The first ever Richmond Straight Cup was held on February 4, 2023 and taken out by the Paul Steedman-trained Prince Creed in an emotion charged finale that won't soon be forgotten.

Just days before the heats of the $25,000 feature were set to commence, Steedman sadly passed away due to a suspected heart attack at the age of 64. Prince Creed had been set for the race, so with the blessing of 'Steedy's' wife Jen, friend and fellow trainer Paul Roach stepped in as caretaker trainer for the remainder of the series.

Prince Creed jumped from Box 7 in the decider, and after initially crashing hard left, soon steadied and began to power up the middle of the track.

His main rivals headed to the rail and got into a bit of a bumping duel, allowing Prince Creed to power home in the fastest second sectional time of the race to win the feature in 17.20.

Zipping Garth (17.21), trained by Garry Coles, ran second while the Frank Hurst-prepared Wells Of Silence (17.24) finished third.