1879 Melbourne Cup

The 1879 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 4 November 1879.

This year was the nineteenth running of the Melbourne Cup. The race was won by Darriwell in a then record time of 3:30.75, beating the time of Chester from 1877.

Entries and odds

The "national handicap race of Australia" saw a field of more than 30 potential runners from an initial entry of 122 acceptances. Following its clear win in the Victoria Derby on the Saturday, dark grey colt Suwarrow was installed as short-priced favourite, with the horse trained by Bob Howie. After being withdrawn the previous year, 1877 Cup favourite Savanaka was again one of the fancied runners, although the horse was now the top-weight with Richmond, who was runner-up in the 1875 Melbourne Cup as a three-year-old. Wellington returned for another shot at the Cup, and would again be listed at short odds, despite carrying a greater weight handicap. Following a win in the 1878 Metropolitan Handicap in Sydney, Democrat was considered something of an outside chance, with 1879 Metropolitan winner Secundus rated a better chance. New Zealand-bred runner Le Loup was less-fancied by some observers following its efforts when it missed the start in the Melbourne Stakes, finishing third behind First King on the Saturday before the race.

The race

Following a number of race day withdrawals, 27 runners greeted the starter, in bright sunny conditions after morning cloud dissipated. A soft sea breeze did not pick up much of the dust that had marred previous editions of the race. Riverton, Monarque, Tom Kirk, Darriwell and Suwarrow had the best of the start, with Suwarrow leading at the first turn. Suwarrow extended its lead down the riverside, with Riverton trying to bridge a gap of a couple of lengths. At the final turn it appeared that Darriwell had taken the lead, but Suwarrow still maintained an advantage on the inside. It was in the Flemington straight that Darriwell made a decisive move, with jockey Sam Cracknell piloting the horse forward to pass Suwarrow to win. Sweetmeat came through late to finish second, with Wellington fourth behind Suwarrow. There were some complaints that Riverton had caused interference racing alongside Suwarrow during the final mile, but not protests were lodged. Two two top-weighted horses Savanaka and Richmond didn't feature prominently in the race.

Darriwell has bred in Victoria by John Ord Inglis and sold as a colt to Tasmanian businessman William Guesdon. The horse raced with little success in Tasmania and was sent back to Victoria to be trained by William E. Dakin, a former British cavalry officer. Darriwell had previously won races at Flemington including the 1878 Spring Handicap, 1879 Brunswick States and another race in March 1879. The horse was unplaced in the previous year's Melbourne Cup won by Calamia, and unplaced in the inaugural running of the Caulfield Cup. Guesdon was the first Tasmanian owner to win the Melbourne Cup, and was a previous committee member of the Tasmanian Racing Club. It was reported that Guesdon didn't back his horse for large sums of money to win the race, having been convinced by Dakin that the other horse in his stable, Le Loup, had a greater chance at winning the race. It was said that Darriwell was "plain in appearance" and "the last horse anyone would select for a two-mile race."

Full results This is the list of placegetters for the 1879 Melbourne Cup.

PlaceHorseAgeGenderJockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin1Darriwell5y hSam Cracknell William E. DakinWilliam Algernon Guesdon33/1 ½ length2Sweetmeat4y hDonald Nicholson Thomas Ivory7/1 Head3Suwarrow3y cGeorge Williams Robert HowieRobert Howie13/4 4Columbus7y hBarr Edward Alfred Johnson-Boe50/1 5Wellington4y hWilliam Murphy Edward Alfred Johnson-Boe10/1 6Colima5y mRoarty William Forrester100/1 7Riverton4y h John Kilduff John Whittingham20/1 8Monarque4y h J. Williams Frank Leng33/1 9Secundus (late Highlander)4y hO'Connor John Mayo4/1 10Falmouth3y c John Gainsford George Donnelly50/1 11The Wandering Jew 3y cGeoghegan Tom Jordan John Eden Savill33/1 12Waxy7y gKelly Ike Carslake James Liddell Purves33/1 13Democrat6y hGordon James White100/1 14Savanaka5y hTom Hales James Wilson Herbert Power5/1 15Lord Harry8y g Brickwood Colley Mr M. Loughlin12/1 Richmond7y h Walker Eli Jellett25/1 5y h William Yeomans William E. Dakin Mr G. Fraser33/1 Strathearn5y h Sam Davis John Tait John Tait25/1 Tom Kirk8y g J. King Mr W. Frederick20/1 Levant5y h Braithwaite Mr A. Davies50/1 Glenormiston5y h J. Williamson William Filgate William Filgate33/1 K.C.B.4y h Deasy John Tait John Tait100/1 Tidal Wave4y h Vouchier Stephen Mahon Stephen Mahon100/1 Roland4y h Burton Stephen Mahon Stephen Mahon100/1 Terrific3y c Greville Mr J. McPhail100/1 Caractacus3y c G. Riley Etienne de MestreEtienne de Mestre 100/1 Pollio3y c Fallon Mr G. Livingstone100/1 His Grace3y c Mr J.R. CowellFau-blas3y c James Liddell PurvesEarl of Mar4y c Mr JeffreyCaspian3y c James WilsonAlexander K. FinlayGeide Olgothach3y c James J. MillerAdventurer3y c Fitzwilliam WentworthChatterbox3y c Louis Lawrence SmithCredit 4y h William J. ClarkeZambesi 4y h Andrew ChirnsideNarrabri 3y c Mr J. EvansFirst Water 3y c Tom JordanWilliam Pile

Prizemoney The Victoria Racing Club increased the prizemoney for the second and third placegetters for the 1879 race, where previously (since 1868) the third place runner would receive their initial stake returned.

First prize £1645, second prize £200, third prize £100.

1879 Melbourne Cup

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