Top 5 Racehorses in the History of Melbourne Cup

Racehorses in the History of Melbourne Cup Since its inaugural race in 1861, the Melbourne Cup has played an integral part in Australian tradition. Australia has a long and legendary horse racing history, and the Cup has been the host of many memorable milestones in the sport.

Racehorses in the History of Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is the most exciting date on the Australian racing calendar since it has been running for a long time, making it extremely popular, therefore gaining national and global media attention. Throughout its illustrious history, it has featured countless iconic racehorses. Let’s look back at the greatest horses to ever run in the Melbourne Cup.

Phar Lap

To many, Phar Lap is the epitome of New Zealand racing supremacy. He was a Thoroughbred champion who was bred in New Zealand. His underdog status in the early years of the Great Depression gave people hope, and he went on to achieve remarkable success throughout his distinguished career.

As a tribute to his remarkable racing career, Phar Lap Raceway in New Zealand was named after him. And if you’re interested in the Phar Lap Raceway’s events, visit TopSport website to see the current races and racehorse rankings.

From his 51 starts, Phar Lap earned 37 wins. Among those wins was the 1930 Melbourne Cup. Before his successes, he was leased for cheap by a relatively unknown trainer named Harry Telford because he had neither appearance nor evident racing potential.

It wasn’t just his success that made Phar Lap famous. His modest beginnings did a lot to boost his reputation, too.

He held the record as the only horse in Australia’s racing history to be the odds-on favorite for the Melbourne Cup three years in a row. The 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico was Phar Lap’s last victory before his untimely death on April 5, 1932, in Atherton, California.

Makybe Diva

Australian Thoroughbred racing legend Makybe Diva is the only horse and mare in history to win the Melbourne Cup in repeated seasons. She managed to pull off the feat in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

In 2005, she also took home the Cox Plate. She won over $14 million, making her the greatest stakes winner in Australia’s history.

Makybe Diva, formerly trained by David Hall, ran in her first race as a three-year-old in a maiden at Benalla, Victoria, in late July 2002 and placed fourth.

Rain Lover, who won his second Cup in 1969 at 60.5 kg, was the last horse to carry more than weight-for-age and win. The mare Makybe Diva, who had previously set the record for the heaviest weight carried by a champion of the Melbourne Cup with 55.5 kg in 2004, won by a large margin in 2005, carrying 58.5 kilograms, the most by any Cup victor since Think Big’s second victory in 1975.

Furthermore, Makybe Diva won the title of Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year for the second time at the end of the 2005-2006 season, making her the third horse in history to accomplish this feat. She also won the titles of Australian Champion Middle Distance Racehorse and Australian Champion Stayer, the latter of which she earned three years in a row.

Kingston Rule

The American-bred racehorse Kingston Rule set a new record for the Melbourne Cup by finishing the race in 1990 at 3:16:3. Today, this record time still stands as the all-time best.

Almost a replica of his renowned sire, Secretariat, the dazzling chestnut named initially “Magic” was born on March 18, 1986, in Kentucky. Kingston Rule, as he was formally known, was shipped to Patrick Biancone in France, who also trained several horses for Hains.

Kingston Rule was sent to Bart Cummings’ stables in 1989. He was victorious in a group II competition and ranked in five group stakes during his career. After 13 races, he finished in the top three in 10 starts and made $1,171,164 before retiring.

Archer

In 1861 and 1862, Archer, an Australian Thoroughbred, won the inaugural and the second Melbourne Cup. He breezed to victory in both Cups, making him one of only five horses in history to win the Melbourne Cup more than once and one of only four to win back-to-back Cups. Archer was honored by induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2017.

Something was off about Archer from the beginning. He walked with a strange, rolling gait when galloping, and his tongue always seemed to hang out of his mouth. Even though Archer’s first two races at Randwick Racecourse in May 1860 didn’t go so well, he made up for it by winning seven consecutive events in New South Wales during the Spring Meeting and autumn of 1861.

Despite his victory over Mormon, the early favorite for the Australia Plate in 1861, Archer was never a favorite to win the Melbourne Cup that year. However, history says he was the first horse to win the inaugural Melbourne Cup, marking a historic milestone in Australian racing history.

The following year, in 1862, Archer returned to Flemington to compete in the Melbourne Cup, this time as the odds-on favorite among a field of twenty. He won his second Cup even more easily than the first, defeating Mormon by eight lengths and carving himself into Australia’s racing history.t

Rising Fast

In 1954, Rising Fast, a Thoroughbred racehorse born in New Zealand, became the first and only horse to win the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Cox Plate, the three legs of Australia’s prestigious Spring Grand Slam. In addition, he triumphed in the Caulfield Cup in 1955 and finished in second place in the Melbourne Cup the same year.

Both Australia and New Zealand acknowledge Rising Fast’s popularity in the track. He has been inducted into the Racing Halls of Fame in both New Zealand and Australia.

Conclusion

Due to its prestige, this race has been dubbed “the race that stops a nation.” In fact, it’s a state-wide holiday observed every year in Victoria. Racehorses in the History of Melbourne Cup Indeed, the spectacular performances of the Thoroughbreds in the Melbourne Cup continue to captivate the entire country and even the world.