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.
Makybe Diva
Winner of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Melbourne Cups. Trained in 2003 by David Hall and in 2004 and 2005 by Lee Freedman. Ridden by Glen Boss on all 3 occasions.
Makybe Diva was sired in Ireland by the Irish champion Desert King. She was foaled at Britton House Stud, Hewingbere Farm, North Perrot in Somerset, England on 21 March 1999. Her dam was an American-bred mare named Tugela, who raced in England.
Makybe Diva is a Bay mare and is owned by Tony Šantić, who is arguably Australia’s most successful Tuna fisherman. Šantić was born in Croatia but he has long called Port Lincoln, South Australia home and is the CEO of Tony’s Tuna International. He took the first two letters of the first names of the 5 women who worked in his office: Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane and Vanessa to come up with Makybe Diva. Šantić had bought Tugela already in foal and tried to sell the filly in England but the reserve price was not reached. Thus, Makybe Diva travelled to Australia with her mother in August 2000. She was sent to the training stables at Flemington and the care of trainer David Hall.
Under David Hall, Makybe Diva’s first and only race as a three-year-old was on 29 July 2002 where she placed fourth of 11 over 1200 metres at Benalla, Victoria. Having been born in the Northern Hemisphere, she would race in an age bracket that was technically six months older than herself. Her 4-year-old season commenced from her next race on 13 August 2002 but she wouldn’t officially turn 4 until the following March. That said, she won all of her next six starts including the 2000 metre Werribee Cup at Werribee and the 2500 metre VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington. She finished the season with 3 races unplaced.
The following season, commencing in Spring 2003, saw her race 10 times for 2 wins and 3 third places. She finished unplaced in 5 including fourth place in the 2003 Caulfield Cup when she was ridden by Glen Boss for the first time. But oh, those two wins!
On Tuesday 4 November 2003, from 18th place with 600 metres to go, Makybe Diva won by over a length and in front of the largest ever crowd to attend the Melbourne Cup at 122,533 people. This record will never be beaten as a capacity limit was put in place in 2007, the maximum crowd size is now 120,000. At 7-1 odds and carrying 51 kilos, she became the thirteenth mare to win a Melbourne Cup and is still the most recent mare to win it.
Her second win of the 2003/04 season came the following Autumn, when she won the Sydney Cup at Randwick on 17 April 2004. She became the fourth horse (and the only mare) to win both the Melbourne and Sydney Cups in the same season; following Lord Cardigan (1903/04), Straight Draw (1957/58) and Galilee (1966/67). She was named Australian Champion Stayer 2003/04. Following her Sydney Cup win, David Hall left Australia to train in Hong Kong, where he still trains. Her owner then placed her in the care of Lee Freedman at his Markdel property at Fingal on the Mornington Peninsula (which is now St Andrews Beach Brewery).
Her first four starts in the 2004/05 season saw her unplaced twice and second placed in the Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley and the Caulfield Cup. Her next (and fifth) race fell on Tuesday, 3 November 2004. She went out carrying 55.5 kilos and as the 5-2 favourite in a star-studded field. She did not disappoint in her second run of the Melbourne Cup. Looking over her shoulder as she took the lead with 200 metres to go, she continued to look sideways to ensure she’d keep her lead. Once sure she won’t be beaten, she gives a swish of her tail then puts her head down to win by a length and a quarter ahead of Vinnie Roe and Zazzman. She made history by becoming the fifth horse and the only mare to win a second Melbourne Cup, the fourth to win back-to-back and she is still the most recent dual winner. Later that season she also won the Australian Cup at Flemington and the BMW Stakes at Rosehill before boarding a flight to Japan when she raced twice unplaced. At the end of the 2004/05 season she was named Australian Racehorse of the Year, Australian Champion Filly/Mare and Australian Champion Stayer.
In August 2006, Flemington Racecourse honoured the champion mare with this life-size statue by British sculptor and former jockey, Philip Blacker, one of his many horse sculptures worldwide which includes Red Rum, Desert Orchid and Northern Dancer.
Her 7-year-old season was short but successful, winning four of her five starts that Spring and finishing second in the other. In the August of 2005, she won the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield and finished second in the Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley in September. October saw her win the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington followed by a comfortable win in the WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. She became the fifth horse to win the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year.
In the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, 1 November 2005, she again started as 7-2 favourite, this time carrying 58 kilos. Despite the late surge from On a Jeune, the son of 1994 winner Jeune, who didn’t catch up in time and finished second a length and a quarter behind. Makybe Diva took the lead with 250 metres to go and didn’t look back and re-wrote the history books as the only horse to win a third Melbourne Cup.
In the winner’s circle after the race, her trainer said “I don’t want to run Phar Lap down but I never saw Phar Lap win three Cups” and also “Go find the smallest child on this course, and there will be the only example of a person who will live long enough to see that again”. I’m not so sure about that, it is hard enough to win two Melbourne Cups let alone three. Her record three wins may well stand forevermore. The Cups King, Bart Cummings, said “Well, you can’t do better than that”. Her owner compared her to Muhammad Ali.
That was the last time she raced; she retired a champion that very afternoon. Despite not racing for the rest of the 2005/06 season, she was named Australian Racehorse of the Year, Australian Champion Stayer (her third successive) and Australian Middle-Distance Champion. She was also inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2006 (and elevated to legend status in 2010).
Her career stands at 15 wins from 36 starts with 4 second and 3 third places. To this day, she still holds the record for the fastest 2000 metres at Flemington. And she is still the third highest money earner in Australia and New Zealand, after Winx and Redzel.
Upon her retirement she was put to breeding. Her first foal was Rockstardom who was born 17 August 2007. Since then she has foaled 6 more; La Dolce Diva in 2008, Coaster in 2009, Taqneen in 2011, Surrey in 2012, Divanation in 2015 and Sublime Diva in 2016.
In addition to the statue at Flemington, Makybe Diva is also remembered with this statue in her owners’ home town of Port Lincoln, South Australia.
Delta Blues
Winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup. Trained by Katsuhiko Sumii. Ridden by Yasunari Iwata.
Delta Blues was a Bay gelding, born on 3 May 2001 at Northern Farm in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, Japan. His sire was Japanese stallion Dance in the Dark who had five wins and three placings from 8 starts. His dam was an imported American mare called Dixie Splash who raced in the USA for six wins and seven placings from 17 starts.
Along with stablemate Pop Rock (also born at Northern Farm), Delta Blues was brought to Australia by trainer, Katsuhiko Sumii, for the sole purpose of competing in the 2006 Caulfield and Melbourne Cup races. Both horses had been racing in Japan, with mixed success, since 2003.
Pop Rock was given 53 kilos to carry in the Caulfield Cup and started at 12-1 odds. Delta Blues was given 56 kilos to carry and odds of 80-1, perhaps because in the lead-up, the stable spokesperson described him as ‘lazy’. From the gate Delta Blues settled deep in the middle with Pop Rock trailing behind. The field widened a little on the final turn as horses searched for the best place to make their run. It was very close for the final 50 metres including at the finish line. The David Hayes trained Tawqueet won by a long neck over Gai Waterhouse’s Aqua D’Amore. A short neck behind Aqua D’Amore came Delta Blues in third. His stablemate finished 7th.
Neither Japanese horse was given a weight increase for the Melbourne Cup, but Caulfield Cup winner Tawqueet was given an extra 2 kilos to carry, going from 53.5 at Caulfield to 55.5. Despite all this, Poprock and Tawqueet were joint equal favourites for the Melbourne Cup. Delta Blues started at 16-1 and still carried more than either of them. This might be in part due to Pop Rock carrying Damien Oliver into the race and Delta Blues’s jockey, Yasunari Iwata, was on his first ever visit to Australia and had never ridden at Flemington before.
At 3pm on Tuesday 7 November 2006, the barriers opened triggering the start of the Melbourne Cup race. The two Japanese horses started side-by-side in barriers 10 and 11. Pop Rock and Damien Oliver settled into the middle of the field. Some might say the Japanese jockey’s inexperience was showing by letting his horse take the lead from the start, but Jim Cassidy and Might and Power proved in 1997 that a horse can win from start to finish. At no point throughout the 3200 metres did Delta Blues dip further back than third place. As they turned onto the straight with 400 metres to go, the bay stallion took the lead with his stable mate gaining places not far behind. With two hundred metres to go, Delta Blues is half a length in front and Pop Rock has taken second place and is closing the distance on Delta Blues. 100 metres to go and the gap is only half a length. But Delta Blues held on to defeat his stablemate by a half head. So rapid was their run home that the pair finished four and a half lengths in front of the third placed Maybe Better. Oliver is so impressed with the ride he reached over and slapped Iwata with a high-five. The pair had dominated the finish and Japan celebrated wildly. On entering the Winner’s Circle, Iwata was so excited he struggled with the language barrier for a while before finally shouting gleefully “Very happy, very happy. My biggest winner ever!”.
Not only had a Japanese, bred and trained, horse won the Melbourne Cup for the first time, but they’d taken first AND second. This was the ninth trainer quinella in the history of the race and is the most recent. Delta Blues is the first Japanese winner and the third internationally trained winner of the Melbourne Cup, after Vintage Crop (1993) and Media Puzzle (2002).
Delta Blues raced 11 more times after his visit to Melbourne, but was unplaced in each. He was retired in 2009, having achieved 6 wins and 5 places from 32 starts, and returned to his place of birth at Northern Horse Park. There he joined other retired Japanese horses in training new riders. Northern Horse Park is open to the public and while you can’t access the stud, the park has many opportunities to meet, pat and even ride horses. You can visit with Delta Blues by appointment.
There has been at least one Japanese trained horse in 5 of the last 6 Melbourne Cups. At this rate, it is very likely they’ll win another soon – and then maybe it will become the race that stops 3 nations! With very few staying races held in Japan over their Autumn (our Spring), many Japanese race fans already stop to watch, especially when one of their own is racing.
Viewed
Winner of the 2008 Melbourne Cup. Trained by Bart Cummings. Ridden by Blake Shinn.
After retiring from full-time employment, a private breeder named Ian Johnson established a farm on the Hawksbury River on which to keep a few mares for breeding. Located at Gunderman, he named the property Finch’s Crossing and purchased a New Zealand mare from the ‘Heights’ line of mares, named Lover’s Knot. He sent her to the Irish sire Scenic, who lived in Western Australia but visited Victoria for a season. On the 4th of October, 2003 she foaled a Bay colt who was named Viewed. Johnson contacted the bloodstock manager Duncan Ramage to take a look at the colt, Ramage purchased the colt for Data Tan Chin Nam.
His new owner sent the colt to his long-time friend and successful trainer, Bart Cummings. Under Cummings’ meticulous planning Viewed came along nicely and commenced racing as a three-year-old in the 2006/07 season. He won three of his first 12 races and finished second in a further three, all of which took place in Sydney.
During his four-year-old season he travelled around Australia’s East coast a little more, winning twice at Rosehill and once at Randwick before heading up to Brisbane. He finished sixth in the Doomben Cup at Doomben then three weeks later won the 2008 Brisbane Cup at Eagle Farm, next stop Melbourne in three months’ time.
Viewed caught a virus in the early spring of 2008 and missed a week of training. He was also having trouble with a hoof injury at the time. He was an excessive puller, which concerned his jockeys, but this habit was cured during trackwork by using a string across his nose which would connect to the bit; when he pulled, the string would put pressure on his nose and he soon stopped pulling.
That September, Viewed finished eighth in the 1400m HKJC Stakes at Flemington and seventh in the 1800m Caulfield Stakes two weeks later. One month later he finished tenth in the Caulfield Cup. Two weeks later, at the Melbourne Cup Carnival, he finished last in the Mackinnon Stakes on Derby Day.
By Tuesday, 4 November 2008 his odds of winning the Melbourne Cup were 41-1. He was ridden by Blake Shinn, who is descended from trotting (harness racing) trainers. Shinn had only ridden Viewed once before, in the Caulfield Cup, 17 days earlier.
Once the barriers had opened, Viewed and Blake settled in near the front, waiting for the final turn. On the turn they pushed forward and took the lead at around the 300-metre mark. The English horse, Bauer, also broke free and came up hard only half a length behind Viewed at the 100-metre mark. For the entire final 20-30 metres the pair were neck and neck, the exact same as when they crossed the finish line. The photo finish revealed that Viewed hit the finish line a nostril in front of Bauer and Viewed was declared the winner.
Viewed provided a 12th Melbourne Cup trophy and 250th Group 1 win for his trainer, a fourth Melbourne Cup trophy for his owner and the first for his jockey. With this win, his owner topped the owners Melbourne Cup winners list, which would stand until Almandin won a fifth for Lloyd Williams in 2016.
Viewed ran four more times in Sydney in the Autumn, for two placings. He returned to Melbourne in the Spring of 2009 and ran three times unplaced; in the Memsie Stakes and Underwood Stakes at Caulfield and the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. His next run was the Caulfield Cup where he was given the top weight of 57 kilos. On this occasion he was ridden by Brad Rawiller, who kept Viewed toward the back of the field for much of the race, moving him up to sixth for the final turn. When the horse in front moved away from the railings, they took their opportunity and surged forward to take the lead and won the race by 2 and a half lengths.
This was the first time the top weighted horse would win the Caulfield Cup. It was also his trainers seventh Caulfield Cup victory and the first from two attempts by his jockey.
Two weeks later he finished third in the Mackinnon Stakes on Derby Day. Three days after that, penalised for his Caulfield Cup win with the top weight of 58 kilos, he finished 7th in the 2009 Melbourne Cup – denying his trainer a baker’s dozen.
He raced twice more the following February, unplaced in each. After 9 wins and 6 placings from 32 starts thus far, he was sent for a spell to his owner’s Think Big Stud near Bowral, New South Wales. It was while resting there that he suffered with a twisted bowel (aka colic) and became gravely ill. The most humane solution to his suffering was euthanasia and he passed that day, 18 April 2010. He was six months shy of his seventh birthday. In the words of his trainer “we hadn’t seen the best of him yet”.
Shocking
Winner of the 2009 Melbourne. Trained by Mark Kavanagh. Ridden by Corey Brown.
Shocking is a dark brown stallion who was born at Ilala Stud in Scone, New South Wales on 23 September 2005. He was sired by the Irish-bred stallion Street Cry which makes Shocking the older, half-brother of the champion mare Winx. His dam was a British bred mare named Maria Di Castiglia.
He was purchased at the Gold Coast’s Magic Millions Yearling sale for $45,000 by horse broker, Kevin Thomas, who broke the colt in. Thomas then sold the colt to Laurence and Prue Eales of Eales Racing for $64,000. They also owned his half-brother Whobegotyou, who was also sired by Street Cry. Both colts were sent to Mark Kavanaghs stables at Flemington for training.
Shocking’s first race came at the end of his two-year-old season, at Ballarat on 3 May 2008, where he finished 5th of 12 runners. He raced 7 times as a three-year-old the following season, winning 3 and placing in the other four. The first six of those races were in Victoria, at Sale, Bendigo, Ballarat, Caulfield and Flemington. The seventh race was the Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm, in which he placed second.
His four-year-old season began unplaced at Caulfield and Moonee Valley. Then followed third place in the JRA Cup at Moonee Valley and second place in the Herbert Power Stakes and David Jones Cup, both at Caulfield. Then followed a win in the Group 3 Lexus Hotham Stakes on Derby Day, 31 October 2009. Winning this race qualified him for the Melbourne Cup three days later.
In just his fifteenth start, Shocking entered the Melbourne Cup with the weight of 51 kilos, with 16 of the 23 runners carrying 53 kilos or less. Top weight went to the previous year’s winner (and second favourite for this race), Viewed, who carried 2.5 kilos more than anyone else at 58 kilos, the next closest carried 55.5.
Shocking was ridden by Corey Brown, in his ninth run of the Melbourne Cup without victory, but having lost by a nose the year prior. The pair jumped from gate 21 and also wore the number 21. They settled 3-wide from the rails and spent much of the race in that position, which meant they had to cover more ground than those on the inside. The horses that usually run so wide, run out of steam by the time the reach the straight for the final 500 metres. Not so for Shocking, who amazed everyone when he picked up the pace on the straight and defeated Crime Scene by a length at the finish line. A Shocking win in more ways than one!
After the race his trainer, Mark Kavanagh, was quoted “This is a dream I don’t wanna wake up from. I’ve wanted to win this race since I was six years old”. Seems the jockey had the same feeling “I’m so happy. This is obviously the race that stops a nation, it’s every jockey’s dream and my dream has just come true – I can’t believe it.”
Shocking raced, unplaced, twice more the following February and then spelled for six months. Despite the spell, he was named Australian Champion Stayer for the season, 2009/2010.
He raced 10 more times the following season (2010/2011) as a 5-year-old and won the Group 2 Makybe Diva Stakes (formerly the Craiglee Stakes). He ran in the 2010 Melbourne Cup but finished 18th but he did take 2nd place in the Turnbull Stakes on 3rd October at Flemington. He was unplaced in all but one of the other races. Once again ridden by Corey Brown, on 12 March 2011, Shocking won the Australian Cup. This was the first time his trainer had entered a horse in that race. It was to be Shocking’s last ever race as two months later it was announced that he was to be retired. He won nearly five million dollars with 7 wins and 8 placings from 27 starts.
On 18 June 2011, he travelled to Richmond Downs in New Zealand where he still stands at Rich Hill Stud. His starting fee was NZ$12,000 which was very cheap considering his sire, Street Cry, was standing for $100,000 at the time. These days Shocking stands for NZ$8,000 plus GST and he has already sired 8 Group 1 winners. His progeny includes Fanatic, Chocante, Camino Rocoso and the taker of fifth place in the 2019 Melbourne Cup, Surprise Baby who is expected to return in 2020 (we will know for certain on 31 October 2020).
Americain
Winner of the 2010 Melbourne. Trained by Alain De Royer-Dupre. Ridden by Gerard Mosse.
Americain is a dark brown stallion who was foaled by Irish mare America and sired by American stallion Dynaformer and is the nephew of 1986 Cup winner, At Talaq. He was born at Wertheimer et Frere in Kentucky, USA on 22 April, 2005. Wertheimer et Frere is owned by Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, who inherited a love of horseracing from their father and grandfather. They also inherited the original racing stable in France of the same name which was established by their grandparents, Pierre and Germaine Wertheimer. From their father, Jacques, they inherited House of Chanel, established by Coco Chanel and revived by investment from Jacques.
Americain might be the best-travelled horse to have won a Melbourne Cup, having raced all over France as well as in Kentucky, New York (city and state), Florida, Hong Kong, Geelong, Melbourne and Sydney. In February 2010, the Wertheimer’s sold the stallion for $225,000 to Melburnians Gerry Ryan (founder and owner of Jayco Australia) and Kevin and Colleen Bamford (founders and owners of Label Makers), who dreamed of owning a Melbourne Cup winner. After the change of ownership and trainer (from American Todd Pletcher to Frenchman Alain de Royer-Dupre), Americain won three of four races in France before his trip to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.
His first race in Australia was the Geelong Cup on 20 October 2010. The Geelong Cup is a Group 3 handicap with no age, gender or class restrictions. The winner is guaranteed a start in the Melbourne Cup, making it an ideal entry race for the international horses wanting a barrier for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup and don’t fancy their luck with the Caulfield Cup ballot. Carrying the top weight of 58 kilos, Americain won the Geelong Cup by a head and became the first top-weighted horse to win the Geelong Cup since Craftsman in 1965. Only three horses have won the Geelong Cup and then followed it up with the Melbourne Cup win and each of them were internationals: Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011).
On Melbourne Cup Day, 2 November 2010 Americain carried 54.5 kilos, a lighter load than in the Geelong Cup, and started at 13-1 odds. The favourites were Bart Cummings’ dual Cox Plate winning So You Think (3-1), Lexus Stakes winner Maluckyday (9-1) and the 2009 Melbourne Cup winner Shocking (12-1), followed by Americain. It rained that Cup Day resulting in a slow track, the field knitted close the entire way around the racetrack until they reached the straight. So You Think made a move on the outside and looked like he might take the win, but Americain caught him up with 200 metres to go and then accelerated. With 50 metres to go, he was clear and gaining ground. About one metre before the finish line, and safely clear by two and three-quarter lengths, Americain stepped off the gas pedal and his jockey Gerald Mosse blew a kiss to the crowd.
They had just won the 150th Melbourne Cup and Americain was the first French trained horse to win it. De Royer-Dupre became the first French trainer to win (on his first attempt!) and the same for French jockey Gerald Mosse. Another French-trained combination would follow in their footsteps the very next year, Dunaden.
Five and a half weeks later, they raced in the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on 12 December 2010 and finished third. Then it was back to France for their Spring/Summer (our Autumn/Winter) where Americain and Mosse took one win from four races. They were back in Melbourne for the 2011 Spring Racing Carnival and took first place in the Gold Cup at Moonee Valley on 22 October 2011 before returning to Flemington to defend their title. The 2010 win earned Americain the top weight of 58 kilos and he started as 5-1 favourite. This time around they settled on the outside at the rear of the field, making their run on the final turn but they had to swing out so much wider to get around all the other horses. They covered so much extra ground in this race that they struggled to catch up. The race ended as one of the closest finishes in the races history with photos to decide between 1st and 2nd and also between 3rd and 4th. Despite a heroic effort on the straight, Americain was beaten into fourth place by half a nose. First place was taken by Dunaden, who was trained by de Royer-Dupre’s former student, Mikel Delzangles.
Eleven days after the 2011 Melbourne Cup, Americain won the Zipping Classic in its first year with that title after the name change from Sandown Classic (the race was originally the Williamstown Cup, until 1963).
Over the summer of 2011/2012 his owners sent Americain to Euroa to be trained by David Hayes. He raced three times in the Autumn for one third and one second place. His owners realised their error and sent him back to de Royer-Dupre. He raced once more in France and finished sixth. He returned to Melbourne and finished fourth in the 2012 Caulfield Cup followed by the Melbourne Cup where he finished eleventh.
Americain was retired to stud after that last run in the Melbourne Cup; with 11 wins and 8 places from 34 starts. He was initially sent to Swettenham Stud in Nagambie, Victoria but shuttled between there and Calument Farm in Kentucky, USA.
His first foal was a filly born at Swettenham on 7 August 2014, along with her Melbourne Cup winning father, she is also the niece of Sandown Classic champion, Zipping, but I can find no evidence that she ever raced or even what she was named.
In 2019, Americain moved permanently to the Bamford’s stud at Doreen, Victoria, known as Daisy Hill Stud, where he currently stands for $6,600. Some of his more notable progeny includes Benitoite, Causeforcommotion, Costello, Eperdument, Folk Magic and Violet Blue.
THE NOTABLE EXCLUSION
Ethereal
In 2001, the bay New Zealand-bred mare Ethereal achieved the first Cups double for a female trainer. She was trained by Sheila Laxon and ridden by Scott Seamer on both occasions and became the 11th horse to win the Cups double. She is only the third mare to achieve wins in both races and is also the most recent Cups Double winner.
Sheila Laxon became the first female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup since Mrs Hedwig (Granny) McDonald with Catalogue in 1938. However, Mrs McDonald does not appear in the official record books because female trainers were not allowed a license at that time. Instead, the record books show her husband, Mr Allen McDonald, as the trainer of Catalogue.
