The Melbourne Cup.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14062, 20 November 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Melbourne Cup.

SOME NOVEL FACTS ANO FIGURES. Probably no annual turf event tho wide world over has been so fully dealt with by the statistician as the Melbourne Cup. From almost every conceivable standpoint has the greatest equine contest of Australasia been summarised. As this week's Melbourne Cup will be the forty-ninth (this article was written before the bite Cup race"), wo are within measurable distance of the jubilee of Australia's greatest and most widely-known horse race. Full justice will doubtless be done to the occasion by the Victoria Pacing Club —including, possibly, a return, if for that year only, 1o the £IO,OOO prize money of the early nineties—and by owners generally, to whom the honours, of winning, the "Jubilee-" Cup should prove an additional "incentive. At any rate, tin- time is opportune for a review, not necessarily on stereotyped lines, of an event which has commanded such widespread interest for forty-eight years, and .-hows no sign of diminishing popularity.

Although the Melbourne Olio dates from ISfil. and is. therefore the oldest of Australia's "bin" races, excepting onlv the Victoria Derby. V.R.C St.. L"«roi\ and V.T? C. Chamr>ion Stakes, it is a fact that so far from lasting i forty-eight years, it has not yet laste'd three hours. The actual racing time oecunicd by flip Melbourne* Cup to date is 2 hours JVlniin 30soc. Tii other words, those fortyeight Melbourne Cuns would have b«en run in one afternoon with plenty of daylight to spare. At the distance of tli" race !s hvo miles, it follows that the Australian bourne <"'"-* to dat" '"o:mik nii>etv-"iy miles of Melbnuriie Cii'i in Torty-cird.it years. Condensed, then, ttv aHnnl racing time and distance. *lie Melbourne Cup to date means iincty-«i>c 'ni'es in 2 hours 51"iin.. SOscc. Tb" Jubilee Cup will, of course, "icacli the century" in mileage. In the early years, winners or vatches. or both, were slower thar since, and the average winning time for 4 he forty-eight, cups is 3min IMJsec. For the last ten years the average is a shade over 3min 29?. see. and for the previous ten years a shade over Snn'n 30Jsee. For this century, that is for the last eight cups, the average is 3min 29Jsec.

The total weight carried by the forty-eight winners is exactly 380 st, or 47cwt 2qr. In the early years, the minimum weight carried was under 6sfc, but for many years it lias been Gst 71b. The average winning from the commencement is between 7st 121b and 7sfc 131b, but nearer the latter. It is. indeed, :i little known fact that more handicaps, big or little, have been won with 7st 131b than with any other particular weight.

The lust ten winners have carried an aggregate of 74st 111b. averaging over 7st Gib. In the previous ten years the winners' total burden was 84st 71b. averaging over Bst Gib. In the last ten years, therefore, the average weight-carrying capacity of Melbourne Cup winners has fallen off exactly a stone, and they have only improved the average winning time by one second. It is not within the scope of these notes to connect that decadence with the encouragement given to sprint races and the exnortation of our liest racehorses.

The winning weight has been 7st and under Bst 1!) times, under 7st 12 times, Bst and under !)st 10 times, fst and under l()st live times, over 10st twice. The "magic" initial letter of winners' names is T. which lias been successful nine times—A T Cup, so to speak. Next conies A. six times, and M five times. ThnF<> Cat have never wmi ;to E. F. I. J. K, O, O, V. V, X. V. v '