Barriers have been drawn for the $5 million Caulfield Cup, which will be run on Saturday.
The commanding favourite – Half Yours – has drawn ideally in gate two. Surprised bet365 pushed him from $2.50 out to $2.90 and are offering as much as $3.25 boosted price – click here for the bet365 Caulfield Cup market.
*Note: Prices correct as at 4pm, 15/10/2025.
| No | Horse | Barrier | Trainer | Jockey | bet365 Price Pre Draw | bet365 Price Post Draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VAUBAN (FR) | 13 | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Blake Shinn | $11 | $11 |
| 2 | PRESAGE NOCTURNE (IRE) | 8 | Alessandro Botti | Stephane Pasquier | $26 | $29 |
| 3 | MIDDLE EARTH (GB) | 3 | Ciaron Maher | Mark Zahra | $15 | $16 |
| 4 | MEYDAAN (IRE) | 5 | Simon & Ed Crisford | Andrea Atzeni | $9 | $8 |
| 5 | ABSURDE (FR) | 1 | Willie Mullins | Ben Allen | $26 | $26 |
| 6 | LAND LEGEND (FR) | 15 | Chris Waller | Jamie Mott | $15 | $21 |
| 7 | ZARDOZI | 11 | Ciaron Maher | Harry Coffey | $26 | $23 |
| 8 | ADELAIDE RIVER (IRE) | 9 | Kris Lees | Jordan Childs | $17 | $26 |
| 9 | BANKERS CHOICE (NZ) | 14 | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Billy Egan | $101 | $81 |
| 10 | DEAKIN (FR) | 7 | Phillip Stokes | Daniel Stackhouse | $21 | $19 |
| 11 | GOLDEN SNAP (JPN) | 18 | Katsunori Tanaka | Suguru Hamanaka | $19 | $23 |
| 12 | REVELARE | 12 | Robert Hickmott | Luke Currie | $26 | $21 |
| 13 | RIVER OF STARS (IRE) | 4 | Chris Waller | Beau Mertens | $51 | $81 |
| 14 | BIRDMAN (IRE) | 10 | Chris Waller | Teo Nugent | $17 | $17 |
| 15 | HALF YOURS | 2 | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Ms Jamie Melham | $2.50 | $2.90 |
| 16 | ROYAL SUPREMACY (IRE) | 6 | Ciaron Maher | Robbie Dolan | $14 | $11 |
| 17 | VALIANT KING (GB) | 16 | Chris Waller | Jye McNeil | $21 | $23 |
| 18 | PLYMOUTH | 17 | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Ms Celine Gaudray | $67 | $51 |
Winners:
(15) Half Yours: Gate two is an outstanding barrier for this bloke. Listening to Jamie Melham talk during the week, she said words to the effect of ‘you can put him anywhere and he relaxes’. He was up handy to the speed two back in the Naturalism and then didn’t jump too badly in the Turnbull last start, but Jamie was happy to settle a little further back. He can be first four if they aren’t going that hard or top eight if they are; if the former scenario plays out he will get a run at the top of the straight, if the latter does, the field will break up and he should find clean air. Surprised he drifted from $2.50 to $2.90 with bet365 post this draw, if anything, he should’ve remained firm – if you liked him pre-draw, you’d be more confident now.
(4) Meydaan: A bit boring here, but the reality is the two favourites have both drawn ideally. He can settle in a midfield position without doing any work at all and should enjoy every favour. Jockey, Andrea Atzini, gave Zardozi every chance from gate nine in this race last year, expect Meydaan to get a similar run in transit.
Losers:
(15) Land Legend: He would get back anyway, but from a softer draw you get the chance to have 6-8 behind you, whereas from fifteen he is going to be near-enough last. No surprise to see him drift.
(18) Plymouth: Look, he’s big odds anyway, but a wide draw doesn’t help his cause. Nor, potentially, does having Golden Snap to his outside, who it seems can be most unpredictable. It’s not the highest pressure Caulfield Cup on paper and Celine Gaudray is riding well, but the task from 17 for a horse with tactical speed is vastly different to drawing soft.
Unsure:
(11) Golden Snap: All I’ve read, and indeed heard, from people who have observed her, is that she is a tricky mare. The stable seem uncertain how she will behave on raceday, so while gate eighteen might look ugly on paper, maybe it will give her a bit of space early to get into the right frame of mind.
The speed map:
Even to above average tempo likely. The one who seems unpredictable is Golden Snap, she could really force the issue and create a strong tempo, but could also drift back from the wide draw. Of the internationals, Meydaan should settle just forward of midfield, Presage Nocturne is a horse they have wanted to balance up early. Absurde I’ve got four back on the fence but could also see him driving up a little further forward (as shown by the arrow below).
