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The new year kicks off in style as seen via the Race History of the Perth Cup run at Ascot on Sunday.
The pink and white often dominate and it could happen again in the 2023 Perth Cup (2400m) at Ascot on Sunday.
2023 PERTH CUP - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The Perth Cup is a Group 2 race for the stayers conducted by Perth Racing at Ascot.
The Perth Cup was first run in 1887 and was won by First Prince. The race is usually run on New Year's Day depending on if it suits on a weekend but like 2016 has been run on 31 December too.
In 2020 the Perth Cup was run on the following Saturday but in 2021 it was back closer to NYD.
It was one of the famous two mile races in Australia until 2009 when reduced to a mile and a half.
The Perth Cup is run over 2400m under handicap conditions. It was a G1 until 1993 and has been a G2 since.
Leviathan Perth owner Bob Peters has owned 7 of the last 11 winners of the Perth Cup and 10 in total. He also owned four of the first five over the line in 2016.
In the January 2016 running, Delicacy put up an amazing effort to win but after the race owner Bob Peters confirmed Delicacy had been retired after suffering severe tears to both front tendons in the run and would join Peters' broodmare band.
1999 saw King Of Saxony amazingly win the race first up at two miles. In that race he defeated Rogan Josh. Of course that horse Rogan Josh was transferred to Bart Cummings and by the end of the year had won the Melbourne Cup.
The 2008 running of the Perth Cup was marred by a bad fall involving seven horses after only 500m on the first lap. Damien Oliver was able to win on Cats Fun.
The 2023 Perth Cup was worth $500,000.
Notable winners of the Perth Cup include Raconteur (1953), Fairetha (1958,1959), Fait Accompli (1970, 1972), Dayana (1973), Magistrate (1981, 1982), Bianco Lady (1983), Mirror Magic (1992), Field Officer (1993), Crying Game (1996), King Of Saxony (1999), Black Tom (2006), Guyno (2009), Real Love (2015), Delicacy (Jan 2016), Star Exhibit (Dec 2016/2019) and Midnight Blue (2022).
The 2022 Perth Cup was won by Midnight Blue from Paddy's Shadow and Platoon.