Adelaide Cup

Winners and Past Results for the Adelaide Cup.

Held on the second Monday of March, the Adelaide Cup is a Group 2 open handicap race.

The South Australian Jockey Club event is run over 3,200 meters at the Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide with a purse of $400,000. The Australian Pattern Committee downgraded the Adelaide Cup from Group 1 to Group 2 status in 2007.

The long distance race is part of the Adelaide Autumn Racing Carnival with some of the top stayers in Australian race history stamping their authority on the cup since 1864.

The inaugural race was won by Falcon over a distance of 3200 meters. Between 1884 and 1944 the distance was cut short to 2600 meters before reverting back to its original distance.

Among the top stayers to win the Adelaide Cup was Lord Reims with three consecutive victories between 1987-1989. Rain Lover, champion Australian thoroughbred and winner of two Melbourne Cups in 1968 and 1969, also won the 1968 Adelaide Cup.

Trainer Lee Freedman’s Subzero, winner of the 1992 Melbourne Cup also bagged the Adelaide Cup the same year.

One of the most versatile thoroughbreds to win the Adelaide Cup in 1884 was Malua, a stallion who conquered many distances between 1100 and 5200 meters. Another wayward but brilliant galloper to win the prestigious cup was Hyperno in 1978 who went on to lift the Melbourne Cup in the next year.

Each year, the top stayers from around the country head to the Morphettville track on a day that is declared a state holiday in South Australia. The Adelaide Cup is as much a social event as a sporting event with horse owners, trainers, jockeys, and punters hoping to make the most of it while many other celebrities seek to make a fashion statement.

Large kiosks serving gourmet food and drinks are set up near the tracks while fashion shows and live music serve as a prelude to the races. Like the Melbourne Cup the Adelaide Cup is a televised event that became officially known as the SKYCITY Adelaide Cup in 2005.

Inclement weather prompted the authorities to reschedule the cup from May to March since 2006. Ever since, the Adelaide Cup is held on the second Monday in March, a warmer time of the year that attracts a larger racing crowd in the southern hemisphere.

For the South Australian Jockey Club and the racing fraternity, the Adelaide Cup will always remain one of the most prestigious events with a rich history.