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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 runs on Saturday December 9, 2023. 

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: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

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.

(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	TBD	TBD
	2nd	TBD
	3rd	TBD
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