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The Bart Cummings is a Group 3 race held at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse in early October over the Spring Racing Carnival.

The Bart Cummings is run under quality handicap conditions and is open to horses of all ages and sexes. Contested over 2510m it currently offers $500,000 in prize money. The Bart Cummings provides a valuable opportunity for local stayers to test their mettle over distances greater than 2400m. Because the race is a key lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, it is now named in honour of the twelve-time Melbourne Cup winning trainer, Bart Cummings.

The Bart Cummings winner is exempt from ballot for the Group 1 $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) held over the two miles back at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November and the double was last completed by Almandin (2016).

More recently in 2019, The Bart Cummings winner Surprise Baby ran an eye-catching fifth in the Melbourne Cup results that spring and was immediately installed as the all-in favourite for the 2020 Melbourne Cup.

The next year, Persan did the same backing up from his The Bart Cummings victory to run a credible fifth to Twilight Payment in the Melbourne Cup 2020.

The Bart Cummings is held on Turnbull Stakes Day that is headlined by the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m), Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1200m), Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m), the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m), and the Group 2 Blazer Stakes (1400m).

A nice next up option for The Bart Cummings graduates is the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) held a fortnight later. The mare Tralee Rose improved on her The Bart Cummings second in 2021 to win the Geelong Cup next race.

Many The Bart Cummings graduates then target the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m). In 2022 The Bart Cummings winner Lunar Flare ran a next-up second in the Moonee Valley Cup, while The Bart Cummings runner-up Francesco Guardi turned the tables in The Valley event.

The Bart Cummings ran on Saturday October 7, 2023 and saw the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Future History ($9) hold on to secure the Melbourne Cup golden ticket for last year’s winning stable. 

The Bart Cummings 2023
Date:	Saturday October 7, 2023
Track:	Flemington Racecourse
Distance:	2510m
Race Type:	Quality Handicap
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$500,000

2023 The Bart Cummings Results

• 1st: #15 Future History ($9)
• 2nd: #18e First Immortal
• 3rd: 4 Serpentine

Last year’s Melbourne Cup winning trainers Ciaron Maher & David Eustace have another livewire hope for the first Tuesday of November with Future History ($9) holding off the late challengers to secure a ballot exemption for the world’s richest handicap after taking out The Bart Cummings 2023.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	15	FUTURE HISTORY (GB)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Craig Williams		3	54kg		$9
	2	18e	FIRST IMMORTAL	Mark & Levi Kavanagh	Daniel Stackhouse	0.75L	16	54kg		$3.80F
	3	4	SERPENTINE (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ben Melham	2L	12	58kg		$13
	4	16	MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Daniel Moor	2.1L	8	54kg		$12
	5	11	AMADE (IRE)	Phillip Stokes	Zac Spain	2.3L	5	56kg		$151
	6	1	ASHRUN (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Mark Zahra	2.7L	14	59kg		$31
	7	10	ALASKAN GOD	Daniel Morton	Ms Jamie Kah	2.9L	1	56kg		$15
	8	7	ATHABASCAN (FR)	John O’Shea	James McDonald	3.1L	11	57kg		$7
	9	14	INTERPRETATION (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Michael Dee	3.4L	13	55kg		$21
	10	6	VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ)	Liam Howley	Damian Lane	3.6L	6	57.5kg		$21
	11	19e	SHAIYHAR (IRE)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Beau Mertens	4L	7	54kg		$17
	12	3	SHERAZ (FR)	Chris Waller	Damien Oliver	5.25L	4	58.5kg		$13
	13	8	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Harry Coffey	5.35L	15	56.5kg		$81
	14	2	GOLDMAN (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	6.1L	2	59kg		$7
	15	5	SIR LUCAN (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ms Winona Costin	6.2L	10	57.5kg		$31
	16	9	HOPEFUL (FR)	Annabel Neasham	Chad Schofield	12.2L	9	56.5kg		$201
		20e	UNITED NATIONS (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace			0
		13	HASTA LA WAR	Sue Murphy	Ms Linda Meech		0
		12	FANCY MAN (IRE)	Annabel Neasham	Jamie Mott		0
		17e	CARINI (FR)	Danny O’Brien	Michael Dee		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 The Bart Cummings Betting Odds

The season’s latest The Bart Cummings 2023 racing odds and Flemington betting market links to Ladbrokes.com.au on the potential Melbourne Cup horses will be provided below the week of the race.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 THE BART CUMMINGS ODDS (Final Field)

2023 The Bart Cummings Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 THE BART CUMMINGS FORM GUIDE

2023 The Bart Cummings Tips

Stay tuned for our insider The Bart Cummings 2023 Tips on the Melbourne Cup-bound stayers facing off in the Turnbull Stakes Day event this spring.

• To Win: #18 First Immortal ($3.30 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Has trainer Mark Kavanagh uncovered a genuine shot at a second Melbourne Cup trophy to add to his 2009 victory with Shocking? It’s a full field in The Bart Cummings and the deserving favourite for the Kavanagh’s is this in-form and still untapped Churchill four-year-old who is on the up-and-up. He has won seven of his 13 starts to date and is a genuine Flemington specialist with three wins from his four previous runs at Headquarters. This is a test at Group 3 level, but he has been so strong in easier company. Last time out he blitzed a Benchmark 78 over 2000m at Caulfield carrying a hefty 63kg to a 3.5 length victory. Has winning form up to 2500m so the distance now is a non-issue, and he will be absolutely airborne dropping right back to 54kg. Has the outside alley and will start from 16 of 16, but if he slots in and gets the gap at the right time he’ll take the power of beating.

2023 The Bart Cummings Field

The Bart Cummings field tends to attract fairly top quality stayers. Because it is one of the earliest staying events in the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, some genuine Melbourne Cup contenders enter The Bart Cummings field. Other horses who are targeting later major staying events will seek entry into The Bart Cummings field in order to get as much fitness as possible over longer distances.

Good lead-up races into The Bart Cummings field include the Listed JRA Trophy (2500m) in mid-September and Caulfield’s Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m).

The 2023 The Bart Cummings field & barriers will be released on the Wednesday leading-up to race day and published in full below.

The Bart Cummings 2023 final field features a capacity field of Melbourne Cup hopefuls chasing the ballot exemption into the world’s richest handicap race including the in-form favourite First Immortal for 2009 Melbourne Cup winning trainer Mark Kavanagh.

Click here to read more on the key runners in The Bart Cummings 2023 field and betting markets.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	x5x22410x7	ASHRUN (FR)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Mark Zahra	18	59kg			103
2	x31x111x96	GOLDMAN (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	2	59kg			103
3	472x295x08	SHERAZ (FR)	Chris Waller	Damien Oliver	4	58.5kg			102
4	020x129x24	SERPENTINE (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ben Melham	15	58kg			101
5	0x1390x704	SIR LUCAN (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Ms Winona Costin	13	57.5kg			100
6	32x8802x09	VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ)	Liam Howley	Damian Lane	6	57.5kg			100
7	8537Px9911	ATHABASCAN (FR)	John O’Shea	James McDonald	14	57kg			99
8	613x5840x7	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace		19	56.5kg			102
9	217x0020x0	HOPEFUL (FR)	Annabel Neasham		10	56.5kg			98
10	60847×7253	ALASKAN GOD	Daniel Morton	Ms Jamie Kah	1	56kg			97
11	45x83300x9	AMADE (IRE)	Phillip Stokes	Zac Spain	5	56kg			97
12	02x858x586	FANCY MAN (IRE)	Annabel Neasham		16	56kg			97
13	x5x8313x00	HASTA LA WAR	Sue Murphy	Ms Linda Meech	12	55.5kg			96
14	x6536Px325	INTERPRETATION (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	17	55kg			95
15	61154×7212	FUTURE HISTORY (GB)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Craig Williams	3	54kg			93
16	15×0332361	MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Daniel Moor	9	54kg			92
17e	31115x2x31	CARINI (FR)	Danny O’Brien	Michael Dee	11	54kg			92
18e	7111011×21	FIRST IMMORTAL	Mark & Levi Kavanagh	Daniel Stackhouse	20	54kg			91
19e	4x11x71616	SHAIYHAR (IRE)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Beau Mertens	7	54kg			87
20e	17x41x9523	UNITED NATIONS (IRE)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace		8	54kg			85

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 The Bart Cummings Nominations

Early nominations for The Bart Cummings race in 2023 close the Monday of race week and will be updated below once confirmed.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	True Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	12x7931x80	LUNAR FLARE	M	8	Grahame Begg	1	59kg	59kg		107
2	x31x111x96	GOLDMAN (NZ)	G	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	2	59kg	59kg		103
3	x5x22410x7	ASHRUN (FR)	G	8	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	3	59kg	59kg		103
4	226x50x496	CLEVELAND (IRE)	H	6	Kris Lees	4	58.5kg	58.5kg		102
5	613x5840x7	HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ)	M	7	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	5	56.5kg	56.5kg		102
6	472x295x08	SHERAZ (FR)	G	7	Chris Waller	6	58.5kg	58.5kg		102
7	020x129x24	SERPENTINE (IRE)	G	7	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	7	58kg	58kg		101
8	32x8802x09	VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ)	H	4	Liam Howley	8	57.5kg	57.5kg		100
9	0x1390x704	SIR LUCAN (IRE)	G	6	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	9	57.5kg	57.5kg		100
10	8537Px9911	ATHABASCAN (FR)	G	5	John O’Shea	10	57kg	57kg		99
11	81124×0098	HO HO KHAN (NZ)	H	9	Mitchell Freedman	11	57kg	57kg		99
12	217x0020x0	HOPEFUL (FR)	G	7	Annabel Neasham	12	56.5kg	56.5kg		98
13	60847×7253	ALASKAN GOD	G	5	Daniel Morton	13	56kg	56kg		97
14	02x858x586	FANCY MAN (IRE)	G	6	Annabel Neasham	14	56kg	56kg		97
15	45x83300x9	AMADE (IRE)	G	10	Phillip Stokes	15	56kg	56kg		97
16	x5x8313x00	HASTA LA WAR	G	8	Sue Murphy	16	55.5kg	55.5kg		96
17	x6536Px325	INTERPRETATION (IRE)	G	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	17	55kg	55kg		95
18	61154×7212	FUTURE HISTORY (GB)	G	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	18	54kg	54kg		93
19	15×0332361	MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE)	G	5	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	19	54kg	53.5kg		92
20	31115x2x31	CARINI (FR)	G	5	Danny O’Brien	20	54kg	53.5kg		92
21	7111011×21	FIRST IMMORTAL	G	4	Mark & Levi Kavanagh	21	54kg	53kg		91
22	4x11x71616	SHAIYHAR (IRE)	G	5	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	22	54kg	51kg		87
23	17x41x9523	UNITED NATIONS (IRE)	H	5	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	23	54kg	50kg		85
24	31×2313671	FERAGO	G	7	Patrick F Ryan Jnr	24	54kg	47.5kg		80
25	7601635361	FEARENTLESS	M	5	Paul Preusker	25	54kg	42kg		73

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

The Bart Cummings History

The Bart Cummings was previously known as the Banjo Paterson. That name has since been reserved for a separate series of racing. The Bart Cummings was named as such because the man himself often used the race as a platform for developing his stayers ahead of feature events such as the Melbourne Cup.

The Bart Cummings gained its current name in 2004, when the VRC made the decision to honour the Australian Racing Hall of Fame inaugural inductee. In response to the accolade, Mr Cummings famously said “I will be doing my very best to try to prepare the winner of it”.

Previously a listed event, the Bart Cummings was granted Group 3 status prior to the 2014 edition. In 2012 and 2009, the race was run over 2520m.

Light Vision won this race two years running in 2008 and 2009. Mourayan took top honours in 2011, while Araldo seized first place in 2013. More recently Almandin (2016) completed The Bart Cummings – Melbourne Cup double for prolific owner Lloyd Williams. The Bart Cummings results since 2006 are provided below.

Bart Cummings Results

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 The Bart Cummings	1st	Future History	2 minutes 39.03 seconds
	2nd	First Immortal
	3rd	Serpentine
2022 The Bart Cummings	1st	Lunar Flare	2 minutes 36.67 seconds
	2nd	Francesco Guardi
	3rd	Interpretation
2021 The Bart Cummings	1st	Grand Promenade	2 minutes 37.73 seconds
	2nd	Tralee Rose
	3rd	Master Of Wine
2020 The Bart Cummings	1st	Persan	2 minutes 36.24 seconds
	2nd	Sound
	3rd	Steel Prince
2019 The Bart Cummings	1st	Surprise Baby	2 minutes 38.66 seconds
	2nd	Supernova
	3rd	Wolfe
2018 The Bart Cummings	1st	Avilius	2 minutes 35.43 seconds
	2nd	Jaameh
	3rd	Yogi
2017 The Bart Cummings	1st	Amelie’s Star	2 minutes 37.69 seconds
	2nd	Granddukeoftuscany
	3rd	Kellstorm
2016 The Bart Cummings	1st	Almandin	2 minutes 37.47 seconds
	2nd	Zanteca
	3rd	Excess Knowledge
2015 The Bart Cummings	1st	Let’s Make Adeal	2 minutes 35.6 seconds
	2nd	Our Ivanhowe
	3rd	Hawkspur
2014 The Bart Cummings	1st	Who Shot Thebarman	2 minutes 39.62 seconds
	2nd	Marksmanship
	3rd	Anudjawun
2013 The Bart Cummings	1st	Araldo	2 minutes 38.23 seconds
	2nd	Sea Moon
	3rd	Gotta Take Care
2012 The Bart Cummings	1st	Tanby	2 minutes 36.69 seconds
	2nd	Maluckyday
	3rd	Dame Claire
2011 The Bart Cummings	1st	Mourayan	2 minutes 40.78 seconds
	2nd	Niwot
	3rd	Showcause
2010 The Bart Cummings	1st	Harris Tweed	2 minutes 40.32 seconds
	2nd	Exceptionally
	3rd	Above Average
2009 The Bart Cummings	1st	Light Vision	2 minutes 38.76 seconds
	2nd	Miss Darcey
	3rd	Zacroona
2008 The Bart Cummings	1st	Light Vision	2 minutes 41.34 seconds
	2nd	Baughurst
	3rd	Zavite
2007 The Bart Cummings	1st	Dolphin Jo	2 minutes 39.06 seconds
	2nd	The Fuzz
	3rd	Light Vision
2006 The Bart Cummings	1st	Irazu	2 minutes 38.22 seconds
	2nd	Aznavour
	3rd	Bay Story