The Melbourne Cup is the jewel in the crown of Australian racing and it is a contest which continue to delight sports on an annual basis. It is steeped in tradition and is commonly billed as “the race that stops a nation”. Every sports fan will tune into the race itself and many others will place bets on the outcome. It is held at the beginning of November at Flemington Racecourse and has seen an increase in the amount of European and US bred horses travelling over to take part in the contest.
It has been held every year since 1861 and is competed over a distance of 3,200 metres. Whilst the Melbourne Cup is the obvious highlight, it is just one of many fantastic races that are held as part of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.
This left-handed track is the perfect venue for such a prestigious contest and the prize purse typically increases year-on-year. $7,300,000 was made available for the 2018 edition of the race. It is a public holiday in Australia and therefore always attracts a significant crowd.
Makybe Diva is a record holder in the race having been victorious in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and is the only horse to have racked up three consecutive victories in the event. Four horses have won the Melbourne Cup twice.
Recent winners include Prince of Penzance and Rekindling.
2018 Prediction Report
Another competitive race was expected in 2018 and a suitably talented field was assembled for the contest at the beginning of November. When the market was initially formed in June, it was unsurprising to see 2017 winner Rekindling priced up favourably and the Joseph O’Brien trained raider was given a 4.76% implied probability of success in the race. 2017 was the horse’s first venture down under and big things were expected once again. Connections were yet to confirm whether the horse would take part in the race at this point but the betting market remained confident of its chances in the 2018 Melbourne Cup.
Aloisia wasn’t too far behind in the betting and was given a 3.85% implied probability of success. The New Zealand raider had come third in a Grade 2 prior to this race and had previously taken the Thousand Guineas putting in an eye-catching performance in the process. She was running for a new trainer here.
Johannes Vermeer was given equal chance of success in the iconic race with 3.85% implied probability and finished behind Rekindling in the 2017 contest. He was gunning for revenge hence the expectations which surrounded this horse.
Almandin and Lord Fandango were each given 2.94% implied probability of success in the race and were priced up prominently. In the run-up to the race, neither of these two horses budged in the betting.
2018 Melbourne Cup
Charlie Appleby’s Cross Counter was the eventual winner of the 2018 Melbourne Cup and netted $4million in prize money for connections. Appleby became the first British trainer to enjoy success in the race.
Marmelo collected second prize, finishing as runner-up to Cross Counter. The Hughie Morrison-trained runner was ninth in the 2017 renewal and went seven places better this time around. He went into the contest tenth in the betting. A Price of Arran was third, narrowly ahead of Finche and Rostropovich.
