Following a third, carrying 59 kilograms (9 st 4 lbs), in the Victoria Gold Cup, Northerly headed to the Australian Cup over 2,000 metres at Flemington – his first weight-for-age race against top class opposition. Despite racing three-wide, he won by just over three lengths in course record time. Greg Childs said "On that run today, to break the track record after racing three-wide, you'd have to say he's already on the way up to Sunline's status. He's not quite Sunline yet, but he's got all the hallmarks of a champion." Sunline, a champion New Zealand mare, had won the Cox Plate for two years running, and the spring clash with Northerly was now widely anticipated.