Perth Cup
Australia | FEATURE RACE GUIDE
History
The Perth Cup is a Group 2 race for the stayers conducted by Perth Racing at Ascot.
The Perth Cup was first run in 1887 and was won by First Prince. The race is usually run on New Year's Day depending on if it suits on a weekend but like 2016 has been run on 31 December too.
In 2020 the Perth Cup was run on the following Saturday but in 2021 it was back closer to NYD.
It was one of the famous two mile races in Australia until 2009 when reduced to a mile and a half.
The Perth Cup is run over 2400m under handicap conditions. It was a G1 until 1993 and has been a G2 since.
Leviathan Perth owner Bob Peters has owned 7 of the last 14 winners of the Perth Cup and 10 in total. He also owned four of the first five over the line in 2016.
In the January 2016 running, Delicacy put up an amazing effort to win but after the race owner Bob Peters confirmed Delicacy had been retired after suffering severe tears to both front tendons in the run and would join Peters' broodmare band.
1999 saw King Of Saxony amazingly win the race first up at two miles. In that race he defeated Rogan Josh. Of course that horse Rogan Josh was transferred to Bart Cummings and by the end of the year had won the Melbourne Cup.
The 2008 running of the Perth Cup was marred by a bad fall involving seven horses after only 500m on the first lap. Damien Oliver was able to win on Cats Fun.
Then in another race where a sad fall occurred, the 2023 first running was called off at halfway when two horses went down after only 300m. The race was run again two weeks later without issues.
The 2025 Perth Cup was worth $1,000,000.
Notable winners of the Perth Cup include Raconteur (1953), Fairetha (1958,1959), Fait Accompli (1970, 1972), Dayana (1973), Magistrate (1981, 1982), Bianco Lady (1983), Mirror Magic (1992), Field Officer (1993), Crying Game (1996), King Of Saxony (1999), Black Tom (2006), Guyno (2009), Real Love (2015), Delicacy (Jan 2016), Star Exhibit (Dec 2016/2019) and Buster Bash (2023).
The 2025 Perth Cup was won by Hemlock Stone from Diamond Scene and Be Optimistic.
Previous Perth Cup Winners
| Date | Horse | Jockey | WT | Trainer | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
HEMLOCK STONE
(NZ)
5G DALGHAR (FR) - SPIRITUAL (NZ) SAVABEEL (AUS) |
P CARBERY | 53.0 | G & A WILLIAMS | 3 |
|
|
CASINO SEVENTEEN
(AUS)
6G CASINO PRINCE (AUS) - TIKAL (AUS) DENMAN (AUS) |
WILLIAM PIKE | 53.0 | G & A WILLIAMS | 5 |
|
|
BUSTER BASH
(AUS)
5G TRADE FAIR (GB) - DISCO MISS (AUS) ZEDITAVE (AUS) |
S MCGRUDDY | 56.0 | D R HARRISON | 4 |
|
|
MIDNIGHT BLUE
(AUS)
5G SO YOU THINK (NZ) - MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (AUS) ZABEEL (NZ) |
P CARBERY | 53.0 | G & A WILLIAMS | 4 |
|
|
NEUFBOSC
(FR)
6G MASTERCRAFTSMAN (IRE) - NONSUCH WAY (IRE) VERGLAS (IRE) |
CHRIS PARNHAM | 54.0 | NEVILLE PARNHAM | 4 |
|
|
MISSISSIPPI DELTA
(AUS)
6M HIGH CHAPARRAL (IRE) - MISSISSIPPI BELLE (AUS) MAROONED (GB) |
WILLIAM PIKE | 53.0 | G & A WILLIAMS | 11 |
|
|
STAR EXHIBIT
(AUS)
7G STATUE OF LIBERTY (USA) - STAR ENCOUNTER (AUS) JEUNE (GB) |
P HALL | 55.0 | ADAM DURRANT | 15 |
|
|
MATERIAL MAN
(AUS)
6G VITAL EQUINE (IRE) - DEL LIRIO (AUS) HUSSONET (USA) |
LUCY FIORE | 56.5 | JUSTIN WARWICK | 3 |
|
|
STAR EXHIBIT
(AUS)
5G STATUE OF LIBERTY (USA) - STAR ENCOUNTER (AUS) JEUNE (GB) |
JARRAD NOSKE | 54.0 | G DURRANT & J MILLER | 9 |
|
|
DELICACY
(AUS)
4M AL MAHER (AUS) - SIMPLY WICKED (AUS) SCENIC (IRE) |
P HALL | 59.0 | GRANT WILLIAMS | 1 |
|
|
REAL LOVE
(AUS)
4M DESERT KING (IRE) - FLAMING HEART (AUS) SALIERI (USA) |
WILLIAM PIKE | 54.0 | ADAM DURRANT | 4 |
|
|
BLACK TYCOON
(AUS)
8G BLACKFRIARS (AUS) - DAME FONTAINE (AUS) LAST TYCOON (IRE) |
DAMIEN OLIVER | 55.5 | JUSTIN WARWICK | 5 |
|
|
TALENT SHOW
(AUS)
6M JEUNE (GB) - OREGON SEAL (NZ) OREGON (USA) |
JARRAD NOSKE | 53.5 | G C BALLANTYNE | 2 |
|
|
WESTERN JEWEL
(AUS)
5M JEUNE (GB) - OUR MILLSTER (AUS) MAROONED (GB) |
MS KYRA YUILL | 52.0 | GRANT WILLIAMS | 14 |
|
|
GUEST WING
(AUS)
4G RIGHT WING (IRE) - LACIENNE (AUS) METAL STORM (FR) |
B PARNHAM | 52.0 | SHANE A EDWARDS | 8 |
|
|
LORDS RANSOM
(AUS)
6G JEUNE (GB) - PALACE ALICE (AUS) PALACE MUSIC (USA) |
ALAN KENNEDY | 55.5 | PETER J MORGAN | 2 |
|
|
GUYNO
(NZ)
5G O'REILLY (NZ) - RIVER CENTURY (NZ) CENTAINE (AUS) |
J WHITING | 54.0 | LOU & DION LUCIANI | 12 |
|
|
CATS FUN
(AUS)
5G CATBIRD (AUS) - SHE'S ZEEL (NZ) ZABEEL (NZ) |
DAMIEN OLIVER | 53.5 | MICHAEL GRANT | 10 |
|
|
RESPECT
(NZ)
8G ZABEEL (NZ) - KINDNESS (NZ) STAR WAY (GB) |
J WHITING | 53.5 | W P CAVE | 14 |
|
|
BLACK TOM
(AUS)
5H LANGFUHR (USA) - NARMADA (USA) BLUSHING GROOM (FR) |
P HALL | 52.0 | F H MAYNARD | 2 |
|
|
CROWN PROSECUTOR
(AUS)
4G GRAND LODGE (USA) - DARK HOPE (AUS) AT TALAQ (USA) |
WILLIAM PIKE | 53.0 | LINDSEY SMITH | 6 |
|
|
KING CANUTE
(AUS)
4H KING OF KINGS (IRE) - MAROONED LADY (AUS) MAROONED (GB) |
J WHITING | 53.0 | LOU & DION LUCIANI | 6 |
|
|
TUMERIC
(AUS)
6G OLD SPICE (AUS) - GOLDIE'S BEST (AUS) SEMIPALATINSK (USA) |
JOHN CLAITE | 54.0 | A D MATHEWS | 3 |
|
|
CARDINAL COLOURS
(AUS)
5G CHIEF'S CROWN (USA) - TABURA (NZ) SIR TRISTRAM (IRE) |
N A CHAPMAN | 52.0 | MICHAEL MILLER | 15 |
|
|
LOTTILA BAY
(NZ)
10G KINGDOM BAY (NZ) - MILIMILI (NZ) UNCLE REMUS (NZ) |
P CARBERY | 54.5 | A D MATHEWS | 5 |
Related News
Mepunga Tully is set to make her long-awaited return to racing in the Bendigo Cup heats after spending seven months on the sidelines with a hock injury.
