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Melbourne Cup (greyhounds)

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Melbourne Cup
Group 1 race
LocationSandown Park
Inaugurated1956
Race information
Distance515 metres
SurfaceSand
Purse$1,000,000

The Melbourne Cup is a prestigious greyhound race in Australia. The Cup is the final event of the three-week Superdogs series which carries over $1 million in total prize money. The Cup is run over 515 metres (1,690 ft) at Sandown Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in November.[1][2]


History

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In 1956, the first Cup was staged at Sandown Park on the grass track over 565 yards under handicap condition and was worth £500 to the winner.[3] In 1962, the Cup was won by Saskagay, the first bitch to win the race. The prize money was £2000. In 1966, handicap conditions were eliminated. Cheltenham Lass won after finishing second in 1965. In 1967, Neville Ballinger trained the Cup quinella with Swan Opal and Dollar Hunter. In 1970, Chris Dandy won for trainer Alex Kay, the fourth consecutive winner from New South Wales.

In 1978, actor Robert Stack presented the trophy and in 1979, actor Elke Sommer presented the trophy. In 1980, a silver Mercedes-Benz was given away to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the cup. The presenter was golfer Greg Norman. In 1985 with only a small kennel of four greyhounds, the Hall of Famer Ned Bryant trained the quinella with the Brian Lenehan owned Sydney Dingaan defeating Shining Chariot.

In 1992, Schweppes became the Cup sponsor and Master Giant the winner. In 2006, Betty's Angel completed the Group 1 ADVANCE Sapphire Crown – Schweppes Melbourne Cup double, setting a new race record of 29.51. In 2011, Dyna Tron in a race record 29.21 seconds. In 2020, Hard Style Rico became the first greyhound to break 29 seconds in a final when winning the final in 28.91.[4][5]

In 2016, the Cup had total prize money of A$600,000.[6]

Past winners

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Year Winner Trainer Venue & distance Time Notes
1956 Rocketeer E Patterson (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.6/16
1957 Rookie Rebel W Hopper (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.14/16
1958 Marine Jet G Fraser (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.9/16
1959 Capital King F Garbutt (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.9/16
1960 Chief Ranee M Hammond (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.13/16
1961 Bybrae A Bate (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.12/16
1962 Saskagay A Ludlow (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.8/16
1963 Saskaview A Ludlow (Sandown Park) 565 yards 30.10/16
1964 Rocket Streak Fred Ladd (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.6/16
1965 Kinta’s Son Bob Bowman (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.10/16
1966 Cheltenham Lass Paul Hogan (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.10/16
1967 Swan Opal N Ballinger (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.9/16
1968 Mr Spot T Rowland (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.9/16
1969 Milimsimbi Stan Cleverley (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.7/16
1970 Chris Dandy Alex Kay (Sandown Park) 555 yards 31.1/16
1971 Gerard The Gent Herb Skiewa (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.7/16
1972 Gold Grotto Ed Tucker (Sandown Park) 555 yards 30.6/16
1973 New Mariner R Jennings (Sandown Park) 513 metres 31.49
1974 Kwik Metal Cap Abbott (Sandown Park) 513 metres 31.02
1975 Dynamic Dean Paul Hogan (Sandown Park) 513 metres 31.32
1976 Carrington Jade K Murphy (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.70
1977 Milepost Tony Collins (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.94
1978 Tangaloa Joe Hilli (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.97
1979 Acclaim Star W A Fletcher (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.50
1980 Black Aztec H Sarkis (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.74
1981 Satan's Shroud Graeme Bate (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.88
1982 Kid Scandal Reg Johnson (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.70
1983 Lady Lilly Colin Kelly (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.86
1984 Rustic Venture Peter Denro (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.92
1985 Sydney Dingaan Ned Bryant (Sandown Park) 513 metres 30.44
1986 Legendary Kid Jim Coleman (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.62
1987 Speedy Mick J Schroeders (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.52
1988 Hua R Symes (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.01
1989 Fair Sentence Graeme Bate (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.19
1990 Highly Blessed Doug Ferrermi (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.53
1991 Fox Hunt Peter Jovanovic (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.50
1992 Master Giant Peter Akathiotis (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.30
1993 Silver Chisel J Fleming (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.25
1994 Light Of Fire Jason Thompson (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.05
1995 City Blitz P Giles (Sandown Park) 511 metres 30.06
1996 Henry Hand D Dean (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.86
1997 Roanokee R Green (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.96
1998 Rapid Journey J Curruthers (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.91
1999 Kantarn Bale Graeme Bate (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.73
2000 Go Wild Teddy M Bell (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.73
2001 Classic Capri Judy Jayley (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.65
2002 Excite Ability Len Poore (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.77
2003 Bombastic Shiraz Darren Cairns (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.82
2004 Hallucinate Darren McDonald (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.73
2005 Closing Argument C Taylor (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.94
2006 Betty's Angel Paul Bartolo (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.51
2007 Shanlyn Prince Darren McDonald (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.60
2008 Surgeon Darren McDonald (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.87
2009 Lord Ducal Jon Roberts (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.53
2010 El Grand Senor Carolyn Jones (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.55
2011 Dyna Tron Andrea Dailly (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.22
2012 Got A Moment Jason Thompson (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.37
2013 Black Magic Opal Jason Thompson (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.37
2014 Dyna Villa Jenny Hunt (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.36
2015 Dyna Double One Andrea Dailly (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.16
2016 Ando's Mac Jason Mackay (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.48
2017 Aston Dee Bee Seona Thompson (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.36
2018 My Redeemer[7] David Geall (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.38
2019 Whiskey Riot[8] Anthony Azzopardi (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.44
2020 Hard Style Rico[9] Luckie Karabitsakos (Sandown Park) 515 metres 28.91 (track record)
2021 Koblenz[10] David Geall (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.40
2022 Yachi Bale[11] Mark Delbridge (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.21
2023 Aussie Rocks[12] Geoff Mitchell (Sandown Park) 515 metres 29.55 1st Tasmanian winner

Conditions

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The final of the Melbourne Cup involves the winners of eight heats conducted the previous week. In order for a greyhound to qualify for the heats, it must win an 'exemption race' - a Group 1 sprint race, a Victorian country cup (except the Healesville Cup) or a group race at Sandown Park 515m - in the 12 months preceding the Melbourne Cup final.

The previous year's Melbourne Cup winner and all finalists in the 'Shootout,' a four-dog winner-takes-all event the week prior to the Melbourne Cup heats, also qualify for the Melbourne Cup heats, as do the winners of a Melbourne Cup Prelude. Melbourne Cup Preludes were first conducted in 1995.

Melbourne Cup Preludes are conducted every two weeks, with the final Prelude series conducted on the same night as the Shootout. Remaining places in the Melbourne Cup heats are awarded to the best performed greyhounds that have competed in at least one Melbourne Cup Prelude series.


Most wins by trainers

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Three-time winners:

  • Graeme Bate: Satan's Shroud (1981), Fair Sentence (1989), Kantarn Bale (1999)
  • Darren McDonald: Hallucinate (2004), Shanlyn Prince (2007), Surgeon (2008)
  • Jason Thompson: Light Of Fire (1994), Got A Moment (2012), Black Magic Opal (2013)

Race Records

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  • Fastest time - 28.909 (track record) by Hard Style Rico, 2020[13]
  • Biggest margin - 9 lengths (Fox Hunt, 1991)
  • Smallest margin - Nose (Whiskey Riot, 2019)
  • Longest priced winner - Classic Capri, $25.90 (2001)
  • Shortest priced winner - Gold Grotto, 2/1 on ($1.50) (1972)
  • First Tasmanian Winner - Aussie Rocks, (2023)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MELBOURNE CUP PREVIEW". Greyhound Star. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Roll of Honour". Australian Racing Greyhound. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  3. ^ "TAB Melbourne Cup". Sandown Greyhounds. 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  4. ^ "2020 Melbourne Cup final". Greyhound Data. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Out In Style! Melbourne Cup Winner Retired To Stud". The Greyhound Recorder. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. ^ "TAB Melbourne Cup Highlights". Greyhound Racing Victoria. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Group 1 results". greyhoundclubsaustralia. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Group 1 results". greyhoundclubsaustralia. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Group 1 results". greyhoundclubsaustralia. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  10. ^ "KING KOBLENZ REIGNS IN MELBOURNE CUP". Greyhound Racing Victoria. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Yachi Bale Powers Home For Melbourne Cup Glory". The Greyhound Recorder. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  12. ^ https://tasracing.com.au/news/owners-living-the-melbourne-cup-ride
  13. ^ "How the Cup Was Won". Sandown Greyhounds. Retrieved 17 March 2021.