Melbourne has the Cox Plate and Sydney has the Queen Elizabeth, which are two of Australia’s very best races. The Doomben Cup isn’t at the level of those, but it is the Brisbane equivalent when it comes to a weight-for-age test over 2000m.

The Doomben Cup had become a bit of a forgotten race through the 2000’s, after the glory days of the 90’s when it was won by stars of the turf like Might and Power, Rough Habit three times, Intergaze, Juggler, Danewin and Durbridge.

Zaaki put the race back on the map with his seven length romp in 2021, accompanied by a prizemoney boost by the Brisbane Racing Club to elevate the standing of their races through the winter carnival. While it might not attract the absolute top tier, who would be targeting the Queen Elizabeth at Randwick during The Championships, it still takes a classy type to win.