Trainer Natalie Young and Daniel Moor after Brayden Star won the 2023 Bet365 Benalla Gold Cup at Benalla Racecourse.
The 2023-24 Victorian Country Cups Series is set to recommence tomorrow (Friday, 27 September) with the bet365 Benalla Gold Cup (2100m) and the bet365 Coleraine Cup (1800m), the first two spring country cups en route to the grand finale at Caulfield on Saturday, 16 November.
The $500,000 Victorian Country Cups Final (2000m), to be showcased on Schweppes Caulfield Thousand Day, will feature the best-performed horses from Victorian racing's 55 country cups.
The ballot order for the final will be determined by points accumulated in Victorian country cups from November 2023 through to the bet365 Ararat Gold Cup (2200m), held the week prior on Sunday, 10 November.
The fields for tomorrow’s public holiday country showpieces were announced yesterday, with the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young stable set to play a prominent role at both venues.
The Cranbourne stable has reigning Benalla Gold Cup winner
Brayden Star and
Suizuro, a winner of the 2023 Ladbrokes Moe and 2024 Yarra Valley Cups, engaged in the $125,000 feature at Benalla.
Suizuro currently sits in 15th place on the series leaderboard and will all but guarantee himself a second successive start in a Victorian Country Cups Final if successful at Benalla.
The stable has pinned its hope of success in the $50,000 Coleraine Cup on last year’s fourth placegetter
Flossing, who is one of eight acceptors for the western districts feature.
Among his rivals will be 2023-24 Victorian Country Horse of the Year finalist,
Station One (Liam Howley), who sits only one point adrift from series leader, Mister Me, after victories in the 2023 William Thomson Dunkeld and 2023 bet365 Traralgon Cups.
Fifth-placed
Glitter ‘N’ Gold (Lindsey Smith) will also be vying for the top spot as she sits only two points adrift of the lead after winning the 2023 bet365 Penshurst and 2024 The Australian Lamb Company Colac Gold Cups.
The connections of this year’s Coleraine Cup winner will be hoping to tread the path worn by Claidheamh Mor who bounced from his success in the 2023 edition to win the inaugural Victorian Country Cups Final at Caulfield.
RV General Manager, International and Racing Operations, Paul Bloodworth said: “The Victorian Country Cups Series is a great way to showcase and reward the talent of horses racing throughout the year across Victoria. It ultimately provides them an opportunity to contest a lucrative final on a premier raceday for Victorian racing.
“Benalla Gold Cup Day and Coleraine Cup Day are both opportunities for families to get together to kick-start the AFL grand final long weekend. These events and all the country cups involved in the series play a key role in bringing regional communities together throughout Victoria.”
The Victorian Country Cups Final at Caulfield will be a Benchmark 100 Handicap featuring a field of 16 starters (plus four emergencies) with a minimum topweight of 62kg at the declaration of weights.
The winners of each country cup collect five points in the series, with two points awarded to the runner-up and third place receiving one point. In the event of a dead-heat, the points are not shared with each horse receiving the full quota for first, second or third.
To view the current Victorian Country Cups Series leaderboard, please click here.
Following the Benalla and Coleraine Cups, the next qualifying races will be the Moama Bowling Club Gunbower Gold Cup (1800m) and the Ecycle Solutions Murtoa Cup (2050m) on Saturday, 5 October.