Caulfield Cup 2026 Betting Tips - 3 long range predictions for the 2026 Caulfield Cup

Here are our top three long-range predictions for the 2026 Caulfield Cup

Strictly Business is one to keep very safe in early Caulfield Cup markets, currently sitting at the $15 quote on the sixth line of betting. The recent VRC Oaks (2500m) winner profiles perfectly as a four-year-old mare on the rise — historically a sweet spot for Caulfield Cup success with the likes of Jameka, Verry Elleegant and Southern Speed all striking at this age. Her Oaks triumph was no fluke: she stayed the trip strongly, was dominant through the line, and produced the kind of late-strengthening sectional profile that often translates beautifully when transitioning into open-company handicaps as a spring four-year-old. Hard to believe that came fourth career start. With natural physical development still to come and a staying base already established at three, she shapes as one of the more progressive mares heading towards the 2026 spring.

She’s A Hustler is another mare worth serious consideration in early 2026 Caulfield Cup markets, currently posted at $20 but very capable of tightening significantly as the spring picture develops. Her Group 2 Zipping Classic win at Caulfield — in which she outstayed dual Group 1 winner Light Infantry Man over the 2400m — was the perfect audition for a future Caulfield Cup tilt. Importantly, she passed her first genuine staying test with authority, maintaining her trademark consistency and proving she can absorb pressure at weight-for-age level. With seven wins and four seconds from 11 starts, her strike-rate is elite, and her ability to elevate at each new challenge suggests she’ll only improve as she transitions into her four-year-old season. Trainer Grahame Begg has already floated the possibility of a Caulfield Cup campaign, likely building through an autumn/winter preparation before targeting the Queensland features — a path that has produced recent Caulfield Cup winners such as Incentivise and Half Yours. 

Apulia is one at big odds who deserves far more respect in early Caulfield Cup discussions, currently sitting at $51 but possessing the raw staying talent to surge up the market if he finally gets an uninterrupted preparation. His three-year-old spring in 2023 remains the strongest pointer: he claimed the Moonee Valley Vase with authority and then backed it up with a superb runner-up finish in the VRC Derby, marking himself as a genuine stayer with a powerful 2400m profile. That campaign hinted at Group 1 staying potential, but injury struck at the wrong time, leading to a full year off the scene between November 2024 and late October 2025 — a gap that stalled his progression but didn’t extinguish his underlying quality. Since returning, Apulia has reminded everyone exactly what he is capable of with sharp wins over shorter trips at Moonee Valley in October and Flemington in November 2025. They are often the perfect platform for a stayer transitioning back to 2000m-plus races deeper into a campaign. If he holds together physically, he profiles as a classic Cups roughie: talented at 2400m, lightly exposed, and likely to attract a very manageable handicap.