A time-honoured event in the region, the Ladbrokes Goulburn Cup has regularly attracted strong fields, and with an increase in prizemoney in 2019, that line-up received a massive boost.

Just days after winning the Million Dollar Chase, the Frank Hurst-trained Good Odds Harada headed to Goulburn for the Cup heats, and roared into the final where he would start a very warm favourite.

But it was the David Geall-trained Emerald Rainbow who would cause a boilover and become the first Victorian in 25 years to capture the feature event.

Ironically Geall admitted after the race that had he known Good Odds Harada was coming to Goulburn for the Cup series, he would have stayed home. Instead he left Southern NSW $25,000 richer.

In 2020, it was a big day for Karina Britton when her litter brothers Wow and Ad Astra filled the quinella in the Cup. Britton not only trained the pair but also owned them.

Wow returned to the scene of the crime in 2021 to defend his title and he did so in dominant fashion. Not only did he blitz a high quality field by 3.75 lengths, he also set a new race record of 24.22 (just half a length outside his own race record). Danielle and Ruth Matic had taken over the collar and lead duties in 2021 and it was a great win on their home track.

In 2022, Mellcat Big Boy scored a memorable win for local couple John and Cath Mellon in commanding style. The son of the Mellon-owned Mellcat Magic jumped as well as he ever has in the big one and gave nothing else a look in as he strode away for a 4.75 length victory.

Mellon gave the speech of the year following the win and it will go down as one of the most famous Goulburn Cup victories in the races long and storied history.

Quantifiable claimed the race in 2023 for Chris O'Brien after pinging the lids and leading all the way.

The winning time of 24.72 just outside the her previous best at the track as she held off the fast-finishing Nangar Jim (Jo McFadyen) by 0.75 of a length. Coin Model, a daughter of Champion Model, ran third for Andy Lord.

"Unreal, fantastic mate…it’s a very big race for the area and I’m only an hour and three quarters away so I’m nearly a local, so I’ll take it as a locals race. But very happy mate, she’s good, very good, and she’s getting better all the time,” O’Brien said.

“She was happy in the one box and when she led, I thought “you beauty”…she might have pulled away a little bit in the straight and I knew I had it…I bought a carton of beer last night and I hoped I’d utilise it.”