The Darwin Cup 2025 Preview

Aug 2, 2025 | Racing News Archive

The Darwin Cup 2025

What is The Darwin Cup?

The Darwin Cup is a horse race in the Northern Territory and is the pinnacle of the eight-day Darwin Cup Carnival held annually at Darwin Racecourse in Fannie Bay. Scheduled for a Monday in early August, the Cup is a 2050-metre open handicap race boasting a $200,000 prize pool.

It attracts top-tier horses from across Australia and is renowned for its festive atmosphere, combining high-quality racing with vibrant fashion, entertainment, and community spirit. The Darwin Cup draws crowds of over 20,000

Previous Winners of The Darwin Cup

The Darwin Cup has seen some cracking winners in recent years, with Hadouken taking out the 2024 edition in strong fashion, seeing off a late challenge from Wolfburn. In 2023, it was Write Your Name who stamped his authority on the NT’s biggest race, delivering a memorable win for the locals.

Historic Winners

Going back a bit further, Ihtsahymn made history with back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2020, joining the likes of Hawks Bay, who pulled off the same feat in 2011 and 2012. Other notable winners include Lightinthenite in 2015.

Latest Odds 

Motorace is the favourite at $2.90, closely followed by Hadouken at $3.00. Wolfburn is next best at $5.90, all carrying solid chances in the race. Cacofonix and Awash offer good each-way value at $10 and $12, while Unquestionably and He’s Maverick come in at $12 and $14.

Other Runners

Write Your Name and Bear Story sit further out at $18 and $20, hoping to upset the favourites. The outsiders include Venting at $26, Prince Jofra $34, and Pink Panther $35, with the big outsiders Holstein at $81 and Picaroon and Funnyifitwon both at $61.

Tips for The Darwin Cup 2025

The pickabookie.com.au selection for the race is WOLFBURN steps back up in distance now but looks ready for it. He led and kept going strongly to score convincingly here last time out and was runner-up in this race last year. Loves the track and distance and showed his class when he fought them all off when winning with ease last start. He’s tough, in form, and will take some beating again.

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