Adorning a wall of the Betting Ring at Flemington Racecourse are the racing colours of a select few Melbourne Cup winning horses. With 159 Melbourne Cup races run so far, there are 153 horses that have stopped our two nations on the first Tuesday in November. The 28 horses featured on the wall here each have unique attributes, their reason for being featured. We’re delving a bit deeper to provide the information for those who are interested in learning more about these horses and what makes them worthy of being remembered in this way. Our descriptions will follow the order of appearance from left to right, which also coincides with the chronological order in which each horse won their Melbourne Cup/s.

Think Big

*4th Dual Winner of the Melbourne Cup in 1974 and 1975. Trained by Bart Cummings. Ridden by Harry White.*

A bay horse who was born in New Zealand in 1970. He was purchased for $10,000 at the Trentham Yearling Sales on the impulse of Bart Cummings who “liked the look of him”. Perhaps it was his lineage that Bart liked, Think Big was sired by Sobig and foaled by Sarcelle. Cummings then sold a share to his new friend Dato Tan Chin Nam who “wanted to buy a horse to win the Melbourne Cup”. This part owner would one day buy the Inverness Stud farm at Burradoo in New South Wales and re-name it in Think Big’s honour, despite Think Big being a gelding.

The 1974 Melbourne Cup was the third time the race would be run over the metric 3200 metre rather than the imperial 2 miles*. Think Big was set to carry 53kg and he started the race at 12-1, the fourth most popular horse in the betting ring that year. He would be ridden by his regular rider, Harry White. The favourite was another Bart Cummings trained horse, 4-year-old Leilani, at 7-2 odds and carrying 55.5kg, ridden by Peter Cook.

The race began in the usual fashion, most horses settling into the race and Think Big sat at the back of the field. With 1000m to go, Think Big was still third last. As they entered the straight, he appeared to be stuck on the rails behind at least a dozen other horses. White found a gap and they edged across to their right and the outside of the field. Once clear, Think Big charged down the outside for the final 400 metres, overtaking his stablemate Leilani and beating her by a length. On winning his fourth Melbourne Cup, Bart Cummings appeared downcast. He, like most of the crowd, had thought Leilani would win it. In effect, he had “beaten himself”.

The following year, having not won a single race in between, Think Big entered the 1975 Melbourne Cup as a 5-year-old at 33-1 odds. Based entirely on his previous Cup win, he was given the second highest weight to carry at 58.5 kilos. The top weight (59.5kg) went to 11-2 second favourite, Fury’s Order, who finished 14th. On a slow, wet track Think Big went back-to-back, again beating a stablemate to the finish line, this time Holiday Waggon, by ¾ length. His jockey again was Harry White, who was so relaxed he took a nap in the medical room before the race and had to be woken. The VRC’s medical officer who woke him misheard White’s “I’m in this” for “I’ll win this” and immediately backed Think Big. At 33-1 odds, he wasn’t disappointed!

*Photograph of trainer Bart Cummings and jockey Harry White with Think Big, c1974-75. Source: Australian Sports Museum.*

Think Big won two Melbourne Cups from two attempts making him the final dual winner of the 20th century. He was entered to race in 1976 but was scratched early on by his trainer due to lameness. Think Big provided Bart Cummings with his fourth and fifth Melbourne Cup trophies. He didn’t win a single race between his Melbourne Cup wins. Nor, after the 1975 Melbourne Cup win, did he win any of his next 19 starts over the following three years.

He was retired in 1977 and gifted to his regular jockey Harry White, by the horses owners; Bart Cummings, Dato Tan Chin Nam and Rick O’Sullivan. Harry White rode to victory in four Melbourne Cup races, Think Big providing two of those. He won again in 1978 riding Arwon and in 1979 on Hyperno.

Think Big saw out his days on White’s farm near Gisborne, becoming a part of the family. He died there in his sleep on 23 February 1995, aged 25 and was buried on the property under his favourite tree. Also buried on the property is the other Bart Cummings / Harry White Melbourne Cup winner, Hyperno, who had also retired on Harry White’s farm.

* Australia adopted the metric system in the early part of the 1970’s

Beldale Ball

*Winner of the 1980 Melbourne Cup. Trained by Colin Hayes. Ridden by John Letts.*

Beldale Ball was born in Florida, USA in 1976. His dam was American mare San Cat and he was sired by Nashua who won 22 races from 30 starts and was US Horse of the Year in 1955. Beldale Ball was initially trained by Mick Jarvis at Newmarket, England and raced once in Europe. His English owner dreamed of winning a Melbourne Cup so he was sent to the care of Colin Hayes here in Australia to prepare for the big race.

Beldale Ball was a brown stallion owned by the Swettenham Stud Syndicate which was formed in England by Robert Sangster. At the time of winning, Sangster was married to Melbourne-girl Susan. Mrs Sangster was the daughter of politician Sir John Rossiter and was formerly married to Andrew Peacock, she is now Lady Renouf and married to New Zealand businessman Sir Frank Renouf. Swettenham Stud still exists with bases in Wiltshire, England and Nagambie, Victoria.

The five-year-old bay stallion won the 120th Melbourne Cup which was also the 50th Anniversary of Phar Lap’s win in 1930. In fact, Phar Lap was present at Flemington that day and had a lap of honour in his Perspex case to celebrate the anniversary.

Beldale Ball was the first Melbourne Cup winning horse to be flown to Australia from the Northern Hemisphere rather than travel by sea. His was also one of the most comfortable wins in Melbourne Cup history, taking the lead at the 1800 metre mark and leading the entire way home from there to win by a length and a half. He took 3 minutes and 19.8 seconds, which while not a record, is up there with some of the fastest times. He provided the first of Colin Hayes’ Melbourne Cup wins, the other came in 1986 with At Talaq.

Aside from his Melbourne Cup win, Beldale Ball didn’t have the most successful racing career with only 5 wins, 5 second places and 1 third from 28 starts.

He was retired in 1981 and returned to the US to stand at stud but with little success. He was then tried in Switzerland followed by Czechoslovakia where his most notable progeny arrived, particularly Hortensio and Holan.

Just a Dash

*Winner of the 1981 Melbourne Cup. Trained by Tommy Smith. Ridden by Peter Cook.*

Just a Dash was a Bay gelding born near Canberra on 22 September, 1977. His dam was the Australian Mare, Native Lass and he was sired by an American Stallion called Whisky Road. He was bred by Neale Lavis, who as part of the equestrian team, had won a silver medal for Australia at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

In his lead up to the Melbourne Cup, Just A Dash also won the Adelaide Cup and SAJC St. Leger Stakes. Throughout his racing career he started in 61 races for a total of 10 wins, 7 second and 8 third places.

Just A Dash won his Melbourne Cup in the classic style. Warm yourself up while keeping in or near the front pack for the majority of the distance. Don’t make your move until the final turn, saving all your energy for a big push on the straight over the final 500 metres. Just a Dash won by two and a quarter-lengths in the time of 3 minutes and 21.2 seconds.

This was the second Melbourne Cup for his trainer, Tommy Smith. Over his career, Smith entered a total of 51 horses over 43 years for two wins, two runners up and one third place. His other winner was Toparoa in 1955.

Just a Dash was ridden by Peter Cook, who would win again in 1984 on Black Knight. Peter’s father Billy Cook, was also a jockey who rode two horses to Melbourne Cup victory, Skipton in 1941 and Rainbird in 1945. The Cooks are the only father/son jockey duo to win the Melbourne Cup, so far anyway.

Just a Dash was also the first Melbourne Cup winner for his owner Lloyd Williams, who to date, now has 6 Melbourne Cup trophies in the cabinet.

When his racing career ended, Just a Dash became a police horse but that career didn’t quite work out. His true retirement was spent on Willow Dene Stud in Dapto near Wollongong, New South Wales where he looked after yearling colts for the next twenty plus years and became a part of the family.

He was put to his final rest at Willow Dene on Friday 2 November, 2012 and was the longest living Melbourne Cup winner at 35 years old. He was buried standing up and facing the sun and has his own headstone.

Gurner’s Lane

*Winner of the 1982 Melbourne Cup. Trained by Geoff Murphy. Ridden by Mick Dittman.*

The chestnut Gurner’s Lane was bred at Cambridge Stud on New Zealand’s North Island. He was foaled by Taiona on 7 October, 1978 and sired by Sir Tristram. Gurner’s Lane was the first of 3 Melbourne Cup winners sired by Sir Tristram who was six times the leading Sire in Australia. Empire Rose in 1988 and Brew in 2000 followed. Sir Tristram is also grand-sire to two other Cup winners; Might & Power (1997) and Jezabeel (1998).

Gurner’s Lanes tale is a fairy-tale story. In his first year he was lucky to meet a veterinarian “in the business of saving horses”. Rather than destroy his life as the breeder requested, he instead operated to repair some nerve damage. Gurner’s Lane suffered back trouble his entire life, possibly caused by an early leg injury when he was just a yearling.

His breeder, Pat Hogan, had also reared Sovereign Red, his full brother born the year before and who was sent to Geoff Murphy to be trained for racing. Hogan believed him to be too “ugly” for the yearling sales and also offered the young chestnut to Murphy who agreed to take both.

When the horses arrived in Australia, Murphy sent the younger of the two to a vet who operated to cure his wind sucking and also gelded him. By the time Sovereign Red started to show his potential, his younger brother had been greatly improved and his trainer was able to sell him.

The buyers were a syndicate of 40 owners from within the Australian Club, on William Street in Melbourne, whose headquarters also adjoined Little Collins Street and Gurner’s Lane. They had owned another horse, whom they’d named William Street. It made sense to name their new horse in the same fashion and the young gelding became known as Gurner’s Lane.

Geoff Murphy employed chiropractors to tend to Gurner’s Lane repetitive back problems over the years, they worked wonders to keep the horse on the racetrack. He placed second in his very first race as a two-year-old but didn’t win until his sixth start in the Two-Year-Olds Handicap at Eagle Farm in Queensland. As a three-year-old he placed in three of his thirteen starts and won three including the St Leger Stakes at both Randwick and Flemington.

His stand-out year came as a four-year-old where he won or placed in 7 races from 15 starts. He won the Newcastle Gold Cup over 2300m in the September. He also won the Caulfield Cup over 2400m at 20/1 odds and carrying 53.5 kilos.

His Caulfield Cup win saw the handicapper penalise him with an extra 2.5 kilos, he was to start the Melbourne Cup carrying 56 kilos. He had a slow start out of the gate in last place. He found a place on the rails and pushed his way further up the pecking order until he was among the first ten horses around the final bend. As they fanned out across the straight Kingston Town got a good head start and looked to be unbeatable. His hopes were dashed by Gurner’s Lane who raced up the inside rail and defeated the crowd favourite by half a head. The race was so close that Tommy Smith thought he’d just won a third Melbourne Cup with Kingston Town and had already started to make his way to the winners circle before the finishing positions were made clear.

Ellis, R. (1982). [Gurner's Lane after 1982 Melbourne Cup Victory] [picture] / Rennie Ellis., Rennie Ellis Collection. Spring Racing Carnival, Victoria$$QRennie Ellis Collection. Spring Racing Carnival, Victoria. Source: State Library of Victoria.

Gurner’s Lane became the seventh horse of 11 to win the Cups Double. By the end of that racing season (1982-1983) and despite a leg injury which hampered his Autumn racing, he had been named the Australian Horse of the Year. His total race results show 7 wins and 10 placings from 41 starts.

The chestnut gelding never fully recovered from the leg injury and was retired in the Spring of 1984, at age 6, to a farm in Euroa, Victoria. There he suffered from a twisted bowel, an emergency surgery was unsuccessful and he was euthanised on Wednesday, 6 February 1985. His remains were cremated and hopefully sit inside the Australian Club on William Street (and Gurner’s Lane) in Melbourne, alongside his Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup trophies.

Kiwi

*Winner of the 1983 Melbourne Cup. Trained by E.S. “Snowy” Lupton. Ridden by Jim Cassidy.*

Kiwi was a chestnut colt born in Parore, New Zealand on 8 January 1977. He was bred by Brian Fischer at Balmoral Stud Cambridge out of New Zealand mare Malrayvis and sired by American imported stallion Blarney Kiss. Blarney Kiss also sired 1987 Melbourne Cup winner, Kensei.

He was purchased as a yearling at a Waikato sale for the bargain $NZ1,000 by Mr Ewen Sneddon (Snow or Snowy) and Mrs Anne Lupton. They needed a horse to help round up sheep on their farm in Waverley, near Wanganui in New Zealand. Mrs Lupton preferred chestnut horses and having owned a Blarney Kiss foal previously, wanted another. She named him Kiwi as she had always liked Kiwi birds, even though her husband didn’t like the idea of naming a racehorse after a slow bird.

Kiwi showed promise as a racehorse early on and his owner and trainer, Snowy, thought his strength would lie in distance running.

Now a gelding, Kiwi raced 4 times in his first season, winning one and taking second and third in two others. From 10 races in his 4-year-old season he gathered 2 more wins, 5 second places and 2 third placings. In his third, season he won his first 3 races but took only one third place from his next 4. His next race provided a big win in the Wellington Cup on 22 January 1983, coming from the back to win by a nose. The following 7 races that year supplied two wins and a third place. Now well into his 4th season his next stop would be the Melbourne Cup.

Ridden by his regular jockey Jim ‘Pumper’ Cassidy, a fellow New Zealander, Kiwi started in the 1983 Melbourne Cup carrying 52 kilos and at 9-1 odds. Jim Cassidy was only 20 years old but already had over 400 wins to his name.

Ellis, R. (1983). [Clerk of the Course Leading 1983 Melbourne Cup Winning Horse, Kiwi and Jockey, Jim Cassady into the Mounting Yard] [picture] / Rennie Ellis., Rennie Ellis Collection. Spring Racing Carnival, Victoria$$QRennie Ellis Collection. Spring Racing Carnival, Victoria. Source: State Library of Victoria.

Cassidy and Kiwi spent the majority of the race in last place and were still there when the entire field of 24 horses rounded the final bend onto the straight. In those final 550 metres and despite being named after a flightless bird, Kiwi literally flew down the straight and won by almost two lengths. The race callers didn’t even see his approach until the final 100 metres. Cue calls of “And here comes Kiwi out of the blue!”

“And flying home is Kiwi, what a run! One of the biggest performances you can ever see in the Melbourne Cup! Kiwi has flown home on the outside and won it running away”

“And Kiwi’s flying, might beat them all! Kiwi has come from last in a phenomenal performance!”

Kiwi’s run in the Melbourne Cup is still talked about today as one of the greatest last-to-first victories in Melbourne Cup history. He was the first horse to win the Wellington Cup-Melbourne Cup double; and is still the only one to have done it. He’s also the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup on their first run in Australia. The Cinderella story of the horse who rounded up sheep as part of his training schedule. Proof that with the right horse even the humble, one-horse trainer can win a Melbourne Cup.

Kiwi returned to Melbourne the following year and was all set to have another go but was deemed unfit by the appointed Veterinarian and subsequently scratched from the 1984 Melbourne Cup. Cue lots of criticism back in New Zealand for bad sportsmanship from the Aussies – adding more fuel to the trans-Tasman rivalry fires.

Kiwi returned in 1985 and finished 5th. He bettered that result in 1986 when he finished 4th and had he not pulled up lame he might have won his second. By 1985, Jim Cassidy was riding for other trainers and did not ride Kiwi in his latter two Melbourne Cups. We’ll never know whether the pair could have won again together. Less than 8 weeks after the 1986 Melbourne Cup Kiwi participated in the seventh running of the Japan Cup on December 27th 1986, where he finished in fifth place. He raced once more and then retired with a record showing 60 starts for 13 wins, 8 seconds and 2 thirds.

Kiwi retired to the Luptons farm and died in his paddock on Thursday 2 February 1995, aged 18. He was buried on the farm with a simple headstone which reads: Kiwi, 1983 Melbourne Cup.