Country Cup champions converge on Caulfield for lucrative final

The second edition of the Victorian Country Cups Series reaches an epic finale on Schweppes Caulfield Thousand Day this Saturday, 16 November, with the $500,000 Hyland Victorian Country Cups Final (2000m).

The final marks the culmination of 12 months of racing action across Victoria, where 55 Country Cups delighted communities and delivered memorable results for owners, trainers, and jockeys.

The Victorian Country Cups Final is scheduled for 4:25 pm (AEDT), between the Group 1 $1.5 million Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) and the Group 1 $1 million Sportsbet Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m).

Former jumps jockey Shane Jackson will aim for the biggest win of his training career with Mystery Island, the eight-year-old gelding who won both the Sungold Milk Warrnambool Cup (2350m) and Mac’s Hotel Woodford Cup (1700m) and finished third on the Victorian Country Cups Series Leaderboard.

He will face competition from the Lindsey Smith-trained Glitter ‘N’ Gold, who narrowly defeated him by a neck in the Australian Lamb Company Colac Gold Cup (2000m) earlier this year.

Having also won the bet365 Penshurst Cup (2000m) at the end of November, the six-year-old mare finished sixth on the leaderboard and returns after a seven-week spell.

Fellow Warrnambool trainer Tom Dabernig will field the only other mare in the race, Picaroon, who finished one spot above Glitter ‘N’ Gold on the leaderboard in fifth.

The seven-year-old claimed the Foodworks Casterton Cup (2000m) in May and the bet365 Apsley Cup (2000m) three weeks later. More recently, she was runner-up in the Ecycle Solutions Murtoa Cup (2050m) in October.

They will have to contend with current race favourite New York Hurricane who was victorious in the bet365 Kyneton Cup (2006m) last Wednesday (6 November).

Trainer Liam Howley hopes the five-year-old gelding can take out the final on Saturday and claim the $275,000 first prize.

Another horse to watch is Group 1-winning trainer Gavin Bedggood’s Keats, who finished seventh on the leaderboard with 10 points, and will be ridden by leading jockey Jamie Kah. 

The eight-year-old gelding dominated in the Ladbrokes Moe Cup (2050m) last month, defeating fellow finalist Sunsets(trained by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young) by five lengths. He also won the TAB Werribee Cup (1600m) in December last year.

The field of 16 also features Country Cups winners from across Victoria, including the Ciaron Maher-trained Charterhouse, winner of the Ladbrokes Cranbourne Cup (1600m), and Dublin Journal, trained by the Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will, and JD Hayes, who took out the Millers Horsham Cup (2100m).

The full field for the 2024 Hyland Victorian Country Cups Final (2000m) is as follows: