1866 Melbourne Cup

The 1866 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 1 November 1866.

This year was the sixth running of the Melbourne Cup. The race was won by 6/1 favourite The Barb, nicknamed 'The Black Demon', beating Exile. Falcon was placed third by the stewards the day after the race. The race saw two horses named Falcon take part and the VRC judge failed to recognise its colors which were different to the official program. The Barb became the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup and the AJC Derby as The Barb had won the race back in September. The AJC Derby now takes place in the Autumn.

Fifty-three horses nominated for the race, with 44 horses accepted. Following acceptances, 31 horses paid the entry fees, although two were scratched before race day. This year marked the return of Sydney-trained horses to the race, following the controversy surrounding the non-acceptance of Archer's nomination in 1863.

The Barb, one of three horses owned by John Tait in the race, started as the favourite ahead of stablemate Falcon, with Tim Whiffler, Lady Heron and Seagull the next fancied runners. Of the Victorian-trained horses, Exile had attracted a number of bets, while 1865 Melbourne Cup winner Toryboy was one of the more fancied runners. After the morning scratching of Volunteer, 28 horses started the race. Following a false start where Seagull broke away and was not stopped for some time, Cowra and Minstrel missed the start and after the rest of the field got off to a strong start, The Barb and Glenyuille went ahead at the first turn, followed by Tim Whiffler and Barwon. Glenyuille's race was done at about the mile marker, leaving Tim Whiffler to try to catch The Barb. Exile went up to the leader before the final turn and it was a two-horse race down the final straight, with The Barb holding firm to win by little more than a head. It was reported that the jockey aboard Exile lost the whip which might have affected the final result.

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1866 Melbourne Cup.

PlaceHorseAgeGenderJockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin1The Barb3y cWilliam Davis John Tait & James AshworthJohn Tait6/1 Head2ExileAged gJohn Kavanagh Patrick Keighran20/13 lengths3Falcon (Sydney)5y gCharles Stanley John Tait7/14PlayboyAged gBobby Waterman Patrick Keighran25/15Seagull3y fAlf Hill Charles Brown Fisher8/16MozartAged gArch Hill Mr J. Armstrong200/17Coventry4y gGriffin Mr T. Henry50/18Tim Whiffler4y hHarry Chifney Joe CarterWalter Craig8/1Barwon7y hHaynes John Cleeland20/1Cowra4y mStevens Edward Meade Bagot25/1Lady Heron4y mJoe Morrison Charles Brown Fisher8/1Falcon (Victoria)Aged gBateman Mr Lewis100/1Sparrowhawk5y gHarvey William Pearson12/1Warwick5y gHolmes John Tait20/1MusidoraAged mMcDonald James WilsonJames Wilson20/1WoodmanAged mBishop Mr S. Thompson100/1Miss Fisher4y mJoe Carter Joe CarterWalter Craig20/1ViscountAged mMason William Pearson200/1Toryboy9y gGreen William Cross Yuille12/1Dun DoloAged gTyrrell Arch McDonald50/1Minstrel6y gGregory George Watson50/1Shenandoah6y mThomas Pullar John Cleeland50/1Deception5y mParr Mr H.D. Parr8/1Glenyille6y gJ. Hill Louis Lawrence Smith100/1Protection5y gJ. Davis Louis Lawrence Smith100/1Lunatic3y cHowell Mr S. Waldock20/1Solitaire3y cT. Bennett Mr W.I. Faris100/1Songster5y gParslow Geoffrey Wright100/1VolunteerAged h John TaitMidshipman6y Walter CraigSultana5y m

Prizemoney First prize £980, second prize £20.

The winning owner also received a silver trophy from England that displays Alexander taming the horse, the engraved name of the winning horse and a figure of a winged female.

1866 Melbourne Cup

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