Run over 2000m at weight-for-age, the Doomben Cup was first held in 1933 and has been won by some champions of the turf including Bernborough (1946), Danewin (1995) and Might And Power (1998).
Just three horses have won the race on two occasions.
Earlwood in 1959/60, Scenic Shot in 2009/11 and Huetor 2022/23.
And just one achieved the feat three times.
Often forgotten when talking about Australian racing folklore, Rough Habit loved coming to Queensland for the winter carnival and the locals adopted him as their own despite the fact he was a kiwi.
His racing pattern as a backmarker meant he won just 29 races from 73 career starts which included two Stradbroke Handicaps, the second of which he came from “a conspicuous last” to win in one of the greatest performances we’ve ever seen on a Queensland race track.
His legacy outside of Queensland would have been greater but for a number of extremely close losses in Melbourne.
He got to the front a touch early in the 1991 Cox Plate, ran into the greatest field ever assembled a year later, and he rattled home from last to be beaten a nose in the 1993 edition of the great race at The Valley.
They’ll never forget his name in the Sunshine State and he finished his career with 11 Group 1 wins.
In recent years, the Doomben Cup winner has not been popular with the punters.
10 of the last 15 winners of the race have paid $8 or more and four of the last five have been double figure odds including Bois D’argent last year at $26.
The only favourite to win the race in the last eight years was Zaaki in 2021.
The Group 2 Hollindale Stakes on the Gold Coast has produced 13 of the last 15 winners of the Doomben Cup with three of those doing the double.
But history suggests you don’t have to run well.
The last eight straight Doomben Cup winners all came through the Hollindale but only two were placed.
Nine of the 14 final acceptances in the 2025 Doomben Cup ran two weeks ago on the Gold Coast on a heavy track.
Pride Of Jenni is one of the four outliers in the race having won a Listed race at Caulfield.
Who wins the Doomben Cup in 2025 on what is likely a much firmer track on Saturday?