out the Melbourne Cup.
2007 Caulfield Cup – Master O’Reilly (Almost) Wins By Default
Master O’Reilly is far from one of the greatest winners of the Caulfield Cup, but he won the race in simply extraordinary circumstances.
Maldivian went into the 2007 Caulfield Cup as a dominant favourite – yours truly had a massive bet on in my first Caulfield Cup as a (legal) punter – but he became stirred up in the gates after Eskimo Queen laid down in the gate next to him and he reared to hit his head on the gates.
Both Eskimo Queen and Maldivian were scratched, but Master O’Reilly – who was also involved in the pre-race action – was passed fit to run at the gates and he outstayed his rivals to record the biggest and last win of his career.
1966 Caulfield Cup – Galilee Makes History
Bart Cummings trained a countless number of champion horses during his career and Galilee is right up there with the best.
Galilee took on an extremely tough field in the 1966 Caulfield Cup, but he proved far too good for his rivals and he went on to take out the Melbourne Cup two weeks late (seen in the video below) before he won the Sydney Cup the following autumn.
He remains the only horse to have won the Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup and Sydney Cup in the same season and there is no doubt that he is one of the most impressive winners in the history of the Caulfield Cup.
2002 Caulfield Cup – Northerly Scores Brave Win
Northerly was already one of the greats of the Australian turf when he went into the 2002 Caulfield Cup, but The Fighting Tiger confirmed his legacy with a famous win in the Caulfield Cup.
The handicapper did not miss Northerly and he was forced to carry 58 kilograms in the Caulfield Cup, but that did not stop the brave galloper and he held off a number of challengers to record a most impressive win.
Northerly went on to win the Cox Plate a week later, but sadly he was not given the opportunity to replicate the feat of Rising Fast and take out the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year.
1980 Caulfield Cup – Ming Dynasty Returns To His Best
Ming Dynasty took out the Caulfield Cup for the first time in 1977, but it is his win in the 1980 edition of the race that earns him his place on this list.
Ming Dynasty was the dominant stayer in Australia in 1978, but he appeared past his best ahead of the 1980 Caulfield Cup and he started the race as a 50-1 chance.
In typical fashion, Bart Cummings had the popular gelding trained to the second and he outstayed the likes of Hyperno and Kingston Town to record a famous Caulfield Cup victory.
1991 Caulfield Cup – Let’s Elope Does It For The Mares
Let’s Elope is the first of two mares that earns a place on this list, but what a mare she is!
The Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup had been dominated by grinding handicappers in the 1980s – outside of Sydeston – but Let’s Elope was a genuine weight-for-age star and she added some class back into the two races.
She took out the Caulfield Cup in impressive fashion and after taking out the Mackinnon Stakes on Victoria Derby Day, she returned to Flemington on the first Tuesday of November and became the first mare in more than 50 years to complete the Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double!
2021 Caulfield Cup – A Star Was Born
Incentivise produced one of the most dominant displays in a modern-day Caulfield Cup when he trounced his rivals by 3.5 lengths in 2021.
That was despite fellow jockeys riding to beat the exciting stayer by posting him five-wide out of the straight the first time after drawing the outside barrier in the field of 18.
It was the Peter Moody-trained gelding’s third G1 title in a row and would catapult him into being one of the shortest priced favourites in Melbourne Cup history but unfortunately, he was unable to defeat Verry Elleegant and had to be content with second.
Sadly, that would be the last time we would see the superstar as injury brought about his retirement.
2020 Caulfield Cup – Verry Elleegant Defeats Handicapper To Set Record
The 2020 Caulfield Cup was memorable on two fronts. Firstly, it was run without a crowd due to the global pandemic and secondly the winner Verry Elleegant set a new mare’s winning weight carrying record in the Caulfield Cup with 55kg.
In a race that had all kinds of interference and was oddly run, the Chris Waller-trained daughter of Zed produced a rousing finish to hold off Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.
It was a stellar day for Verry Elleegant’s jockey Mark Zahra who rode four winners across the card.
Verry Elleegant was a superstar of the turf with her 2020 Caulfield Cup being one of 11 G1 titles won during her illustrious career.
2023 Caulfield Cup – Without A Fight Proves Dreams Can Come True
On the Tuesday night prior to the 2023 Caulfield Cup, Mark Zahra’s wife had a dream that her husband won the race aboard Without A Fight.
Days later, her dream would prove to be reality when the Irish import let down powerfully to outstay West Wind Blows and claim the Cup.
Without A Fight has been a revelation since arriving in Australia, winning back-to-back Group races during the Brisbane Winter Carnival and then the Melbourne Cup at his next start over the Caulfield Cup.
2014 and 2019 Caulfield Cups – Japanese Staying Dominance
With Warp Speed contesting this year’s Caulfield Cup, it would be amiss not to remind ourselves of the staying prowess of the Japanese gallopers that have graced our shores.
Admire Rakti became the first Japanese horse to win the Caulfield Cup when he stormed home to make up eight lengths at the top of the straight to defeat Rising Romance in 2014.
In 2019 Mer De Glace became the second Japanese horse to win the Caulfield Cup when he overcame barrier 17 with a mind-blowing turn of foot in the straight.