Ballarat Cup

The $500,000 Ballarat Cup is a Listed staying event held towards the end of November or early December at Ballarat Racecourse.

2023 Ballarat Cup Results

  • 1st: #10 Captain Envious
  • 2nd: #1 Young Werther
  • 3rd: #2 Just Folk



The 2023 Ballarat Cup is a 2000m event held at Ballarat Racecourse in late November or early December each year at the very tail end of the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival.

A Listed event, the Ballarat Cup is worth a generous $500,000 in total prize money making it one of the richest provincial Victorian cups. It is held under open handicap conditions, and tends to attract some pretty solid talent each year.

Some lead-up races worth watching include other cup events such as the Kyneton Cup or the Bendigo Cup. The 2017 Ballarat Cup winner Grand Dreamer improved on a lead-up third in the Kyneton Cup for his win.

The Group 3 Eclipse Stakes (1800m) run at Sandown’s Ladbrokes Park the Saturday before also serves as a good Ballarat Cup lead-up. Kiwia (5th in 2018) was the last Ballarat Cup winner to come out of the Eclipse Stakes. Kiwia returned in 2019 to enjoy back-to-back Ballarat Cup wins.

Many country runners, and even some metro types, often contest several country cups as part of their campaign. Other staying events during the Melbourne Cup Carnival are also often contested by horses on their way to the Ballarat Cup.

The Ballarat Cup represents the end of the spring racing carnival in Victoria, as it’s the last black-type meet and the last feature day.

Plenty of quality gallopers contest the Ballarat Cup, the form of which has stacked-up in tougher races including the 2013 winner The Offer backing-up the following autumn to win the 2014 edition of the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m).

The 2022 Ballarat Cup form was franked with the second placed mare Atishu going on to run third next-up in the $2 million The Ingham (1600m) in Sydney. She also returned in 2023 and won the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m).

The 2023 Ballarat Cup ran in the wet on Saturday December 9, 2023 and was won in a barnstorming finish by the Paul Preusker-trained favourite Captain Envious ($3.70F). 

Ballarat Cup 2023
Date: Saturday December 9, 2023
Racecourse: Ballarat Racecourse
Distance: 2000m
Race Type: Handicap
Status: Listed
Prize Money: $500,000

2023 Ballarat Cup Results

  • 1st: #10 Captain Envious ($3.70F)
  • 2nd: #1 Young Werther
  • 3rd: #2 Just Folk

Paul Preusker’s in-form favourite Captain Envious ($3.70F) stormed home right down the centre of the course over the final furlong to storm over the top of his rivals and salute in the 2023 Ballarat Cup results by a big 2.5 length winning margin for the punters.

Finish No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Bar. Weight Penalty Starting Price
1 10 CAPTAIN ENVIOUS (NZ) Paul Preusker Michael Dee 2 54kg $3.70F
2 1 YOUNG WERTHER (NZ) Danny O’Brien Billy Egan 2.5L 3 60kg $6.50
3 2 JUST FOLK Gavin Bedggood John Allen 3.25L 1 59kg $5
4 12 EN FRANCAIS Jake Stephens Lachlan Neindorf 7L 5 54kg $20
5 5 SWORDS DRAWN Michael Moroney Daniel Stackhouse 8.75L 6 55kg $14
6 11 RED SUN SENSATION Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman Ms Jamie Kah 12.25L 7 54kg $6.50
7 3 REGAL POWER John Leek (Jnr) Jamie Mott 12.45L 8 56kg $26
8 8 FOXY CLEOPATRA Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Craig Williams 18.45L 9 54kg $4.60
9 6 MIDNIGHT BLUE Mark Walker Harry Coffey 20.7L 4 54kg $41
13 FOUJITA SAN Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes Jordan Childs 0
4 AIN’TNODEELDUN Anthony & Sam Freedman Declan Bates 0
7 SKELM Terry Kelly Dean Yendall 0
9 WICKLOW (IRE) Chris Waller Jye McNeil 0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Ballarat Cup Betting Odds

The season’s top Ballarat Cup 2023 odds and end-of-spring betting market links to Ladbrokes.com.au on the Listed Victorian Cups race will be provided below the week of the race.

Captain Envious ($3.70 in 2023) was the last favourite in Ballarat Cup betting to win.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 BALLARAT CUP ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Ballarat Cup Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 BALLARAT CUP FORM GUIDE

2023 Ballarat Cup Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Ballarat Cup 2023 Tips on the half-a-million-dollar showdown this spring.

  • To Win: #4 Ain’tnodeeldun ($5 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Open race with a number of genuine winning hopes but happy to stick with the airborne Aint’nodeeldun to keep the winning streak going. The Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained six-year-old chases a fourth win on the trot and has a stellar record at the Ballarat Cup distance. Last start he carried a kilo more to a narrow Group 3 JRA Cup (2040m) win at  The Valley in late October. Given a freshen-up since and looks a big chance to salute again here.

2023 Ballarat Cup Field

The Ballarat Cup field usually attracts quite a few metro runners from Melbourne, which is only around 100km away. Sometimes the odd handy runner from Sydney will head down to run in the Ballarat Cup field chasing the lucrative end-of-spring prize money on offer.

Following a run in the Ballarat Cup field, the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) in early December makes a nice next-up target and the last to do the double was Pilote D’Essai (2016).

The 2023 Ballarat Cup field and barriers are set for release on the Wednesday before the race and will be published in full below.

The Ballarat Cup 2023 final field features a quality line-up of gallopers including Group 3 JRA Cup winner Aint’nodeeldun chasing a fourth win on the trot, the Danny O’Brien-trained top-weight Young Werther, and Craig Williams’ mount Foxy Cleopatra coming off a narrow second in the Cranbourne Cup. 

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2023 Ballarat Cup field and betting markets.

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 46×4031163 YOUNG WERTHER (NZ) Danny O’Brien Billy Egan 4 60kg 106
2 44496×2431 JUST FOLK Gavin Bedggood John Allen 1 59kg 104
3 70×0502964 REGAL POWER John Leek (Jnr) Jamie Mott 10 56kg 98
4 02419×0111 AIN’TNODEELDUN Anthony & Sam Freedman Declan Bates 11 55.5kg 97
5 2213836×04 SWORDS DRAWN Michael Moroney Daniel Stackhouse 7 55kg 96
6 2847x449x5 MIDNIGHT BLUE Mark Walker Harry Coffey 5 54kg 94
7 368512818x SKELM Terry Kelly Dean Yendall 3 54kg 94
8 3127×22 FOXY CLEOPATRA Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Craig Williams 12 54kg 92
9 x45137x308 WICKLOW (IRE) Chris Waller Jye McNeil 13 54kg 92
10 0762×21323 CAPTAIN ENVIOUS (NZ) Paul Preusker Michael Dee 2 54kg 89
11 3616×83222 RED SUN SENSATION Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman Ms Jamie Kah 8 54kg 86
12 1127×32722 EN FRANCAIS Jake Stephens Lachlan Neindorf 6 54kg 83
13 70×5431601 FOUJITA SAN Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes Jordan Childs 9 54kg 83

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Ballarat Cup Nominations

Early Ballarat Cup nominations for 2023 close the Monday of race week and will be updated below once announced.

The 2023 Ballarat Cup nominations attracted 27 gallopers including dual nominee Detonator Jack who is also entered for Sydney’s $2 million The Ingham, last start Group 3 Eclipse Stakes winner Just Folk, and the Patrick Payne-trained Group 1 SA Derby champ Dunkel.

Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Ballot Weight True Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 123×437231 DETONATOR JACK (NZ) G 5 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 1 60kg 60kg 106
2 46×4031163 YOUNG WERTHER (NZ) G 6 Danny O’Brien 2 60kg 60kg 106
3 44496×2431 JUST FOLK G 7 Gavin Bedggood 3 59kg 59kg 104
4 12111191×2 DUNKEL (NZ) G 4 Patrick Payne 4 58kg 58kg 102
5 70×0502964 REGAL POWER G 8 John Leek (Jnr) 5 56kg 56kg 98
6 02419×0111 AIN’TNODEELDUN G 6 Anthony & Sam Freedman 6 55.5kg 55.5kg 97
7 06x00427x2 WARNING G 7 Anthony & Sam Freedman 7 55kg 55kg 96
8 2213836×04 SWORDS DRAWN G 8 Michael Moroney 8 55kg 55kg 96
9 2847x449x5 MIDNIGHT BLUE G 7 Mark Walker 9 54kg 54kg 94
10 368512818x SKELM G 9 Terry Kelly 10 54kg 54kg 94
11 3127×22 FOXY CLEOPATRA M 4 Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young 11 54kg 51kg 92
12 x45137x308 WICKLOW (IRE) G 6 Chris Waller 12 54kg 53kg 92
13 0762×21323 CAPTAIN ENVIOUS (NZ) G 5 Paul Preusker 13 54kg 51.5kg 89
14 3616×83222 RED SUN SENSATION G 4 Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman 14 54kg 50kg 86
15 07x73309x6 HERMAN HESSE (GB) G 7 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 15 54kg 50kg 86
16 70×5431601 FOUJITA SAN G 4 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes 16 54kg 48.5kg 83
17 22x219x250 CONVENER (FR) H 5 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 17 54kg 48.5kg 83
18 1127×32722 EN FRANCAIS M 6 Jake Stephens 18 54kg 46.5kg 83
19 51330×7817 HARMYSIAN (GB) G 7 Clayton Douglas 19 54kg 48.5kg 83
20 x0091x8560 VARDANI (FR) G 7 Archie Alexander 20 54kg 48.5kg 83
21 2770×01395 WYCLIF (GB) G 7 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 21 54kg 47.5kg 81
22 x5141x22x5 EXCELLERATION G 7 Richard Cully 22 54kg 47kg 80
23 4214117D7x IRISH BUTTERFLY (NZ) G 8 Henry Dwyer 23 54kg 47kg 80
24 1x7165x401 GLITTER ’N’ GOLD M 5 Lindsey Smith 24 54kg 42kg 74
25 x2731x9591 SEA SPEEDWELL (GB) M 6 Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman 25 54kg 42kg 74
26 1522611582 ZIGGI ROCKS G 7 Melody Cunningham 26 54kg 41.5kg 69
27 64531×5494 KIPYEGON M 4 Wendy Kelly 27 54kg 37.5kg 65

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Ballarat Cup History

The Ballarat Turf Club was established in 1854, making it one of the oldest racing organisations in Victoria. For some time now, Ballarat Cup Day has been the biggest meet of the year at Dowling Forest Racecourse, often drawing almost 20,000 people.

Not too long ago, the Ballarat Cup occupied a Wednesday slot as a mid-week event. However, it was moved to Sunday in 2011 in order to allow greater attendance and accommodate more metro runners. As of 2014, the Ballarat Cup has been run on a Saturday. It is the only black-type meet in Victoria and NSW on that day, so attracts considerable punting attention. The Group 1 Railway Stakes and Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes are held over at Ascot in Perth on the same day.

Notable recent Ballarat Cup winners include My Bentley (2010), The Offer (2013), and Junoob (2015).

Ballarat Cup results, place getters and winning times since 2000 are provided below.

Ballarat Cup Winners

Year Place Horse Time
2023
Ballarat Cup
1st Captain Envious 2 minutes 5.36 seconds
2nd Young Werther
3rd Just Folk
2022
Ballarat Cup
1st Bankers Choice 2 minutes 8.28 seconds
2nd Atishu
3rd Sirileo Miss
2021
Ballarat Cup
1st Zayydani 2 minutes 5.19 seconds
2nd Yonkers
3rd Vanna Girl
2020
Ballarat Cup
1st Irish Flame 2 minutes 2.79 seconds
2nd Affair To Remember
3rd Game Keeper
2019
Ballarat Cup
1st Kiwia 2 minutes 3.74 seconds (over 2000m)
2nd Double You Tee
3rd Another Dollar
2018
Ballarat Cup
1st Kiwia 2 minutes 20.59 seconds
2nd Pilote D’essai
3rd Life Less Ordinary
2017
Ballarat Cup
1st Grand Dreamer 2 minutes 25.79 seconds
2nd Oncidium Ruler
3rd Grey Lion
2016
Ballarat Cup
1st Pilote D’Essai 2 minutes 14.14 seconds
2nd Scherzoso
3rd Manageress
2015
Ballarat Cup
1st Junoob 2 minutes 18.45 seconds
2nd Wales
3rd Sonntag
2014
Ballarat Cup
1st Mujadale 2 minutes 17.8 seconds
2nd At First Sight
3rd Fat Al
2013
Ballarat Cup
1st The Offer 2 minutes 25.1 seconds
2nd Pelicano
3rd Hurdy Gurdy Man
2012
Ballarat Cup
1st King Diamond 2 minutes 18.4 seconds
2nd Pelicano
3rd Exceptionally
2011
Ballarat Cup
1st Domesky 2 minutes 19.2 seconds
2nd Rothera
3rd Sean Baile Mor
2010
Ballarat Cup
1st My Bentley 2 minutes 17.0 seconds
2nd Kidnapped
3rd Allanthus
2009
Ballarat Cup
1st Itstheone 2 minutes 14.4 seconds
2nd Gallions Reach
3rd Davcon
2008
Ballarat Cup
1st Daka’s Gem 2 minutes 21.8 seconds
2nd Sentire
3rd Banana Man
2007
Ballarat Cup
1st Sentire 2 minutes 23.9 seconds
2nd Bowl Along
3rd Red Riviera
2006
Ballarat Cup
1st Rubijon 2 minutes 17.3 seconds
2nd Upstaged
3rd Lancettier
2005
Ballarat Cup
1st Command N Conquer 2 minutes 17.4 seconds
2nd Maneroo Lue
3rd Steelworker
2004
Ballarat Cup
1st Just The Part 2 minutes 15.4 seconds
2nd Irish Crusader
3rd Demerger
2003
Ballarat Cup
1st Western Waters 2 minutes 16.2 seconds
2nd Delvecchio
3rd Dance On Wood
2002
Ballarat Cup
1st Varsilayos 2 minutes 15.0 seconds
2nd As You Would
3rd Sale Of Century
2001
Ballarat Cup
1st Aquiver 2 minutes 14.0 seconds
2nd Varsilayos
3rd Adolescence
2000
Ballarat Cup
1st Royal Caliph 2 minutes 18.5 seconds
2nd Luther
3rd Laebeel

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