Australian Cup 2025 - Barrier Draw & Final Field
- The barrier draw has been completed for the Australian Cup
- The 2025 edition will be contested on March 29
- This Group 1 features on Saturday's Flemington card
- Final field is included below
Pride of Jenni has drawn barrier one in the 2025 Australian Cup. (Getty)
The Australian Cup headlines the final day of the 2025 Melbourne Autumn Carnival, with this 2000m Group 1 worth $2.5 milliion in total.
Pride Of Jenni (barrier 1) recorded a famous last start win in the Peter Young Stakes, where the exciting front-runner was resuming off a setback and she was runner-up in the 2024 Australian Cup prior to her all-the-way romp in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Two of her three Group 1 wins have come at Flemington, with those back-to-back triumphs recorded over the 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Godolphin are aiming for a hat-trick of wins in in the Australian Cup and they have Zardozi (barrier 9) who looks set to peak for this 2000m feature.
The 2023 VRC Oaks winner is suited up to this distance, while her last two fourth-up attempts have both resulted in Group 1 placings (Australian Oaks and The Metropolitan).
Middle Earth (barrier 8) was a dual stakes-winner when prepared by John & Thady Gosden and five-year-old opened his Australian career with victory in the Australian Cup Prelude.
The Ciaron Maher-trained import was heavily backed ahead of that March 8 appearance, where he defeated the 2024 Caulfield Cup winner (Duke De Sessa).
Maher also prepares Light Infantry Man (barrier 4) who recorded his first Australian victory over 1600m at Flemington last spring and he was a Group 1 winner two starts later when successful in the Northerly Stakes.
He arrives here third-up after contesting the Futurity Stakes and All-Star Mile.
Atishu (barrier 7) was Group 1 placed behind Via Sistina via her last attempt over this track/trip, with that Champions Stakes effort following an Empire Rose Stakes victory on November 2.
The Chris Waller-trained mare has a good record at Flemington, with four wins and three placings from 11 attempts, and two of her three Group 1 wins have come here.
Deny Knowledge (barrier 3) could set up an interesting early speed battle with Pride Of Jenni and the seven-year-old arrives on the fresh side, with a jump-out win recorded following her first-up victory in the Victoria Gold Cup.
She defeated both Mr Brightside and Atishu at Group 1 WFA level last spring when successful in the Might And Power.
Feroce (barrier 5) was only second-up when winning the Group 1 Australian Guineas and the son of Super Seth has completed a jump-out since his March 1 triumph.
Super Cool (2013) was the last three-year-old to win the Australian Cup.
With an unlucky return run followed by an eye-catching second in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes, Attrition (barrier 6) is building towards a a peak performance.
The Mitchell Freedman-trained entire is untried at 2000m, although he proved himself past a mile when taking out the Group 2 Hill Stakes (1900m) last spring.
10 runners make up the final field for the 2025 Australian Cup.
Australian Cup 2025 Barriers & Final Field
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light Infantry Man (FR) | Ciaron Maher | Ethan Brown | 4 | 59kg | $9 |
| 2 | Attrition | Mitchell Freedman | John Allen | 6 | 59kg | $15 |
| 3 | Young Werther (NZ) | Danny O'Brien | Daniel Stackhouse | 10 | 59kg | $41 |
| 4 | Middle Earth (GB) | Ciaron Maher | Mark Zahra | 8 | 59kg | $5 |
| 5 | Shaiyhar (IRE) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Daniel Moor | 2 | 59kg | $41 |
| 6 | Pride Of Jenni | Ciaron Maher | Craig Newitt | 1 | 57kg | $2.90 |
| 7 | Atishu (NZ) | Chris Waller | Blake Shinn | 7 | 57kg | $7.50 |
| 8 | Zardozi | James Cummings | Jamie Melham | 9 | 57kg | $8.50 |
| 9 | Deny Knowledge (IRE) | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Craig Williams | 3 | 57kg | $11 |
| 10 | Feroce (NZ) | Dominic Sutton | Billy Egan | 5 | 54.5kg | $10 |
Odds courtesy of Betr & correct on 26/03/2025.
Australian Cup Winners
The Australian Cup is one of Victoria’s most prestigious middle-distance autumn races.
Worth $2.5 million, this 2000m weight-for-age contest will effectively round out the Melbourne Autumn Carnival in 2023, with this race being pushed to the end of March and allowing the All-Star Mile to be run one week earlier.
The legendary Bart Cummings leads the training record for the Australian Cup with 13 wins overall, while Tom Hales is the most successful jockey, riding eight Australian Cup winners from 1875 to 1890.
In what's arguably become a stronger race in the last 50 years, champions such as Leilani, Dulcify, Vo Rogue, Better Loosen Up. Northerly and Makybe Diva all feature on the winners list.
Duais (2022) and Cascadian (2023 and 2024) have won the last three editions of the Australian Cup.
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