The field of the Cup is not finalised yet but you certainly are welcome to learn a few things to enrich your conversation with clients if the topic comes up:Originally Posted by Babycat
10 things about the Melbourne Cup if Babycats knows should earn her plenty of respects :
1. The only horse to have won the Cup three times was a mare/female horse called Makybe Diva.
Her name was made up from the five female staff of the horse owner.
2. The first and only female jockey to have won the Cup was Michelle Payne two years ago on Prince of Penzance, trained by Darren Weir and at the odds of 100-1
3. The last horse to win the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double was also a mare called Ethereal from New Zealand
4. Cup King Bart Cummings had trained 12 Melbourne Cup winners, his first winner was called Light Finger and his 12th was called Viewed.
5. Last year's winner was Almandin . He was owned by Lloyd Williams who had won the Cup 5 times and Almandin is also running this year. BTW, Almandin's rider was Kerrin Mcevoy who is Michelle Payne's brother in law .
6. The First Lady Trainer of a Melbourne Cup winner was Sheila Laxton from New Zealand who trained the above mentioned Ethereal. The first Aussie lady trainer to win a Melbourne Cup was Gai Waterhouse who is the daughter of legendary trainer Tommy Smith. She trained Fiorente to win a few years ago.
7. The first ever horse to win the Cup was called Archer. And he came back the next year to win it again !
8. The first ever overseas trained horse to win the Melbourne Cup was called Vintage Crop trained by Dermot Weld an Irish trainer . He won it again with a horse called Media Puzzle.
9. Media Puzzle was ridden by champion jockey Damien Oliver whose Brother Jason was also a jockey who died from a race fall the week before in Perth. When Damien won the race and past the winning post, he looked up to the sky as if saying: this one is for you brother ! One of the most memorable moment in Melbourne Cup history !
10. Phar Lap, Australia's most famous race horse , of course also won the Cup. But the other King of the Australian turf Kingston Town didn't, came second in 1982 from a poor ride - but his very unlucky owner David Haines got lucky when his horse Kingston Rule trained by Bart Cummings won in 1990! 8 years after the failure of the King, became Bart's winner No 8 and from memory Kingston Rule was no 8 in the race ! Talking about destiny and lucky no 8!
My 10 cents.
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