Caulfield Cup 2026 Tips, Predictions & Best Bets

We like finding European 4YO runners to back in the Caulfield Cup, and Wine Dark Sea is a runner we have identified as a good value bet.

The Tom Charlton-trained son of Ulysses has four wins and two placings from 10 starts, so he has made a good start to his career, and getting in with only 54.5kg on his back makes him tough to beat.

We’re never sure how the Europeans will do when traveling to Australia, but by all accounts, he’s a nice type in the making, and connections are confident of a big first-up effort down under.

There has been solid betting support for him at $9, and if he brings his best form on Saturday, he should loom to win at some point down the Caulfield straight.

Our Caulfield Cup predictions include Zahrann to win. He has been let go in betting markets after opening at $5, but despite the betting drift, we’re happy to include him in our picks for the big race.

He didn’t handle the track last time out when running down the track at Flemington, but there are many things in his favour here. He gets back to a good surface, and dropping to 53kg makes him tough to beat.

Jockey Ethan Brown is reading races well, and he won’t have to do much work from barrier 4, which is another positive. We fail to see why he has drifted so much, but the better odds are welcome.

We’re choosing to look past Middle Earth’s poor record at Caulfield and include him in Caulfield Cup tips.

The Ciaron Maher-trained gelding is fitter for three runs back from a spell this preparation, and although he’s looking towards the Melbourne Cup, he has every chance of winning the Caulfield Cup on Saturday.

The Maher team couldn’t be going any better this season, and they can get the 6YO ready to win. He pays a handsome price to win, and we are happy to include him in all bets, including our SRM.

Middle Earth winning wouldn’t shock most punters, so there is no reason to overlook him at the odds.

Punters get value odds with our Caulfield Cup SRM, which includes our three selected runners.

We have Wine Dark Sea Top 5, Zahrann Top 6, and Middle Earth Top 8, which pays $16.75 for our three-runner SRM.

Due to the size of the field, punters get good odds for our SRM. We have Middle Earth at generous odds just to finish in the Top 8, which shouldn’t be too hard for him. Therefore, we recommend taking this bet for a bit of value.