Doomben Cup
Australia | FEATURE RACE GUIDE
History
The Doomben Cup is a Group 1 race for open class middle distance horses conducted by the Brisbane Racing Club at Doomben.
The Doomben Cup was first run in 1933 and was won by Pentheus.
The Doomben Cup is run over 2000m under Weight For Age conditions.
From 2002 to 2006 the race was run at 2200m but with the Brisbane Cup downgrade in distance and status, the Doomben Cup has come back in distance as well.
Race had to be pushed back one week in 2022, changed to 2100m and moved to Eagle Farm due to a massive amount of rain.
The AD Hollindale Stakes at the Gold Coast is the natural lead up. The same horse has won the Hollindale Stakes/Doomben Cup double in the same year 12 times – Rough Habit (1991-92), Durbridge (1994), Danewin (1995), Might And Power (1998), Mr Bureaucrat (2002), Bush Padre (2003), Above Deck (2006), Metal Bender (2010), Streama (2014), Zaaki (2021), Antino (2025).
Cinque Cento was the first mare to win in donkey's ages before Streama won in 2014 and then Kenedna in 2019.
Great kiwi warrior Rough Habit won three in a row 91/92/93 after placing as a 3yo in 1990. That coincided with his Stradbroke wins of 91/92.
The 1994 Doomben Cup saw Durbridge survive a protest from stable mate Paris Lane.
The Freedmans have been associated through their various stables with Abstraction, Durbridge, Bush Padre, Mawingo and Our Ivanhowe.
Zaaki beat home one of the best Doomben Cup fields ever as he defeated six G1 winners in 2021 by 7L. He'd then win the Q22 before spelling and taking the Underwood Stks and Mackinnon Stks in the Spring. Returning north again he won the Hollindale Stks in 2022 but only ran third in the Cup at $1.24.
Antino's huge win in 2025 gave Blake Shinn the record for most Doomben Cups at 4.
Birdman's win in 2026 made it a career 200 G1s for Chris Waller joining TJ Smith and Bart Cummings in achieving that feat for an Australian based trainer.
The 2026 edition of the Doomben Cup was worth $1,000,000.
The 2020 running was abandoned due to coronavirus.
Notable winners of the Doomben Cup include Bernborough (1946), Winfreux (1966), Divide And Rule (1970), Tails (1971), Dandy Andy (1987), Rough Habit (1991/1992/1993), Durbridge (1994), Danewin (1995), Juggler (1996), Might And Power (1998), Intergaze (1999), Defier (2004), Streama (2014), Pornichet (2015), Our Ivanhowe (2016), Kenedna (2019), Zaaki (2021), Huetor (2022/2023) and Antino (2025).
The 2026 Doomben Cup was won by Birdman from Pride Of Jenni and Vauban.
Previous Doomben Cup Winners
| Date | Horse | Jockey | WT | Trainer | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
BIRDMAN
(IRE)
5G FREE EAGLE (IRE) - CAROL (IRE) ACCLAMATION (GB) |
JAMES MCDONALD | 59.0 | CHRIS WALLER | 5 |
|
|
ANTINO
(NZ)
6G REDWOOD (GB) - MAHAMAYA (NZ) BAHHARE (USA) |
B SHINN | 59.0 | TONY GOLLAN | 10 |
|
|
BOIS D'ARGENT
(GB)
7G TORONADO (IRE) - MADONNA LILY (IRE) DAYLAMI (IRE) |
B SHINN | 59.0 | ANNABEL NEASHAM | 8 |
|
|
HUETOR
(FR)
6G ARCHIPENKO (USA) - BRIVIESCA (GB) PEINTRE CELEBRE (USA) |
RYAN MALONEY | 59.0 | P & P SNOWDEN | 6 |
|
|
HUETOR
(FR)
5G ARCHIPENKO (USA) - BRIVIESCA (GB) PEINTRE CELEBRE (USA) |
K MCEVOY | 59.0 | P & P SNOWDEN | 2 |
|
|
ZAAKI
(GB)
6G LEROIDESANIMAUX (BRZ) - KESARA (GB) SADLER'S WELLS (USA) |
JAMES MCDONALD | 59.0 | ANNABEL NEASHAM | 9 |
|
|
KENEDNA
(AUS)
5M NOT A SINGLE DOUBT (AUS) - MISS DODWELL (AUS) FALBRAV (IRE) |
J ALLEN | 57.0 | C MAHER & D EUSTACE | 8 |
|
|
COMIN' THROUGH
(AUS)
4G FASTNET ROCK (AUS) - MICA'S PRIDE (AUS) BITE THE BULLET (USA) |
M J WALKER | 59.0 | CHRIS WALLER | 11 |
|
|
SENSE OF OCCASION
(AUS)
6G STREET SENSE (USA) - SAYWAAN (AUS) ZABEEL (NZ) |
C W BROWN | 59.0 | KRIS LEES | 15 |
|
|
OUR IVANHOWE
(GER)
6H SOLDIER HOLLOW (GB) - INDIGO GIRL (GER) STERNKOENIG (IRE) |
K MCEVOY | 59.0 | LEE & ANTHONY FREEDMAN | 6 |
|
|
PORNICHET
(FR)
4H VESPONE (IRE) - PORZA (FR) SEPTIEME CIEL (USA) |
B SHINN | 59.0 | MS G WATERHOUSE | 4 |
|
|
STREAMA
(AUS)
5M STRATUM (AUS) - PENSIAMO (AUS) SOVEREIGN RED (NZ) |
B SHINN | 57.0 | G H WALTER | 8 |
|
|
BEATEN UP
(GB)
5G BEAT HOLLOW (GB) - FROG (GB) AKARAD (FR) |
L G INNES | 59.0 | CHRIS WALLER | 1 |
|
|
MAWINGO
(GER)
4H TERTULLIAN (USA) - MONTFLEUR (GB) SADLER'S WELLS (USA) |
N RAWILLER | 59.0 | ANTHONY FREEDMAN | 5 |
|
|
SCENIC SHOT
(AUS)
8G SCENIC (IRE) - SWEEPSHOT (AUS) DR GRACE (NZ) |
S SCRIVEN | 59.0 | D MORTON | 2 |
|
|
METAL BENDER
(NZ)
4G DANASINGA (AUS) - JACQWIN (AUS) BLUEBIRD (USA) |
K MCEVOY | 59.0 | CHRIS WALLER | 7 |
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