FAMOUS WINNERS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 94, 4 December 1911, Page 8

FAMOUS WINNERS.

MELBOURNE CUP. BLUE IUI3BON OF THE TURF. THE FIRST JUBILEE. ("Sydney Morning Herald.”) To win tlic Melbourne Cup is to win tSie blue-ribbon of the turf in Australia, and the owner of the winner is a proud man all the remaining days of Ids life. A trainer knows no greater honour than this. It lias been his fond hope for years; it is the realisation oi a life-long dream. Others who do not train horses will dream about them— it is a practise that seems to bo dying out now—but the trainer who dreams of his favouite winning and wakes up at last to find himself famous is in another category. "Parisian 1 Parisian !” One can imagine the joy it gave him when his favourite came home, winning the classic cup. A fortnight ago they said Parisian was "wrong.” They were wrong. Parisian was all right, and ran third in the Melbourne Stakes on Saturday. Then he jumped to second favourite for the Gup, while many well-backed •horses went to the right-about in the betting. The Melbourne Cup of 1911 will bo known as Parisian’s Cup. THE FIRST DAY.

The Melbourne Cup was inaugurated as far back as 18(11 (50 years ago) —a quarter of a century after rue city of Melbourne was born. The h' - st Cup was won by a Sydney horse named Archer, owned by a Victorian, Mr Do Mcstre, now retired and living a quiet life in the vicinity of Bowral. The following year Archer won again, and subsequently Mr f)e Mcstre won the Cup with Tim Whither and Calamia, whilst it is also to his credit that he trained Chester, the famous colt that won the Melbourne Cup for the late Hon. James White. With the advent of Chester it rr ay be said that the Melbourne Cup became recognised as the 'premiership handicap event, and at the same time the most popular, in the Australian calendar. The prize-money started at £2OO, but as the years advanced so the prize money increase.!, until in 1888 the V.R.C. added £lO 000 to the race. A similar sum was furthcoming for the three following Cups, Pul bad times overtaking the Southern State the stake had to be lowered and it got down as low as £2OOO. P’ ospSrity, however, soon smiled again upon tlic State, and the money was once more increased, and now the prize stands at £7OOO.

CARBINE’S WIN. There have been many exciting C ups during the past 30 years, probably none more so than that of 1899, when there was a record field, and Carbine won in record time, carrying the tremendous impost of lOst 51b, a weight that had never been carried before, and has never been carried since. "Carbine wins! Carbine! Carbine!” The story of that classic race has been told time and time again, and, .it will ever be among the famous tilings of' the Australian turf. Australians have, indeed, been charged with praising their 'famous horses more than their famous men. ’ What there is in the charge wo owe it mostly to the rise, and some will say the glory, of the Melbourne Cup. There was a great crowd at Flem-ington.-when Malvolio won the Cup in 1891, but the race in the year following was utterly spoilt by almost tropica! rains, which rendered the course a veritable quagmire, and a king among- outsiders—Clenlotli—sent the saddened sports disconsolate away.

THE BEST SWIMMER. For a year, or two the event was a somewhat quiet function, and the speculation upon it in ? t)7 and ’9B, when the brothers Gaulus and The Grafter won respectively, was not great. Merri wee’s Cup in ’99, like chat which Glcnloth won, was spoilt by a sea of mud. So confident was the trainer of Merri wee that, when giving his jockey final instructions, lie said: "You are on, the best horse in the race.”

“But,” protested the rider, “it is a swim round the back of the course.” The trainer smiled; "Well, never mind,” he said, "you are on the best swimmer.”

•Among the horses that have won the Cup of late years are Poisedon, Prince Foote, and Victory; and, curiously enough, such famous horses as San Fran, Abundance, Wakeful, Varan, Mooltan, Alawa, and Trafalgar just failed. . Trafalgar was unlucky to lost last year, and after his brilliant exhibition of speed in the Melbourne Stakes last Saturday his friends were more confident than ever that he would retrieve the past this year—but again disappointment is their lot. ST. SIMON BLOOD. Parisian adds the fifth Cup in six years to the credit of the St. Simon line of blood, the winner not of this stock being Prince Foote, though it is notwortiiy that in that race Alawa, a descendant of St. Simon, ran second. It is a remarkable record. It shows that blood will tell.

The Melbourne Cup, as a rule, does not provide an exciting finish between more than two horses, and there is an instance on record of it having resulted in a dead heat. There was a close liuich in 1902, when Lord Cardigan just beat the great Wakeful; and it was a fine race three years later between Blue Spec, Scot Free, Tartan, and Fabric; while in 1903 Lord Nolan won by the narrowest margin from Tnlkoroo, who was trained ‘in the same stable as Parisian. Last year there was an exciting linish between Comedy King and Trafalgar. Some big money has been won at times with the Cup. D. S. Wallace won a tremendous stake on Mentor in 1888, and it was said the owner of Comedy King, Sol Green, scored more heavily last year than any other owner in >ihc history of the race. Poseidon was hacked from 100 to 1 down to 4 to 1, and took an enormous stake out of the. ring; and the same may lie said of Revenue, tho winner in 1903, who a month before the race was among the 100 to 1 division, whilst backers fell over each other to take 7 to 4 about him on the great day.

I'he history of the Melbourne Cup is a history of surprises. Fortunes have been made and fortunes have bean lost over it. There is the same glorious uncertainty about tne Melbourne Cup as there is about every other horse race in the world.