Auckland Cup Week® 2020 | The Numbers

Six Group races, including four at Group 1 level, run over both days

$2,780,000 in stakes paid over the week

A third Derby win for Michael Walker and second for Tony Pike when Sherwood Forest crossed the line first in the Vodafone New Zealand Derby 2020

Two Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cups in a row for Samantha Collett after taking the win on the Antony Fuller trained, Roger That

Two Group 1 races won by Jamie Richards and Opie Bosson – including winning the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes again this year, making it two from two for this partnership.

3800 glasses of Moët & Chandon champagne served over the week

19% increase in numbers in hospitality precincts from 2019 in advance of the event

480 metres of picket fencing installed

2520 canapés prepared and consumed by attendees

200 dozen New Zealand rock oysters enjoyed

One marriage proposal oncourse between Hollie McIntyre and Andrew Welsh – where Hollie did the asking in honour of the tradition of “Leap Day” on 29 February

Thirteen additional prizes and gifts given to Hollie and Andrew by the Auckland Racing Club and the racing community when her struggle with breast cancer was revealed – read more about it here

One helicopter delivery (for the first time ever) of the revered Auckland Cup trophy

Two returning champions came back in the form of Mufhasa and Gingernuts to lead out the fields of the Mufhasa FastTrack Stakes and the Vodafone New Zealand Derby respectively

Two group sing-a-longs to the national anthem

700,000 Hawaiian Airlines air miles given away to fashion competitors and attendees oncourse, PLUS one trip to Las Vegas

Over $20,000 in prizes given to The Ned Prix de Fashion winner, Katie O’Neill

Eight Clydesdales thundering (and we mean thundering) down the track – with Frank the Tank taking the win in the Dunstan Feeds Auckland Clydesdale Cup

CEO, Paul Wilcox, spotted in the saddle twice over Auckland Cup Week – in a suit!