Kalgoorlie Cup

The Kalgoorlie Cup is a Listed event held at Kalgoorlie Racecourse during the spring carnival season.

The Kalgoorlie Cup is a Listed event held in either late September or early October at the Kalgoorlie Racecourse. The Kalgoorlie Cup forms an important part of the minor Western Australia Spring Racing Carnival. More importantly, the Kalgoorlie is a leg in the famous Western Cups trifecta.

Raced under open quality handicap conditions, the Kalgoorlie Cup is now contested over 2300m as of 2023 – back up from 2200m for the first time since 2019 – and offers $150,000 in prize money.

Kalgoorlie Cup Day is held on the same date as the Turnbull Stakes in Melbourne.

Horses commonly target the Kalgoorlie Cup as part of a broader campaign that typically includes both the Coolgardie Cup and the Boulder Cup.

These three races are regularly attended by the same horses, all with the hope of achieving the Cups trifecta. In 2011, Kincaple won both the Coolgardie Cup and the Kalgoorlie Cup but was unfortunately pushed into second place in the Boulder Cup by Reverend Lovejoy (whose campaign was otherwise substandard).

More recently, the 2021 Kalgoorlie Cup winner Living The Dream improved on a lead-up third in the Boulder Cup.

Stafford’s Lad (2022) was the last horse to complete the Boulder Cup – Kalgoorlie Cup double.

In 2023 the Boulder Cup form again held up in the Kalgoorlie Cup results with the second placed mare in the former, Be Optimistic, going one better to win the Listed showdown in WA. She also finished third earlier in the Coolgardie Cup.

Besides the Cups trifecta, horses often continue on from the Kalgoorlie Cup to challenge major races during the Perth Summer Racing Carnival. Some of these future targets include the Group 1 Railway Stakes, Group 1 Northerly Stakes and Group 2 Perth Cup.

The 2022 Kalgoorlie Cup form was franked with the winner Stafford’s Lad continuing on to finish second 2023 Perth Cup results later that season before a fourth in the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) in March of 2023.

The 2023 Kalgoorlie Cup was held on Saturday October 7th, 2023 and was won by Luke Fernie’s in-form daughter of Blackfriars Be Optimistic ($3.20). 

Kalgoorlie Cup 2023
Date: Saturday October 7th, 2023
Track: Kalgoorlie Racecourse
Distance: 2300m
Race Type: Open Quality
Status: Listed
Prize Money: $150,000

2023 Kalgoorlie Cup Results

  • 1st: #5 Be Optimistic ($3.20)
  • 2nd: #11 Recalled
  • 3rd: #4 Powerful

Classy Blackfriars mare Be Optimistic ($3.20) made it a home town success in the 2023 Kalgoorlie Cup results with the Luke Fernie-trained five-year-old improving on her lead-up second in the Boulder Cup to narrowly hold on and salute by a nose.

Finish No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Bar. Weight Penalty Starting Price
1 5 BE OPTIMISTIC Luke Fernie Clint Johnston-Porter 6 56.5kg $3.20
2 11 RECALLED Darren McAuliffe Joseph Azzopardi 0.1L 4 54kg $10
3 4 POWERFUL Darryn Pateman Shaun McGruddy 0.38L 8 57kg $13
4 3 VILLEINS Grant & Alana Williams Chris Parnham 2.1L 2 58kg $2.35F
5 8 DANCING JACK Pamela Oram Ms Lisa Staples 3.9L 5 54kg $26
6 6 GROUND BRAKER Ted Martinovich Brandon Louis (a) 4.16L 10 54.5kg $14
7 7 CHUCK A LUCK (NZ) Ryan Hill Ms Victoria Corver (a) 5.1L 11 54kg $71
8 1 UTGARD LOKI Peter Fernie Jarrad Noske 6.89L 9 59kg $61
9 10 OUR NORMAN Chris Willis Troy Turner 9.44L 1 54kg (cd 55kg) $16
10 9 ELAFELLA Nadia Bishop Peter Knuckey 20.37L 7 54kg $41
11 2 GENERAL GRANT Stephen Miller Michael Poy 84.82L 3 58.5kg $26

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Kalgoorlie Cup Betting

The best Kalgoorlie Cup 2023 odds are available at Ladbrokes.com.au and are traditionally dominated by in-form WA horses coming off lead-up runs in a race like the Boulder Cup.

Spiritual Warrior ($3.80 in 2019) was the last favourite in Kalgoorlie Cup betting to salute for the punters.

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

2023 Kalgoorlie Cup Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 KALGOORLIE CUP FORM GUIDE

2023 Kalgoorlie Cup Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Kalgoorlie Cup 2023 Tips on the spring showdown this season.

  • To Win: #3 Villeins ($2 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Market mover and hot favourite approaching odds-on territory now so not much value but going too good to bet against. The Grant & Alana Williams-trained Domesday five-year-old has winning form up to 2100m and needs to stretch out that extra furlong, but was a big 1.73 length Boulder Cup winner last time out suggesting he’ll get the distance. Goes up notably in weight now carrying 58kg, but is drawn to get the run in a small field and can go back-to-back.

2023 Kalgoorlie Cup Field

Due to be released the Wednesday of race week, the 2023 Kalgoorlie Cup field always features a quality line-up of mainly locally-trained horses.

The 2023 Kalgoorlie Cup final field features a small but quality line-up of local stayers led in betting by last start Boulder Cup winner Villeins.

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 209789×850 UTGARD LOKI Peter Fernie Jarrad Noske 9 59kg 80
2 9849×06178 GENERAL GRANT Stephen Miller Michael Poy 3 58.5kg 79
3 30×1561221 VILLEINS Grant & Alana Williams Chris Parnham 2 58kg 78
4 0x24232321 POWERFUL Darryn Pateman Shaun McGruddy 8 57kg 76
5 12346×2632 BE OPTIMISTIC Luke Fernie Clint Johnston-Porter 6 56.5kg 75
6 x738023124 GROUND BRAKER Ted Martinovich Brandon Louis (a) 10 54.5kg 71
7 987536×446 CHUCK A LUCK (NZ) Ryan Hill Ms Victoria Corver (a) 11 54kg 62
8 3536153553 DANCING JACK Pamela Oram (late alt) 5 54kg 66
9 9609941316 ELAFELLA Nadia Bishop Peter Knuckey 7 54kg 69
10 x858133555 OUR NORMAN Chris Willis Troy Turner 1 54kg 70
11 0612002344 RECALLED Darren McAuliffe Joseph Azzopardi 4 54kg 62

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

Kalgoorlie Cup History

The Kalgoorlie Cup has a long and storied history as one of the premier racing events in the western goldfields. The Kalgoorlie Cup didn’t really have humble beginnings – it was one of the earlier major races held in the region, back when there were three racecourses competing for patrons and racing resources. In those days, Kalgoorlie racing was a days-long endurance event of drinking, gambling and partying. Much like today.

The Kalgoorlie Racecourse is recorded as hosting races for the first time in 1896, and the Kalgoorlie Cup is very likely to have been one of the earliest events. For many years the Cups trifecta has been a major target for horses and a major selling point for racing in the region. From 2015 onwards, the Kalgoorlie Cup will shift back a week to a Sunday slot and compete with Belmont Park in Perth for racing attention.

There have been quite a few decent Kalgoorlie Cup winners. Some of the more notable Kalgoorlie Cup winners include Meteor Prince (1959), Seminole Brave (1975), Edge Of Darkness (1990), Lottila Bay (2000) and Kincaple (2011).

Kalgoorlie Cup results since 2000 are provided below.

Kalgoorlie Cup Results

Year Place Horse Time
2023
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Be Optimistic 2 minutes 24.22 seconds
2nd Recalled
3rd Powerful
2022
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Stafford’s Lad 2 minutes 14.06 seconds
2nd No Apology
3rd Native Chimes
2021
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Living The Dream 2 minutes 16.89 seconds
2nd Stafford’s Lad
3rd Sugar Cain
2020
Kalgoorlie Cup
(2200m)
1st Missile Launch 2 minutes 17.55 seconds
2nd Divine Shadow
3rd Friar Fox
2019
Kalgoorlie Cup
(2200m)
1st Spiritual Warrior 2 minutes 16.37 seconds
2nd First Affair
3rd Ihtsahymn
2018
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Inject The Venom 2 minutes 25.34 seconds
2nd Gloryland
3rd First Affair
2017
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Shinta Mani 2 minutes 20.18 seconds
2nd Danehills Daughter
3rd Dark Alert
2016
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Cougar Express 2 minutes 22.28 seconds
2nd Falcon Crest
3rd Kronfeld
2015
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Woodsville 2 minutes 20.95 seconds
2nd Mystic Prince
3rd Black Moment
2014
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st True Gold 2 minutes 20.90 seconds
2nd Friarday
3rd Ram Jam
2013
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Classique Ivory 2 minutes 21.03 seconds
2nd Starlight Lady
3rd Imperial Command
2012
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Lopov 2 minutes 20.52 seconds
2nd Double Barrel
3rd Test The Angels
2011
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Kincaple 2 minutes 21.92 seconds
2nd Battle Emblem
3rd Kasabian
2010
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Sunrange 2 minutes 21.85 seconds
2nd Telexden
3rd Guyno
2009
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Gondorff 2 minutes 23.66 seconds
2nd Zubizaretta
3rd Neige
2008
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Action Pak 2 minutes 24.96 seconds
2nd Goldtown
3rd Impact Rating
2007
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Master Vision 2 minutes 23.50 seconds
2nd Action Plan
3rd Hail Mary
2006
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Black Tom 2 minutes 21.95 seconds
2nd Main Stage
3rd Master Vision
2005
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Priceless Matt 2 minutes 22.87 seconds
2nd Master Vision
3rd Mercedario
2004
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Violent Wind 2 minutes 21.64 seconds
2nd Quasarock
3rd Blevvo
2003
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Czariffic 2 minutes 22.81 seconds
2nd Kiwi Hombre
3rd Priceless Matt
2002
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Lawmaker 2 minutes 25.30 seconds
2nd Noon
3rd Great Fingall
2001
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Opening Twist 2 minutes 21.82 seconds
=2nd Never Blue
=2nd Tumeric
2000
Kalgoorlie Cup
1st Lottila Bay 2 minutes 21.43 seconds
2nd Never Blue
3rd Master Clan

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