There was a significant increase on last year’s numbers when nominations were taken today for the 2018 Group 1 $5m Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 20.

Unforgotten, above, is among the nominations for the 2018 Caulfield Cup at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.

A $2 million boost in prizemoney has seen a 164 horses nominated for the 2018 Caulfield Cup, up from 140 from last year while international entries from England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany and Japan are up from 22 to 27.

Last year’s Caulfield Cup winner Boom Time is one of fourteen horses from the Lindsay Park Team among the 164 stayers nominated for this year’s version.

Racing Victoria (RV) Executive General Manager – Racing and Participant Wellbeing, Greg Carpenter, said, “We’re delighted with the entries received today for the Stella Artois Caulfield Cup and Lexus Melbourne Cup which have both seen a significant year-on-year increase.

“There is tremendous depth among both the local and international entries and we’re again pleased to receive the support of many of the world’s leading stables. The ingredients are set for two outstanding renewals this spring.”

Victoria’s leading trainer Darren Weir is also searching for his first Caulfield Cup win with twenty-one entries from the master trainer with Kings Will Dream, Humidor and Red Cardinal leading the charge.

Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller has entered twenty-four horses for the 2018 Caulfield Cup and include Group 1 winners Comin’ Through, D’Argento, Egg Tart, Unforgotten, Who Shot Thebarman and Youngstar.

Below is a summary of the key nominations for the 2018 Caulfield Cup released by Racing Victoria.

• Defending Caulfield Cup champion Boom Time will get his chance to become just the third back-to-back winner of the prized handicap. He is one of 14 entries in the race for the David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig stable alongside Australian Cup winner Harlem;
• Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have entered six horses in the Caulfield Cup with enormous intrigue surrounding their imported northern hemisphere three-year-old Hush Writer;

• The David Payne trained Ace High also features in the Caulfield Cup entries;
• Last season’s Guineas-winning duo Grunt (Australian Guineas) and Mighty Boss (Caulfield Guineas) have been nominated for the Caulfield Cup.

• The powerful New Zealand stable of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have a quintet of entries in the Caulfield Cup headlined by Group 1 winners Bonneval, Jon Snow and Vin de Dance;
• Reigning Melbourne Cup winning-trainer, Ireland’s Joseph O’Brien, has entered three horses for the Caulfield Cup in Irish Derby winner Latrobe, Ming and Master of Reality;
• Joseph’s father Aidan O’Brien has entered Deauville, Idaho, Cliffs of Moher and Yucatan for the Caulfield Cup.
• Global powerhouse Godolphin has three trainers – Charlie Appleby, Saeed bin Suroor and James Cummings – spearheading its pursuit of second Caulfield Cup;
• Appleby’s Caulfield Cup entries are headlined by Emotionless; bin Suroor has Group 1 winner Best Solution among his entries; whilst highly-rated French import Avilius has been nominated by Cummings;
• Germany’s 2014 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler has entered recent stable acquisition, Ascot Gold Cup placegetter Torceder, for the Caulfield Cup;
• Chestnut Coat (Yoshito Yahagi) and Sole Impact (Hirofumi Toda) are set to fly the flag for Japan in the Caulfield Cup.

First acceptances close at 12 noon (AET) on Tuesday, 25 September for the Caulfield Cup, weights will be released on Tuesday, 11 September and the final field will be declared on Tuesday, October 16.