A Closer Look for Real Punters – Caulfield Cup

Posted on October 16, 2026October 16, 2026 | Posted by TABtouch

Racing and Sports’ Brad Bishop has a look Cosmic Crusader’s quest to emulate another WA great this weekend, brought to you by TABtouch.

Cosmic Crusader has a long way to go to match the deeds of Northerly, but he is a chance to emulate his fellow Western Australian gelding in this Saturday’s Caulfield Cup.

Not only in that he is chasing the Turnbull Stakes/Caulfield Cup double that Northerly won 24 years ago.

Like Northerly, Cosmic Crusader – a son of former Japanese star Maurice – is aiming to win the $6 million Group 1 at his first try and 2400 metres.

Fifty-six horses have had their first run at 2400m in a Caulfield Cup since 1990 with Northerly one of five to have won. Let’s Elope (1991), Southern Speed (2012), Fawkner (2013) and Mer De Glace (2019) are the others.

Australia’s toughest 2400-metre race, the Caulfield Cup is not generally a place for experimentation.

But stepping one out at 2400m for the first time in it is not attempted as regularly as it was when Northerly was racing.

Mer De Glace is one of only 10 who attempted it in the past decade, while 11 tried between 2006 and 2015 for two winners – Southern Speed and Fawkner.

More horses – 23 – tried it in the previous decade than 2006 to 2025 combined, with Northerly the only to have won.

Northerly defeated a horse also having his first start at 2400 – Fields Of Omagh – while 1991 also produced a ‘first-timers’ quinella with Ivory Way second to Let’s Elope.

One thing those four horses have in common that will be music to the ears of Cosmic Crusader fans is that they rounded out their Cup preparations in the Turnbull Stakes.

All four locally-trained horses to win the Caulfield Cup first time at 2400m since 1990 came out of the Turnbull, while nine of the 11 to have run top-three at their first start at 2400m came through the Flemington 2000m set-weights-and-penalties event.

The Turnbull is without doubt the best guide to the Caulfield Cup with nine of the 13 Southern Hemisphere-trained winners since 2009 having had their final lead-up run in that race.

Incentivise and Verry Elleegant did the double in that time, among 10 in total.

Half Yours (fifth), Ohope Wins (sixth), She’s A Hustler (seventh), Middle Earth (eighth), Kings Valley (ninth), Saint George (10th), Zahrann (11th) and Asterix (last) are the others running on Saturday who contested the Turnbull Stakes.

Incentivise won his Turnbull in a Timeform figure of 124, the same mark Cosmic Crusader ran on October 3, with Gold Trip (125) the only Turnbull winner to have progressed to the Caulfield Cup who ran a better number at Flemington.

He ran third at $6.50 in the 2023 Caulfield Cup, when he carried 58.5kg, and he is the only Turnbull winner to run in the Caulfield Cup this century who did not start favourite.

Incentivise ($2.30) was the shortest of the 10 who did start favourite, with Northerly ($5.50) the longest-priced.

The Andrea Leek-trained Cosmic Crusader was displaced as favourite after drawing barrier 17 – which will become 14 if the emergencies don’t start – but was back into a commanding favourite at $4.80 with TABtouch on Thursday morning.