The Wellington Cup is a Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club.
Inaugurated in 1874, it was raced over various distances until 1974 when it was converted to a metric distance of 3200 meters
- 2 miles : 1874-1889, 1942–1973
- 1½ miles : 1890-1941
- 3200 meters : 1974-2008
- 2400 meters : 2009 onwards
The event is one of New Zealand's most important races and currently offers a purse of NZ$250,000. Given the prestige of the race, there was some disappointment at the news that the race would lose its Group One status from 2009. The Wellington Racing Club responded to the downgrade by reducing the distance to 2400 meters in order to attract a higher quality field.
Read more about Wellington Cup: Records, Winners Since 1999, Earlier Winners
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—Alfred Wellington Purdy (b. 1919)
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