Australian Cup up to $3m as part of Victorian prizemoney boost

Racing Victoria (RV) announced on Wednesday morning that the Melbourne Autumn Carnival will receive a rich revamp and key date changes.

The Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) has been pushed back a fortnight to March 25 and has had its prizemoney doubled to A$3 million.

A new 2000m event, the Australian Cup Prelude, has been created and will be run as a support race on March 11 at Flemington as a co-feature alongside the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m).

The Blue Diamond Stakes for the juveniles now offers $2 million in prizemoney, up from $1.5 million in 2022.

Traditional Moonee Valley races will change next year to support the All-Star Mile, with the $750,000 Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes, the $200,000 Group 3 Typhoon Tracy Stakes and the $175,000 Listed Abell Stakes all shifting. The gap between the All-Star Mile and the Australian Cup will be two weeks in 2024.

RV has also announced a significant revamp to the Listed Moomba Plate, with the event now deemed a ‘grand final’ for three-year-old sprinters after having its prizemoney increased from $160,000 to $500,000.

With the Australian Cup being pushed back in the scheduled, the Mornington Cup — which provides the winner a golden ticket into the Caulfield Cup — will now be run on April 25 next year.

Along with the prizemoney increases, RV announced that the Listed Roy Higgins Quality (2800m) — to be run on Australian Cup Day — will join the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes as a ballot-exempt race for the Melbourne Cup from 2023 onwards and will now be worth $500,000.

Over $33 million in prizemoney will be on offer throughout the Melbourne Autumn Carnival.