Australian Cup Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2025

The 2025 Australian Cup will be held at Flemington Racecourse, its home and venue since the year 1863! That means there are well over 150 editions of the prestigious Australian Cup. Be sure to tune in on Saturday the 29th of March for one of Victoria and Australia’s grandest and most historical races on the Australian racing calendar.

This Australian Cup has seen the single biggest jump in prize money for an Australian Group 1 race. The already eye-watering $1.5 million that was up for grabs in the 2022 Australian Cup was doubled in 2023 so now the participants of the race will be competing for a share of a whopping $3 million! 

If the prize money does not make you want to tune in to the Australian Cup, maybe the absolutely stacked field will get you there. With some much at stake, we see the best of the best runners fight it out for Group 1 glory.

The Australian Cup is a weight-for-age race available to Australia’s best runners three years and older. This means a bunch of experienced thoroughbreds will come from all over the world, not just Australia, to battle it out and claim victory in the Australian Cup.

One of the top tracks in the country, Flemington Racecourse, will play home to the Australian Cup which is held at a distance of 2,000m. However, this was not always the case and we will go into more detail about this in our “History” section.

In addition to insights into the Australian Cup, we will also look at where and how to bet on the Australian Cup on this page. The Australian Cup is one of the biggest Group One races on the calendar, so we make sure to provide all the information you could ever need!

Please be sure to check the  OnlyRacing.com.au tips page closer to the race for a full set of fresh tips prepared by one of our other racing experts. With all that being said, we hope the information on this Australian Cup page assists you in your punting decisions and knowledge of Australian thoroughbred horse racing. 

Before we get into our Australian Cup tips, we thought you’d like to see a breakdown of the prize money for the race. Check out how the $3 million is split between the top finishers below:

There are many things the team at OnlyRacing loves, but one of the things that holds a special place in our hearts is free horse racing tips. Finding winners is a serious business and we only want the best for our loyal readers. We provide Flemington tips as well, so you'll never be left in the dark when it comes to tips.

To provide the best means we need to ensure our experts have all the information available to them before providing their tips. At this stage, our tips for the Australian Cup are not yet available. Our experts are waiting for more information about which runners will take part in the 2025 Australian Cup before providing their tips.

We know you came here for tips, so tips you shall find! Take a look back at our tips for the race in 2024 below, while you wait for our 2025 tips:

Australian Cup Best Bet - Atishu

It's a wide open market for the Australian Cup this year with five of the nine runners listed in single-digit odds! I’m skipping the favourite and second-favourite to side with Atishu, who is currently listed at $4.80. She has continued to improve with every preparation and I think she is in with a great shout.

Last year she won the Queen Of The Tuft Stakes at Randwick and continued to improve throughout the Spring, which included an excellent win in the Mackinnon Stakes. I love her record at Flemington and the barrier draw has been kind to her. She’ll need some luck on her side to beat the likes of Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni, but she has been a market mover so far and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her shorten further.

Australian Cup Next Best - Pride Of Jenni

When it comes to Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni, I’m going to have to side with Pride Of Jenni. The All-Star Mile winner is having an excellent Autumn so far, including an out-of-this-world win two weeks ago when leading all the way against none other than, yep you guessed it, Mr Brightside!

I’m going to put that down as the best win in her career and I believe she still has the number on Mr Brightside. Yes, the rise in trip is a concern, but she has enough experience and looks to have recovered well from the race two weeks ago. Pride Of Jenni to give them a sight in the 2024 Australian Cup.

Australian Cup Best Roughie - Legarto

Legarto is currently listed at $8.50 but I saw her listed at $16 just a couple of days ago. Wish I had jumped on then, but I still think she is excellent value. Legarto is another runner that has good memories here at Flemington, she won the Australian Guineas last year and since then has performed well in New Zealand, including a Group 1.

She is peaking right now and while $8.50 is not $16, it’s still a very good price. She’s got experience at the distance and jockey Michael Dee should give her every chance of at least running in the top three, if not go on to win.

The Australian Cup is one of the highlights of Victoria’s racing calendar and each year there are quality horses you can bet on. There are so many places you can pop on your bets. It’s betting apps galore in Australia and with so many horse racing betting sites to choose from it can actually become difficult to make a decision. 

However, we like to make things easy for you at OnlyRacing, so we go through all the top Australian betting sites and provide an in-depth review of them. With all that information at your fingertips, making a decision has never been easier!

Some of the bookies we think you’ll love, especially for the Australian Cup, are PlayUp, JungleBet and Bluebet. Shopping around and having multiple bookmaker accounts is a good idea because you can potentially find better odds for the same runner and claim more betting sites bonuses. 

All the best betting apps will have markets available for you to bet on the Australian Cup. Since the Australian Cup is a fairly major race, you’ll find markets are released well before race day. You can also take advantage of a range of betting promotions on offer from each bookie.

Betting on the Australian Cup may be daunting, but we have prepared a concise list of some of the best and most popular markets to bet on for the race at Flemington Racecourse. These markets include:

• Fixed Win
• Fixed Place
• Quinellas
• Exactas
• Trifectas
• First Fours
• Quaddies (for the whole card at Flemington Racecourse on the 25th of March 2023)
• Multi bets (once again, for the entirety of the meet at Flemington Racecourse

Each year, we will place our bets for the Australian Cup from the list of markets above. There is something for everyone, so no matter if you are a regular or new punter, there’s a market that will tickle your fancy. You can check out all the bookies we have reviews on in our “Betting Sites” section above.

The Australian Cup field always features some of the best horses Australia and the world have to offer. This is what we are expecting in the 2025 Australia Cup field, although, we don’t currently know who will be taking part. On top of this, if the odds are available for the Australian Cup, you can find all the details in our “Odds” section below. This will give you a better idea of which runners are favoured for the race.

As the Australian Cup field has not been determined, you’ll see the odds constantly changing for every runner. Odd changes are a way of life in horse racing, so don’t be surprised if you see changes in the odds for your chosen runner.

So, without beating around the bush any longer, check out all the runners that lined up in the 2024 Australian Cup field (we will have all the 2025 details as soon as they are available):

A smaller field than we’ve seen in recent years lined up for the 2024 Australian Cup. We see a total of nine runners in the field and in the end, there weren’t any scratchings so all nine runners lined up at the starting barriers and got to fight it out for the $3 million on offer.

Pre-race scratchings are a fairly common occurrence in horse racing. Scratchings can happen at any time before the race and several factors result in a horse being scratched, like on vet’s advice, for example. If the horse you placed a bet on does get scratched, you will get your stake back, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Something else we think is important to note when checking out the final field is the barrier draw. In the history of the Australian Cup, some barriers are more successful than others. As well as this, some horse’s race styles will suit a wider or inside barrier. The starting barrier can have a major impact on race tactics, so you should pay attention.

The Australian Cup is one of the oldest races on the calendar and this means there is a lot of data and patterns to be found. You don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting though as we go through the Australian Cup form guide and provide you with some of the key form indicators that you need to know.

Understanding the trends will hopefully point you in the direction of the winner. There’s no hiding when it comes to stats, so if you want to make a decision on who to bet with your head, check out some of the key form indicators below!

The first thing we usually do is look into some of the best lead-up races and for the Australian Cup, there are several options to look into. The Group 1 CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield is one, which is usually run a few weeks before the Australian Cup. The Group 1 Carlyon Cup is run on the same day as the CF Orr Stakes and is another solid option.

You should also look into races like the Futurity Stakes and the Peter Young Stakes. In more recent times, horses use the All-Star Mile as their final hit out before tackling the Australian Cup, if they can handle the week's backup.

Unfortunately, for all you favourite backers out there, the favourites don’t have a good record in the Australian Cup. Since 2004, only four favourites have won, including the 2023 winner, Cascadian. Cascadian went back-to-back in 2024, but that year he wasn’t the favourite.

While there is a fairly even spread of starting barriers for the winner of the Australian Cup, no runner has won from barrier one in over 30 years! We don’t usually see mares tackling the Australian Cup which has resulted in only three mares winning the race since 1998, which include; Dane Ripper, Makybe Diva and Duais.

Some of the best-ever horses have gone on to win the Australian Cup. With a race that has such a rich history, there are so many Australian Cup horses that we can choose from. We only have a certain amount of space, so we can only talk about a handful of the best horses in this section.

Keep reading on to see which horses we have chosen to feature! Have we chosen the horses you were thinking of? Check out all the details below:

Malua - 1886

Yes, that’s right, we are going all the way back to the 1800s for our first featured Australian Cup horse! Malua was known as one of Australia’s most diverse thoroughbred horses and won the 1886 Australian Cup. Other Group 1 races the stallion won throughout his career included; the Melbourne Cup, the Newmarket Handicap and the Oakleigh Plate.

Ming Dynasty - 1978 & 1980

Ming Dynasty was a famous racehorse during the late 70’s and early 80’s. His most notable win would have to be the Caulfield Cup, a race he won twice, in 1977 and 1980. Speaking of races he won twice, he won the Australian Cup twice, in 1978 and 1980. At the end of his career, he finished with a record of 76: 17-12-9.

Better Loosen Up - 1991

Better Loosen Up proved too good for his rivals and won the 1991 Australian Cup, the same year he was named Australian Horse of the Year. In 2004, Better Loosen was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. He ended his career with almost $5 million in prize money thanks to a record of 45:17-9-3.

Saintly - 1996

In 1996, Saintly went on to win the Australian Cup and the very next year the gelding was named Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year. Also in 1996, Saintly won the biggest race of them all, the Melbourne Cup! As well as these two major Group 1 wins, Saintly also won the Cox Plate and CF Orr Stakes.

Makybe Diva - 2005

Makybe Diva won many races in her career, so it's understandable if you forgot she won the Australian Cup as well! She is known for one main reason, winning the Melbourne Cup three years in a row. She won many awards throughout her career and also has a Group 1 race named after her the Makybe Diva Stakes.

Fiorente - 2014

Fiorente was bred in Ireland and tasted success in both Europe and Australia. A year before his Australian Cup victory, Fiorente also won the Melbourne Cup. Fiorente was also named Australian Champion Stayer in 2014. He had a career record of 20: 6-4-2 and amassed over $6 million in prize money.

With a race as popular as the Australian Cup, it’s no surprise that people will want to get on their bets as soon as possible. This is why many bookies, including our favourite bookie, PlayUp, will release odds as soon as they can for the race.

While PlayUp is our favourite bookie at the moment, it can pay to shop around as you may find different horse racing betting apps offering different odds for the same runner. Shopping around is the easiest way to get more bang for your buck. 

If you’re new to the world of horse racing, it’s important to note that there are many horse racing markets to choose from. On top of this, you’ll probably notice that the odds are constantly changing. Many different factors go into an odds change, so we recommend if you like a price that’s being offered, that you jump on as soon as you can.

While the 2025 Australian Cup odds are yet to be released, you can check out the odds of the entire 2024 field, just a day before the race below:

*Odds correct as of 29/03/2024.

The Australian Cup has a deep and rich history that spans many, many decades. The race forms part of the Autumn Racing Carnival in Australia, which is one of the biggest horse racing carnivals on the calendar. There have been many interesting facts about the race which we will go into more detail in this section.

In 2007, the Australian Cup was run at Caulfield Racecourse due to the home of the race, Flemington Racecourse, undergoing major renovations to match the grand upgrades that had taken place on a couple of the New South Wales prestigious tracks. These include Randwick Racecourse and Rosehill Racecourse.  

We have experienced two first-race dead heats in the Australian Cup’s history (we will explain later what a first-race dead heat in the Australian Cup means). These occurred in the 1912 and 1969 iterations of the Australian Cup.

First occurring in the 1912 edition of the Australian Cup, a dead heat between stalwart runners Saxonite and Prizefighter saw the first-ever race in Australian Cup history to result in a tied first place for two different runners. Secondly, the 1969 edition of the Australian Cup showcased a belter of a race which resulted in a dead heat between Yootha and Cyron.

The most spectacular race in the history of the Australian Cup that we stumbled upon during our research for this page was the 1872 Australian Cup. This was the first dead heat in the history of the Australian Cup. However, back then, dead heat races were re-run until a true victor showed itself. 

Upon the first re-run after the dead heat, another dead heat occurred, sending the 1872 Australian Cup to a third race to decide its victor. Finally, Saladin beat out Flying Dutchman to hoist the trophy and claim a historic victory in the Australian Cup.

The 2016 Australian Cup saw Awesome Rock finish first at Flemington Racecourse, however upon review, Awesome Rock was deduced to have caused interference. This resulted in Preferment being crowned champion of the 2016 Australian Cup.

Many other races have just as much history as the Australian Cup, so if you’d like to learn more about them check out our Group One races list. We go into detail on over 100 races.

The question on everyone’s lips - who won the 2025 Australian Cup? Well, we don’t actually know the answer to that question just yet, seeing though the race hasn’t been run. But if anyone has a crystal ball and can look into the future to see the results, please let us know! What we do know are the results of the Australian Cup in 2024!

Just like in the Australian Cup in 2023, the 2024 race was taken out by Cascadian, however, this time he didn’t jump as the favourite. Cascadian just edged out Pride Of Jenni, who finished 0.2L off the pace. In third place was Atishu, who was a further 2L off the leader. 

The pre-race favourite, Mr Brightside, couldn’t hold on and finished down in fifth place. There was a total of 16L that separated the first and ninth runners in the Australian Cup and the race was run in a time of 2:00.05.

Check out the full Australian Cup results below:

You’ve read the table above, now it’s time for the good stuff! The full video replay of the race, so you can relive the action of the Australian Cup. Check it out below:

While we have seen a few dead heats in the past for the Australian Cup, we generally only see one winner each year! We’ve listed all the result Australian Cup winners below (from 2010 onwards):

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of the Australian Cup page, but before you’re a certified expert on this Group 1 race, we’ve got some final FAQs for you. Check out some of the common questions and answers below: