Melbourne Cup Horses: The Race of Legends

The feature race of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, the Melbourne Cup attracts millions of eager punters from all parts of Australia and around the world. No sporting event in Australia captures the imagination of the nation more than the annual running of the Melbourne Cup. So it’s hardly surprising this event is called “the race that stops a nation”. With a total prize pool of $5.5 million, the Melbourne Cup is Australia’s richest and most prestigious thoroughbred handicap horse race for three-year-olds and over. Although the festivities surrounding the Cup carnival are almost as exciting as the field, it’s the Melbourne Cup horses that are remembered long after the celebrations are over. While it’s true many Melbourne Cup horses are never heard from again after the big race, who can forget legendary winners like Makybe Diva, Think Big, Rain Lover or Phar Lap?

Legendary Melbourne Cup Horses

1. Archer was the first Melbourne Cup winner, beating a field of 17 horses in the inaugural race held in 1861. He returned to Victoria for a second Melbourne Cup race in 1862 and romped past the post to win his second consecutive race by eight lengths in a field of 20 runners. Archer is also renowned as a legendary Melbourne Cup horse because in his second win he carried a massive 10 stone 2 lb. Archer is one of only three horses to win the Melbourne Cup carrying 10 stone or more. In 1890, Carbine won carrying 10 stone 5lbs and in 1920, Poitrel won carrying 10 stone.
2. Archer’s consecutive wins was not repeated until Rain Lover beat the field in 1968 and 1969. Think Big later achieved the same record in 1974 and 1975.
3. The legendary mare Makybe Diva is the first and only horse to win three consecutive Melbourne Cups, in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In addition, she broke her own weight record in 2005 by winning the Cup carrying a massive 58kg.
4. Another Melbourne Cup horse that has achieved legendary status is Phar Lap, who won the race in 1930. As the outright favourite, Phar Lap’s odds of 11/8 on remains the shortest price for a Melbourne Cup winner to this day. In addition, he holds the record for the Melbourne Cup horse carrying the heaviest weight of 10 stone 10 pounds when he finished 8th in 1931.
5. In 1876, the three-year-old filly Briseis set a new record by winning three of the major Spring Racing Carnival events – the VRC Derby, the Melbourne Cup and the VRC Oaks.
6. In 1954, Rising Fast won the Melbourne Cup, W S Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, Caulfield Stakes, Mackinnon Stakes and the Fisher Plate.
7. The record for the heaviest weight carried by a Melbourne Cup winner goes to Carbine, who raced across the finishing line in 1890 carrying 10 stone 5 lbs.
8. The 1890 Melbourne Cup also holds the record for the largest field with 39 starters.
9. The fastest Melbourne Cup horse was Kingston Rule, who won the race in 3 minutes 16.3 seconds in 1990.
10. On two occasions since the Melbourne Cup was first contested, two horses with the same name have competed in the same race. In 1867, two horses named Tim Whiffler were entered. To differentiate between them, one was called Sydney Tim Whiffler and the other Melbourne Tim Whiffler.  The winner of this Melbourne Cup race was actually Sydney Tim Whiffler. In the previous year, two horses named Falcon also competed in the Melbourne Cup.