2023 Caulfield Cup Field Update: No. 7 Nonconformist (19) has been scratched after failing his final vet check. First emergency No. 19 United Nations gets a start from out wide in barrier 17. Click here for the full story.

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The official 2023 Caulfield Cup barrier draw has been confirmed with the top-weight Gold Trip to jump from gate 11.

The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained champ ran second in last year’s race behind upset winner Durston from the same gate, and is out to go one better in Saturday’s Group 1 $5 million Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup (2400m).

2023 Caulfield Cup Barrier Draw Highlights: 

• Gold Trip carries 58.5kg top weight from barrier 11 that he ran second from last year.
• Race favourite Soulcombe jumps from barrier six that produced last year’s Waller-trained winner Durston.
• Barrier 1 was drawn by one of the five internationals with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Valliant King to jump from the inside alley. 
• Nonconformist drew the outside alley (barrier 19 into 18) but was subsequently scratched.
• The only Caulfield Cup emergency, United Nations, drew barrier 17. 

The Outstrip entire went on to win Flemington’s famous two-mile classic with a Melbourne Cup success last November, and Gold Trip heads into his title defence via a lead-up Caulfield Cup run again this season.

He carried 57.5kg when a neck beaten in the 2022 Caulfield Cup results from barrier 11 (of 18) and has a kilo more with 58.5kg this weekend.

Jockey Ben Melham has picked up the ride on Gold Trip in the Caulfield Cup and was thrilled to be called up for the prized mount which will be his first time in the saddle of the French-bred stayer.

“I’ve only just found out I’m riding the horse,” Melham said when speaking to Racing.com post barrier draw.

“I think the draws are somewhat irrelevant with him with his racing pattern, but my initial thought is I’m really happy to be riding the horse.

“Couldn’t be happier with his two runs this time in, it all seems to be going better than ever.

“Hopefully he can go one better (than last year). He seems to be going better this year, which is hard to imagine.

“He’s a find his feet horse and he finds a rhythm. He’s got the weight, but he’s earned it, and I can’t see him running badly.”

The now seven-year-old was impressive returning to winning form last start in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m), and is now out to do the double Incentivise (2021) completed two years ago.

Mark Zahra rode Gold Trip in the Turnbull but comes off to partner the Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained Without A Fight in the Caulfield Cup 2023.

Without A Fight (55.5kg) meanwhile jumps from barrier seven with Zahra after his second Caulfield Cup winning ride following his 2020 victory aboard star mare Verry Elleegant.

Teofilo gelding Without A Fight was transferred to the Freedmans in Australia over the winter after his 13^th in the Melbourne Cup for Simon & Ed Crisford last spring.

The galloper enjoyed two good wins in Brisbane including the Group 2 The Q22 before resuming with a close sixth only two lengths off one of the season’s form horses, Alligator Blood, at Caulfield on September 23 in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m).

Durston won the Caulfield Cup from barrier six last year, that gate drawn this season by the fellow Waller-trained Soulcombe.

Since 2008 barrier six has produced three Caulfield Cup winners with All The Good (2008) and Mongolian Khan (2015) also successful from that charmed gate.

Soulcombe leads the latest Caulfield Cup betting markets at $5 through Ladbrokes.com.au to hand Waller a third victory in four years joining Verry Elleegant (2020) and Durston (2022).

Soulcombe, coming off a Turnbull Stakes third, has Craig Williams retaining the ride on 53.5kg.

Waller’s other Caulfield Cup contenders in 2023 Montefilia and Francesco Guardi drew barriers nine and 15 respectively.

Six of the past 11 Caulfield Cup winners have jumped from a double-digit barrier including two from the outside alley (18 of 18) with Dunaden (2012) and Incentivise (2021).

There are five internationals in the Caulfield Cup field with the Crisford’s West Wind Blows the best fancied in barrier two.

Click here for the updated Caulfield Cup 2023 betting odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au on Caulfield Race 9 at 5:15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

2023 Caulfield Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	91x2570x41	GOLD TRIP (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ben Melham	11	58.5kg			122
2	11x20x11x6	WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Mark Zahra	7	55.5kg			115
3	2x110x340x	BREAKUP (JPN)	Tatsuya Yoshioka	Damian Lane	5	55kg			114
4	x5229x8631	MONTEFILIA	Chris Waller	Blake Shinn (late alt)	9	54.5kg			112
5	232821×057	FRANCESCO GUARDI (IRE)	Chris Waller	James McDonald	15	54kg			112
6	613×312322	WEST WIND BLOWS (IRE)	Simon & Ed Crisford	Jamie Spencer	2	54kg			115
7	x18402x074	NONCONFORMIST	Grahame Begg	Harry Coffey	19	53.5kg			113
8	x1x682x143	SOULCOMBE (GB)	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	6	53.5kg			115
9	2x131x8x06	DUKE DE SESSA (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	14	53kg			110
10	223180×572	HOO YA MAL (GB)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	8	53kg			111
11	111121×250	RIGHT YOU ARE	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Michael Dee	13	53kg			114
12	12x530x950	EMISSARY (GB)	Michael Moroney	Jye McNeil	4	52kg			108
13	31x111x960	GOLDMAN (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ms Linda Meech	18	52kg			108
14	00x11x513x	OKITA SOUSHI (IRE)	Joseph O’Brien	Kerrin McEvoy	12	51.5kg			109
15	x641127x89	FAME	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	Craig Newitt	16	51kg			111
16	x531523267	BOIS D’ARGENT (GB)	Annabel Neasham	Ms Winona Costin	3	50.5kg			107
17	33×6523322	SPIRIT RIDGE (GB)	Annabel Neasham	Dean Yendall	10	50.5kg			113
18	34×21225	VALIANT KING (GB)	Joseph O’Brien	Ms Jamie Kah	1	50kg			109
19e	7x41x95232	UNITED NATIONS (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Carleen Hefel (a)	17	50kg			97

Table Credit: Racing Australia.