- Source: Wellington Cup
The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club.
History
Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various distances:
2 miles : 1874-1889
1+1⁄2 miles : 1890-1941
2 miles : 1942-1973
3200 metres : 1974-2008
2400 metres : 2009-2015
3200 metres : 2016 onwards
There were two prior Wellington Cups in 1867 and 1868. These were unofficial events run by the first Wellington Jockey Club and not recognised by the NZ Turf Register.
The Wellington Cup is one of New Zealand's most famous and popular races and currently offers a purse of NZ$300,000 which belies its Group Three status. Wellington Cup day attracts large crowds to Trentham Racecourse and the other races on the card include the Group One Thorndon Mile, the Group Three Desert Gold Stakes and the Douro Cup.
The Wellington Cup was a Group 1 race until 2008. Given the prestige of the race, there was some disappointment at the news that the race would lose its Group One status from 2009. The Wellington Racing Club responded to the downgrade by reducing the distance to 2400 metres in order to attract a higher quality field. The race reverted to 3200m from 2016 to help encourage New Zealand stayers. However, in 2017 the race was downgraded again to Group Three status.
Queen Elizabeth II attended in 1970.
One of the most famous winners of the Wellington Cup was Kiwi, ridden by Jimmy Cassidy. The pair went on to win the 1983 Melbourne Cup for trainer, Snow Lupton of Waverley. Snow's grand-daughter Jaimee-Lee Lupton trained the 2020 Wellington Cup winner Soleseifei.
In past years the Wellington Racing Club arranged celebrity guests of honour such as:
Rachel Hunter and Rod Stewart in 1994.
Sir Edmund Hillary was appropriately there to present the trophy to 1995 winner Ed along with Cheryl Ladd and One West Waikiki actor Richard Burgi.
Jonah Lomu in 1996.
Miss World winner Jacqueline Aguilera in 1997.
The 2023 Wellington Cup is the 150th edition of the race.
The biggest dividend paid for a Wellington Cup winner was $180 for Simon de Montfort, ridden by Brian Dodds in 1972.
The 2024 edition was on the last race-day of calling by Tony Lee, after a 40 year career.
1954 racebook
Records
Speed record:
3:15.59 - Daria's Fun (1988) for 3200 metres.
3:16.2 - Il Tempo (1970) for the pre-1974 distance of 2 miles.
2:26.65 - Maygrove (2015) over the 2400m journey raced from 2009 and 2015.
Most wins:
3 - Cynisca (1890, 1891, 1892).
3 - Great Sensation (1961, 1962, 1963).
3 - Castletown (1991, 1992, 1994).
Most wins by a jockey:
6 - R Derrett (1880, 1881, 1885, 1892, 1894, 1898)
6 - Roy Reed (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1928, 1932)
5 - Bob Skelton (1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1969)
Most wins by a trainer:
4 - Michael Moroney (1996, 2000, 2014, 2016)
Winners of the Wellington Cup since 1953
Earlier winners
See also
Recent winners of major NZ cup races
Trentham Stakes
New Zealand Cup
Auckland Cup
Thorndon Mile (raced on same day)
Desert Gold Stakes (raced on same day)
Telegraph Handicap
Captain Cook Stakes
References
Winners list at Thoroughbred Heritage
Wellington Cup Day at Trentham Racecourse
Racenet - Australia's Premier Horse Racing News, Form Guides & Tips
LOVERACING.NZ - New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing
TAB | Sports & Racing Betting Online in New Zealand
New Zealand Horse Racing Statistics and Information - RaceBase
The Great Decade of New Zealand racing 1970-1980. Glengarry, Jack. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand.
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