The 2018 Moonee Valley Cup is a Group 2 event run at Moonee Valley Racecourse in October every year during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. Contested over a distance of 2500m it’s a test for any horse with a quarter of a million in prize money on offer to the winners.
The race has previously been known as the Cathay Pacific Airways Cup and is traditionally run on the card of the biggest race day of the year at the track, Group 1 Cox Plate Day.
The Moonee Valley Gold Cup is the biggest staying test held at Moonee Valley Racecourse and given the timing of the event more than a few top class horses have contested the event even though the prize money may not be as generous as some other events.
As with most long distance events there’s no specific lead up with horses usually running a race over a shorter trip and then stepping up gradually.
The Moonee Valley Cup has produced some Melbourne Cup runners over the years but it’s not a good race to use when trying to find the winner.
Kingston Rule back in 1990 was the last horse to complete the Moonee Valley Cup / Melbourne Cup double with more recent notable efforts going to Mr Prudent (2002) which placed in both events and Brew which ran second at Moonee Valley in 2000 before winning the Melbourne Cup.
As you can see a bit of talent has appeared in this race over the years with Kingston Rule (1990), Yippyio (2000) and Zipping (2006) the pick of the bunch.
Following Zipping’s 2006 victory he went on to run fourth in three Melbourne Cups.
2018 Moonee Valley Cup Field
The Moonee Valley Cup field is usually comprised of stayers with extensive black-type experience over distances greater than 2000m. It’s unusual to find a horse in the Moonee Valley Cup field who doesn’t have a legitimate chance at the win, because most runners are fairly well proven.
The 2018 Moonee Valley Cup field is published below.
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1x6731x769 | WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ) | Chris Waller | Tye Angland | 7 | 58kg | – | 110 |
| 2 | 114656×641 | PATRICK ERIN (NZ) | Chris Waller | Corey Brown | 14 | 58kg | – | 104 |
| 3 | 00521×5333 | EGG TART | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 3 | 57kg | – | 107 |
| 4 | 1443×00500 | BIG DUKE (IRE) | Darren Weir | Damien Oliver | 6 | 57kg | – | 105 |
| 5 | x9066x9x39 | PRIZE MONEY (GB) | Saeed Bin Suroor | Oisin Murphy | 12 | 57kg | – | 103 |
| 6 | 041x8x7915 | THE TAJ MAHAL (IRE) | Liam Howley | Ben Melham | 17 | 57kg | – | 109 |
| 7 | 4x39770x36 | LORD FANDANGO (GER) | Archie Alexander | Jye McNeil | 15 | 57kg | – | 102 |
| 8 | 1x5x0x0803 | RED CARDINAL (IRE) | Darren Weir | Craig Williams | 4 | 57kg | – | 104 |
| 9 | 16×6321175 | TRAP FOR FOOLS | Jarrod McLean | Dean Yendall | 8 | 56.5kg | – | 104 |
| 10 | 8x420x8378 | LIBRAN (IRE) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 2 | 56kg | – | 105 |
| 11 | 01211×7872 | LADIES FIRST (NZ) | Allan Sharrock | Michael Walker | 1 | 56kg | – | 102 |
| 12 | 8x16313x50 | MEGABLAST (NZ) | Darren Weir | Damian Lane | 18 | 56kg | – | 102 |
| 13 | 2x3x56x020 | TOSEN BASIL (JPN) | Darren Weir | John Allen | 16 | 55kg | – | 109 |
| 14 | 37829×7940 | VENTURA STORM (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Mark Zahra | 9 | 55kg | – | 105 |
| 15 | 9337×35107 | MISS ADMIRATION | Mick Price | Jay Ford | 13 | 52kg | – | 101 |
| 16e | x1x5x00577 | NAKEETA (GB) | Iain Jardine | Brett Prebble | 11 | 55kg | – | 105 |
| 17e | 432x80x562 | SULLY (NZ) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Regan Bayliss | 10 | 53kg | – | 95 |
| 18e | 7418×00073 | DANDY GENT | Terry & Karina O’Sullivan | Luke Currie | 5 | 55kg | – | 80 |
2018 Moonee Valley Cup Nominations
The Moonee Valley Cup nominations are released on the Monday prior to the race. The Moonee Valley Cup nominations tend to attract around twice as many horses as the final field admits, and you’ll usually find some top talents amongst it.
The 2018 Moonee Valley Cup nominations are published below.
| No. | Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1443×00500 | BIG DUKE (IRE) | G | 7 | Darren Weir | 105 |
| 2 | 1x22x33222 | BRIMHAM ROCKS (GB) | G | 5 | Chris Waller | 102 |
| 3 | x35113x050 | CHEQUERED FLAG (NZ) | G | 7 | Darren Weir | 87 |
| 4 | x6x10x2468 | DAL HARRAILD (GB) | G | 6 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 103 |
| 5 | 7418×00073 | DANDY GENT | G | 7 | Terry & Karina O’Sullivan | 80 |
| 6 | 00521×5333 | EGG TART | M | 5 | Chris Waller | 107 |
| 7 | x020030x89 | GUARDINI (FR) | G | 8 | Darren Weir | 90 |
| 8 | 0x621x4520 | HARRISON (GB) | G | 6 | Liam Howley | 93 |
| 9 | 33x1x61812 | JAAMEH (IRE) | G | 6 | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | 100 |
| 10 | 01211×7872 | LADIES FIRST (NZ) | M | 6 | Allan Sharrock | 102 |
| 11 | 8x420x8378 | LIBRAN (IRE) | G | 8 | Chris Waller | 105 |
| 12 | 4x39770x36 | LORD FANDANGO (GER) | H | 6 | Archie Alexander | 102 |
| 13 | 1×99574641 | MASTER ZEPHYR (GB) | G | 7 | Darren Weir | 89 |
| 14 | 8x16313x50 | MEGABLAST (NZ) | G | 7 | Darren Weir | 102 |
| 15 | 6164x0x025 | MIDTERM (GB) | G | 6 | Liam Howley | 98 |
| 16 | 9337×35107 | MISS ADMIRATION | M | 4 | Mick Price | 101 |
| 17 | x1x5x00577 | NAKEETA (GB) | G | 8 | Iain Jardine | 105 |
| 18 | 03x60x8642 | ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (IRE) | R | 7 | Chris Waller | 105 |
| 19 | 45×8145335 | OUR IDAHO (IRE) | H | 6 | Aidan O’Brien | 111 |
| 20 | 114656×641 | PATRICK ERIN (NZ) | G | 7 | Chris Waller | 104 |
| 21 | x9066x9x39 | PRIZE MONEY (GB) | G | 6 | Saeed Bin Suroor | 103 |
| 22 | 1x5x0x0803 | RED CARDINAL (IRE) | G | 7 | Darren Weir | 104 |
| 23 | x04331x220 | RISING RED (NZ) | G | 5 | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | 101 |
| 24 | x5x8650x43 | SIR ISAAC NEWTON (GB) | G | 7 | Liam Howley | 101 |
| 25 | 432x80x562 | SULLY (NZ) | G | 4 | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | 95 |
| 26 | 041x8x7915 | THE TAJ MAHAL (IRE) | H | 5 | Liam Howley | 109 |
| 27 | 2x3x56x020 | TOSEN BASIL (JPN) | H | 7 | Darren Weir | 109 |
| 28 | 16×6321175 | TRAP FOR FOOLS | G | 5 | Jarrod McLean | 104 |
| 29 | 21x05x4059 | VENGEUR MASQUE (IRE) | G | 7 | Michael Moroney | 104 |
| 30 | 37829×7940 | VENTURA STORM (IRE) | G | 6 | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | 105 |
| 31 | 248x220x04 | WALL OF FIRE (IRE) | H | 6 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 103 |
| 32 | 1x6731x769 | WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ) | G | 10 | Chris Waller | 110 |
| 33 | x4421x2263 | YOGI (NZ) | G | 6 | Darren Weir | 98 |
| 34 | 158402×008 | ZACADA (NZ) | G | 6 | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | 102 |
Moonee Valley Cup Results
Moonee Valley Cup winners, placegetters and winning times since 2000 are shown below.
| Year | Results | Winning Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 TBD | 2 TBD | 3 TBD | TBD |
| 2017 | 1 Who Shot Thebarman | 2 Libran | 3 Cismontane | 2:37.8 |
| 2016 | 1 Grand Marshal | 2 Who Shot Thebarman | 3 Pentathlon | 2:41.4 |
| 2015 | 1 The United States | 2 Prince Of Penzance | 3 Bohemian Lily | 2:34.4 |
| 2014 | 1 Prince Of Penzance | 2 Le Roi | 3 Au Revoir | 2:36.0 |
| 2013 | 1 Precedence | 2 Shoreham | 3 Gotta Take Care | 2:36.9 |
| 2012 | 1 Vatuvei | 2 Reuben Percival | 3 Ironstein | 2:35.7 |
| 2011 | 1 Americain | 2 Tullamore | 3 Illo | 2:36.4 |
| 2010 | 1 Precedence | 2 Above Average | 3 Capecover | 2:38.9 |
| 2009 | 1 The Sportsman | 2 Irazu | 3 Think Money | 2:37.3 |
| 2008 | 1 Gallopin | 2 Baughurst | 3 Ice Chariot | 2:36.5 |
| 2007 | 1 Gallic | 2 Lazer Sharp | 3 Jukebox Johnny | 2:36.5 |
| 2006 | 1 Zipping | 2 Show Barry | 3 Gallic | 2:38.9 |
| 2005 | 1 Umbula | 2 Bazelle | 3 Kindjhal | 2:45.1 |
| 2004 | 1 Another Warrior | 2 Rizon | 3 Hard To Get | 2:37.1 |
| 2003 | 1 Frightening | 2 Legible | 3 County Tyrone | 2:38.5 |
| 2002 | 1 Thong Classic | 2 Rain Gauge | 3 Mr Prudent | 2:40.9 |
| 2001 | 1 Rain Gauge | 2 Spirit Of Westbury | 3 Big Pat | 2;37.6 |
| 2000 | 1 Yippyio | 2 Brew | 3 Cronus | 2:41.3 |
