Winning the Melbourne Cup under any conditions is an incredible achievement, and immediately books the horse, jockey and trainer into an exclusive club. Over the course of the race’s 160 years, however, a handful of wins have separated themselves from the rest as some of the most memorable, and these are our top four.
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2005 – Makybe Diva becomes a legend
Winning one Melbourne Cup is an incredible achievement. Winning a second puts you in seriously rarefied air – it’s something only five horses have managed in more than a century and a half of racing. So when Makybe Diva was first past the post (and fairly comfortably, too) in 2005, winning her third consecutive Cup in the process, she stamped her hooves down as the greatest ever stayer in the event’s history. Glen Boss steered her to the victory, as he had done in both 2003 and 2004, and race caller Greg Miles crying out, ‘A champion…becomes a legend!’ is a moment embedded in the memories of the millions who tuned in around Australia and the world.
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1993 – Vintage Crop begins the European invasion
For over 130 years, the Melbourne Cup had been the domain of Australian and New Zealand horses. In 1993, that all changed when British-bred Vintage Crop flew over from his home in Ireland and, without a single lead-up race on Australian soil, motored past his rivals to win by two lengths. The race itself wasn’t any more compelling than many others, but what it signified certainly was. His victory opened the floodgates for international competitors; as a result, the winners of the race in 1994, 2002-2006, 2010-2014, 2016-2018, as well as 2020 have all come from outside of Australia and New Zealand. Clearly it’s becoming increasingly common, with foreign winners in nine of the last eleven editions of the Cup, and it was Vintage Crop who began it all.
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1997 – Might and Power lives up to his name
If number two on this list is there for its historical significance, this one makes the cut purely and simply for the race itself. Might and Power headed into the 1997 race with high expectations having taken out the Caulfield Cup a couple of weeks prior, and with 200 metres to go he looked all but certain to add a Melbourne Cup to his growing list of achievements. Veteran gelding Dorieumus, however, had other ideas. He came storming up the middle of the track, gaining ground with every stride as the post neared. At first glance it appeared as though he had snuck past, and indeed jockey Greg Hall began celebrating as if he had, but a photo showed that Might and Power had hung by the skin of his nose, and won one of the most memorable Melbourne Cups in the event’s storied history.
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1983 – Kiwi comes from the clouds
At virtually no point until the very end of the 1983 Melbourne Cup did Kiwi look a likely winner. For much of the race, the New Zealand racehorse sat right at the back of the field, seeming to struggle to even stay in touch with the main pack. Entering the home straight he still had in excess of 20 lengths to make up, and he and jockey Jim Cassidy would have seen nothing but backsides as they began their run. Gradually, however, he picked his way through the field, reaching open air with a couple of hundred metres to run and storming past his opposition as though they were standing still for an incredible win.
Every Melbourne Cup win is a moment to cherish. Occasionally, however, there is an incarnation of the great race which is just that little bit more special, be it for the race itself or for something that it signifies. The above four are prime examples of this, and have gone down as four of the greatest Melbourne Cup races in history.
