2012 Melbourne Cup Facts & Form Statistics

This Tuesday, November 6, the $6.2 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) will light up the famous Flemington Racecourse and to help you back the horse to win the Melbourne Cup 2012 below is the Races.com.au insider Melbourne Cup Facts & Form Guide Statistics.

Due to jump as Flemington Race 7 at 3:00pm (AEST) as is tradition, the 2012 Melbourne Cup field features 24 champion stayers including eight overseas-trained raiders and a further 10 horses bred outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Melbourne Cup Field 2012 at a Glance

Melbourne Cup favourite Americain is one of 8 overseas-trained raiders in the 2012 Melbourne Cup field

24 horses
2 past Melbourne Cup winners
8 overseas-trained horses
18 internationally-bred horses (outside of Australia & NZ)
4 NZ-bred horses
2 Australian-bred and trained hopes

In the latest Melbourne Cup betting odds there are four horses at single-figures to win with 2010 champ Americain ($6), defending winner Dunaden ($7.50), Luca Cumani’s in-form European Mount Athos ($7) making their Australian race debut and last year’s runner-up Red Cadeaux ($9.50).

There are then only three other horses in the Melbourne Cup field 2012 under $20 in the current markets with Irish galloper Galileo’s Choice ($16), beaten Cox Plate favourite Green Moon ($17) and Cumani’s other hopefuls My Quest For Peace ($17) drawn on the rails.

So this is what the Melbourne Cup odds have to say but what about the historical trends, betting history and 2012 Melbourne Cup form guide?

Having studied the full Melbourne Cup field, form and statistics on the ‘race that stops a nation’ below are the Races.com.au team’s must know Melbourne Cup Facts 2012 to help you clean out the bookies this Cup day!

2012 Melbourne Cup Form Facts & Betting Stats

Last Year’s Melbourne Cup Says….

Last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Duanden came off a win the Geelong Cup, drew barrier 13 (of 24) and was ridden by international jockey Christoph Lemaire on 54.5kg
This year #1 Duanden ($7.50) is back to defend their title coming off a last-start Caulfield Cup victory, due to be ridden by Craig Williams from barrier 16 as the 59kg top-weight
While Lemaire is without a Melbourne Cup mount in 2012 there are five horses to be ridden by an internationally-based hoop with #3 Jakkalberry (Colm O’Donoghue), #7 Cavarlyman (Frankie Dettori), #12 Galileo’s Choice (Patrick Smullen), #19 Tac De Boistron (Olivier Doleuze) and #14 Green Moon who will be ridden by Aussie expat Brett Prebble
No horse will carry 54.5kg this year

Horse Racing Tip #12 Galileo’s Choice boasts the highest Win & Place Rate of the Melbourne Cup 2012 field making them a nice bet at $16 through bookmaker.com.au!
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Last year’s winning Melbourne Cup barrier (13) belongs on Tuesday to #6 Voila Ici ($151)
While this year’s Geelong Cup winner Gatewood missed out on a 2012 Melbourne Cup run, horses in the field to come via the race which has produced the past two Melbourne Cup winners are #15 Maluckyday (5^th) and #19 Tac De Boistron (6^th)

And the Most Consistent Are….

#12 Galileo’s Choice ($7) boasts the best Win Rate of the field with 50.00% followed by #9 Sanagas (46.76%), #13 Glencadam Gold (46.15%) and #24 Kelinni (44.44%)
Horses with the highest Place Percentages are then #12 Galileo’s Choice (81.25%), #24 Kelinni (77.78%), #1 Dunaden (76.74%) and #6 Voila Ici (75.00%)

In the Lead Up….

12 of the past 19 Melbourne Cup winners won their lead-up race
This year there are five last-start winners in the mix with #1 Dunaden (Group 1 Caulfield Cup, 2400m Caulfield (AUS), 20/10/2012), #8 Mount Athos (Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes, 2670m, Newbury (GB), 18/08/2012), #12 Galileo’s Choice (Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes, 2414m, Leopardstown (IRE), 09/08/2012), #16 Mourayan (Group 3 Craven Plate, 2000m, Randwick, 06/10/2012) and #24 Kelinni (Group 3 Lexus Stakes, 2500m, Flemington, 03/11/2012)
11 Melbourne Cup winners won the Caulfield Cup in the lead-up, #1 Dunaden ($7.50) is out to become the next in 2012

How the Favourites Fare….

Melbourne Cup betting favourites have a 67% place rate in the ‘race that stops a nation’ with 34 winners and a total of 67 top three finishes; the last favourite to win the Melbourne Cup was Makybe Diva (2005,2004)
This year #2 Americain ($6) is set to become the latest favourite to win the Cup

Horse Racing Tip Melbourne Cup favourites have a 67% place rate in the race so make sure to add #2 Americain to all your exotics!
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Only three triple figure roughies have won the Melbourne Cup with The Pearl (100-1 in 1871), Wotan (100-1 in 1936) and Old Rowley (100-1 in 1940) so best to rule out #6 Voila Ici ($151), #21 Precedence ($101) and #22 Unusual Suspect ($301) this year

Most Successful….

Bart Cummings has prepared the most Melbourne Cup winners with 12 and he vies for No. 13 this year with #21 Precedence (101)
Five horses have won the Melbourne Cup more than once with Archer (1861, 1862), Peter Pan (1932, 1934), Rain Lover (1968, 1969), Think Big (1974, 1975) and Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005); this year there are two former Melbourne Cup winners with #1 Dunaden and #2 Americain

Barrier Statistics ….

Barrier 18 is the only gate never to produce a winner since barriers came in in 1924 (what is known as the ‘modern era’); this year #4 Red Cadeaux ($9.50) has drawn 18
The most successful barriers have been 9 – 12 with four victories in the past 11 years; this year those barriers belong to #15 Maluckyday (9), #24 Kelinni (10), #12 Galileo’s Choice (11) and #2 Americain (12)
Barrier 14 has produced 3 Melbourne Cup winners in the past 12 years; this year #10 Ethiopia ($21) has drawn gate 14
Since barriers were introduced in 1928 the most successful Melbourne Cup barrier has been 11 with 7 wins which belongs this year to #12 Galileo’s Choice

Saddlecloth Stats…

Numbers 4 and 12 are the most successful saddlecloths boasting 11 wins each; this year those numbers belong to #4 Red Cadeaux and #12 Galileo’s Choice
Over the past 34 years however horses assigned No. 6 have won five times making $151 roughie #6 Voila Ici a nice bet statistically speaking

The Right Age Is….

Lights Of Heaven is the only mare in the 2012 Melbourne Cup field

Five-year-olds boast the best with 44 wins; there are three 5YO’s in this year’s race with #17 My Quest For Peace ($17), #20 Lights Of Heaven ($21) and #24 Kelinni ($23)
Eight-year-olds have only won the Melbourne Cup twice; there are four 8YO’s this year with #2 Americain, #5 Winchester, #6 Voila Ici and #18 Niwot
#22 Unusual Suspect ($301) meanwhile will look to become the first 9YO in history to win the Melbourne Cup

Battle of the Sexes…

Five of the past 12 Melbourne Cup winners were mares – including Makybe Diva’s three straight victories (2003-05); there is just one mare in this year’s race with #20 Lights Of Heaven
Stallions (entires) have the best record in the Melbourne Cup with 65 wins in history; there are 12 entires this year including the top two fancies #1 Dunaden and #2 Americain

Weighing In….

In the past decade the average Melbourne Cup weight carried to victory is 54kg; three horses will carry that weight this year with #7 Cavalryman ($31), #8 Mount Athos ($7) and #9 Sanagas ($51)

What’s In A Name….

Since 1924 (when barriers were first introduced) only 9 Melbourne Cup winners had a first name that begun with a vowel; of those nine five started with E (Efficient, Ethereal, Empire Rose, Even Stevens and Evening Deal)
That makes #2 Americain and #10 Ethiopia risky bets in 2012
In the past 88-years the most successful letter for a Melbourne Cup winners’ name has been S (9 wins) followed by R (8 wins); this year that brings into contention #9 Sanagas ($51) and #4 Red Cadeaux ($9.50)

At the Track & Distance….

At Flemington horses with previous winning form are #1 Dunaden (1-1-0-0), #2 Americain (3-1-0-1), #14 Green Moon (5-2-1-0), #15 Maluckyday (3-1-2-0), #16 Mourayan (8-1-2-0), #18 Niwot (8-3-1-0), #21 Precedence (8-1-1-0) and #24 Kelinni (1-1-0-0)
Over the Two Miles (3200m) horses with previous Top 3 experience are #12 Galileo’s Choice (3-2-1-0), #18 Niwot (3-2-0-0), #1 Dunaden (1-1-0-0), #2 Americain (2-1-0-0), #4 Red Cadeaux (3-0-2-0), #7 Cavalryman (1-0-1-0), #15 Maluckyday (1-0-1-0) and #16 Mourayan (1-0-0-1)

Stay tuned to Races.com.au for all the updated Melbourne Cup form guide and betting updates.

In the meantime get behind your Melbourne Cup betting favourites online at the guaranteed best prices with bookmaker.com.au in their Pick Your Own Melbourne Cup Odds markets!

2012 Melbourne Cup Field & Form Guide

Flemington Race 7 – 3:00pm (AEST) – 06/11/2012

#	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Br.	Wgt.	AS	Days	API	Career	Win%	Place%	Last 6
1.	DUNADEN	Mikel Delzangles	Craig Williams	16	59	7yoH	17	$208,400	34: 10 9 7	29.41%	76.47%	3326×1
2.	AMERICAIN	A De Royer-dupre	Damien Oliver	12	58	8yoH	17	$179,505	33: 11 4 4	33.33%	57.58%	326×64
3.	JAKKALBERRY	M Botti	Colm O’Donoghue	19	55.5	7yoH	17	$62,291	25: 10 2 3	40.00%	60.00%	733510
4.	RED CADEAUX	Ed Dunlop	Michael Rodd	18	55.5	7yoG	117	$52,140	30: 6 8 5	20.00%	63.33%	21233x
5.	WINCHESTER	J D Sadler	Jamie Mott	22	55.5	8yoH	3	$60,905	29: 6 6 3	20.69%	51.72%	3×9996
6.	VOILA ICI	P G Moody	Vlad Duric	13	55	8yoH	17	$53,931	32: 13 6 5	40.63%	75.00%	3×6240
7.	CAVALRYMAN	Saeed Bin Suroor	Frankie Dettori	6	54	7yoH	40	$89,766	27: 6 4 3	22.22%	48.15%	271142
8.	MOUNT ATHOS	L M Cumani	Ryan Moore	8	54	6yoG	80	$11,802	20: 7 0 1	35.00%	40.00%	84×111
9.	SANAGAS	J B Cummings	Nicholas Hall	4	54	7yoG	17	$19,256	15: 7 1 0	46.67%	53.33%	6×0060
10.	ETHIOPIA	P G Carey	Rhys Mc Leod	14	53.5	4yoG	10	$161,579	7: 1 1 2	14.29%	57.14%	21×764
11.	FIORENTE	Ms G Waterhouse	James Mc Donald	2	53.5	5yoH	51	$21,901	9: 2 3 0	22.22%	55.56%	x62614
12.	GALILEO’S CHOICE	D K Weld	P J Smullen	11	53.5	7yoG	89	$15,256	16: 8 4 1	50.00%	81.25%	17x11x
13.	GLENCADAM GOLD	Ms G Waterhouse	Tommy Berry	7	53.5	5yoG	17	$36,464	13: 6 2 1	46.15%	69.23%	x11110
14.	GREEN MOON	Robert Hickmott	Brett Prebble	5	53.5	6yoH	10	$62,373	19: 6 3 0	31.58%	47.37%	1×5217
15.	MALUCKYDAY	“M, W and J Hawkes	Jimmy Cassidy	9	53.5	6yoG	13	$76,747	17: 5 3 2	29.41%	58.82%	8×8025
16.	MOURAYAN	Robert Hickmott	Hugh Bowman	3	53.5	7yoH	31	$47,033	32: 4 8 5	12.50%	53.13%	x9x421
17.	MY QUEST FOR PEACE	L M Cumani	Corey Brown	1	53.5	5yoH	17	$29,779	12: 5 1 2	41.67%	66.67%	240115
18.	NIWOT	“M, W and J Hawkes	Dwayne Dunn	15	53.5	8yoG	17	$37,276	32: 9 4 1	28.13%	43.75%	1×0080
19.	TAC DE BOISTRON	M C Kent	O Doleuze	21	53.5	6yoG	13	$11,863	27: 5 2 2	18.52%	33.33%	3521×6
20.	LIGHTS OF HEAVEN	P G Moody	Luke Nolen	17	53	5yoM	17	$66,316	18: 6 3 3	33.33%	66.67%	110933
21.	PRECEDENCE	J B Cummings	Blake Shinn	20	53	7yoG	10	$23,318	44: 7 5 1	15.91%	29.55%	x41064
22.	UNUSUAL SUSPECT	M C Kent	Glyn Schofield	23	53	9yoH	10	$22,022	68: 9 8 6	13.24%	33.82%	8×9005
23.	ZABEELIONAIRE	L J Corstens	Craig Newitt	24	52	4yoH	3	$33,869	17: 3 1 0	17.65%	23.53%	x97065
24.	KELINNI	C J Waller	Glen Boss	10	51	5yoG	3	$28,583	18: 8 3 3	44.44%	77.78%	114121