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Melbourne Cup: Past Winners, Stats & History

Melbourne Cup Carnival
Course:
Flemington
Grade:
Group 1
Length:
2m
Last Winner:
Gold Trip @ 20/1
Prize Money:
A$7,750,000 (2022)

It’s the big one Down Under on the first Tuesday in November. The Melbourne Cup is the biggest Australian race of the year – bar none – in fact, and it is the most valuable staying handicap run anywhere in the world and a race well worth setting your alarm clocks for.

A maximum field of 24 runners go post for “the race that stops a nation” at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne which was established in 1861. European raiders have had good strike rate in this recently with British, Irish, German and French trained winners in the last decade.

Melbourne Cup Course Map

Flemington Flat Turf Racecourse Map

Runners in the Melbourne Cup start mid way along a straight section which extends to the east of the course. The field travels past the stands and the winning post for the first time before turning left-handed and completing a full circuit.

Melbourne Cup Past Winners

Year Winner SP Trainer Jockey
2022 Gold Trip 20/1 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Mark Zahra
2021 Verry Elleegant 16/1 Chris Waller James McDonald
2020 Twilight Payment 25/1 Joseph Patrick O'Brien Jye McNeil
2019 Vow And Declare 10/1 Danny O'Brien Craig Williams
2018 Cross Counter 8/1 Charlie Appleby Kerrin McEvoy
2017 Rekindling 14/1 Joseph O’Brien Corey Brown
2016 Almandin 10/1 Robert Hickmott Kerrin McEvoy
2015 Prince Of Penzance 100/1 Darren Weir Michelle Payne
2014 Protectionist 7/1 Andreas Wohlerr Ryan Moore
2013 Fiorente 6/1 Gai Waterhouse Damien Oliver
2012 Green Moon 19/1 Robert Hickmott Brett Prebble
2011 Dunaden 15/2 Mikel Delzangles Christophe Lemaire
2010 Americain 12/1 Alain de Royer-Dupre Gerald Mosse
2009 Shocking 9/1 Mark Kavanagh Corey Brown
2008 Viewed 40/1 Bart Cummings Blake Shinn
2007 Efficient 16/1 Graeme Rogerson Michael Rodd
2006 Delta Blues 17/1 Katsuhiko Sumii Yasunari Iwata
2005 Makybe Diva 7/2 Lee Freedman Glen Boss
2004 Makybe Diva 5/2 Lee Freedman Glen Boss
2003 Makybe Diva 7/1 David Hall Glen Boss

About the Melbourne Cup

Crowd at Flemington for the Melbourne Cup
Chris Phutully, flickr

With so much high quality action taking place across Britain and Ireland you would be forgiven for not paying too much attention to racing Down Under. Australia does boast some quality races though and if there’s only one you’ll take note of then it simply has to be the Melbourne Cup.

Standing as the most valuable two mile handicap anywhere in the world, there is never a shortage of supremely talented names attending the flat contest at Flemington Racecourse. There is no shortage of anticipation for it either with the long-standing contest sometimes referred to as “the race that stops the nation”.

Part of what makes the 3200m race so worthy of being a nation-stopper is its gloriously rich history which dates back to 1861. After just four renewals the race became so popular that the Cup day became a half-holiday in Melbourne for bank officials and public servants while many business closed at lunchtime. During the same year, 1865, the race also swapped its prize of a gold watch for a trophy. Handed to the winning owner, the golden trophy worth $250,000 is theirs to keep while the trainer and jockey receive miniature replicas.

WIDE DRAW LOOKING LIKE A HINDRANCE

For a race that regularly features its maximum of 24 runners, horses can’t afford much to go against them. Looking at past data it seems that being drawn on the outside is something that makes winning this race significantly tougher. With its large sweeping left handed bends, being central seems the place to be when at Flemington Racecourse for this two mile test.

Chart Showing the Barrier Draw of Melbourne Cup Winners Between 2000 and 2022

We have had six winners since 2000 start from barrier 17 or higher, which is a decent return, but their top four finish figures show how they often underperform.

Chart Showing the Barrier Draw of Melbourne Cup Top Four Finishers Between 2000 and 2022

WOMEN MAKING HISTORY

Jockey Clare Lindop Riding in Horse Race
Clare Lindop, Pixabay

Clare Lindop became the first female jockey to feature in this race when riding a horse called Debben in 2003. She wasn’t able to impress with a 19th placed finish but her effort opened the door for future women riders. Twelve years after Lindop’s appearance, Michelle Payne stunned the crowd at Flemington when riding 100/1 shot Prince of Penzance to glory. Not only was this the longest odds winner since 1940 but Payne became the first ever winning female jockey in the Melbourne Cup.

We’ve also see two female trainers make history this side of the new century. Shelia Laxon became the first woman trainer to officially win the contest in 2001. The word officially is used because in 1938, Mrs A McDonald was forced to register her horse in her husband’s name as women were not allowed to be trainers at that time. A little over a decade after Laxon’s triumph, Gai Waterhouse, daughter of the legendary Tommy J. Smith, became the first Australian female to saddle the winner.

A FOREIGN INVASION

Often talked about these days is the involvement of foreign trained horses in the Melbourne Cup. Foreign bred runners have long taken part in the contest but it’s only over the past few decades that trainers have made the long trip to Melbourne. Success has been very limited with locally based runners still firmly the dominant force but there have been exceptions.

In 1993, Dermot Welt become the first trainer from the Northern hemisphere to secure Cup glory before doing so again in 2002. Japan got their first taste of success in 2006 thanks to Katsumi Yoshida and twelve years later the Melbourne Cup trophy finally made its way to Britain as Cross Counter struck gold for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE TRAINED MELBOURNE CUP WINNERS

Year Horse Trainer Jockey Owner
2020 Twilight Payment (IRE) Joseph Patrick O’Brien Jye McNeil Lloyd Williams
2018 Cross Counter (GBR) Charlie Appleby Kerrin McEvoy Godlophin
2017 Rekindling (IRE) Joseph Patrick O’Brien Corey Brown Lloyd Williams
2014 Protectionist (GER) Andreas Wohler Ryan Moore Australian Bloostock
2011 Dunaden (FRE) Mikel Delzangles Christophe Lemaire Pearl Bloodstock
2010 Americain (USA) Alain de Royer-Dupre Gerald Mosse G Ryan & K Bamford
2006 Delta Blues (JPN) Katsuhiko Sumii Yasunari Iwata Sunday Racing Co
2002 Media Puzzle (IRE) Dermot Weld Damien Oliver Dr Michael Smurfit
1993 Vintage Crop (IRE) Dermot Weld Michael Kinane Dr Michael Smurfit

MAKYBE DIVA WITH HISTORIC HAT-TRICK

Makybe Diva Statue in Port Lincoln
denisbin, flickr

A hugely lucrative career saw Makybe Diva collect not far off A$15m in prize money, the bulk of which came from the Melbourne Cup. The British bred daughter of Danehill holds a special place in the history of this race having won it an unmatched three times. Her first triumph came when a reasonably fancied 7/1 shot but the following two renewals she set off as the favourite.

During her final Cup appearance she carried 58kg, 0.5kg more than above the weight-for-age scale for a mare in a 3200m race. By winning in spite of this, the Cox Plate champion became the first horse carrying more than weight-for-age since Rain Lover’s second victory in 1969.

Other Races of Note at Flemington

  • Melbourne Cup

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