The 2015 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 155th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over , was held on 3 November 2015 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse. The date is a public holiday in the state of Victoria. The final field for the race was declared on 31 October.2015 Melbourne Cup Horses – racenet.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2015. The total prize money for the race was A$6.2 million, the same as the previous year.2015 Melbourne Cup – HorseRacingInfo.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
The winner was Prince of Penzance, ridden by Michelle Payne, who became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.
Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.
Background Prior to the race, racehorse advocacy groups and animal rights activists attempted to highlight the number of racehorse deaths due to injuries sustained during a race. The deaths of two horses in Melbourne Cup 2014 race has called into question the use of the whip and whether it results in unnecessary harm to the animal. Racing Australia has since amended its rules governing the use of the whip, effective from 1 December 2015.
Race summary
Prince of Penzance, ridden by jockey Michelle Payne, won the race. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.
Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.
Prince of Penzance pulled ahead of the front-runners only around 100m from the finish of the race, surprising many, including Payne. Payne's technique focused on galloping, due to her belief that doing so was key to winning.
Field No. Horse Trainer(s) Jockey Weight Barrier Place 1 Snow Sky Sir Michael Stoute Ryan Moore 58 kg 16 23rd 2 Criterion David Hayes Tom Dabernig Michael Walker 57.5 kg 4 3rd 3 Fame Game† Yoshitada Munakata Zac Purton 57 kg 12 13th 4 Our Ivanhowe Lee Freedman Anthony Freedman Ben Melham 56 kg 22 10th 5 Big Orange Michael Bell Jamie Spencer 55.5 kg 23 5th 6 Hartnell John O'Shea James McDonald 55.5 kg 17 15th 7 Hokko Brave Yasutoshi Matsunaga Craig Williams 55.5 kg 20 17th 8 Max Dynamite Willie Mullins Frankie Dettori 55 kg 2 2nd 9 Red Cadeaux Ed Dunlop Gérald Mossé 55 kg 8 10 Trip To Paris Ed Dunlop Tommy Berry 55 kg 14 4th 11 Who Shot Thebarman Chris Waller Blake Shinn 54.5 kg 6 11th 12 Sky Hunter Saeed bin Suroor William Buick 54 kg 7 22nd 13 The Offer Gai Waterhouse Damien Oliver 54 kg 13 8th 14 Grand Marshall Chris Waller Jim Cassidy 53.5 kg 15 21st 15 Preferment Chris Waller Hugh Bowman 53.5 kg 11 20th 16 Quest For More Roger Charlton Damian Lane 53.5 kg 21 9th 17 Almoonquith David Hayes Tom Dabernig Dwayne Dunn 53 kg 10 18th 18 Kingfisher Aidan O'Brien Colm O'Donoghue 53 kg 9 19th 19 Prince of Penzance Darren Weir Michelle Payne 53 kg 1 1st 20 Bondi Beach Aidan O'Brien Brett Prebble 52.5 kg 18 16th 21 Sertorius Jamie Edwards Craig Newitt 52.5 kg 5 12th 22 The United States Robert Hickmott João Moreira 52.5 kg 3 14th 23 Excess Knowledge Gai Waterhouse Kerrin McEvoy 51 kg 24 7th 24 Gust Of Wind John Sargent Chad Schofield 51 kg 19 6th
† Indicates race favourite
Fatalities
Three-time cup runner-up Red Cadeaux did not finish, suffering a suspected fracture in the left fetlock, a joint above the hoof similar to an ankle in humans. The gelding was taken to a veterinary clinic for surgery. Red Cadeaux's trainer initially announced that the horse would likely recover, but retired from racing. However, on 21 November, Red Cadeaux was euthanised, due to complications from the injury.
See also List of Melbourne Cup winners List of Melbourne Cup placings
References