1871 Melbourne Cup

The 1871 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 9 November 1871.

This year was the eleventh running of the Melbourne Cup. It was the third Melbourne Cup win for owner and trainer John Tait.

The Pearl was one of four horses to win the Melbourne Cup at 100/1. Wotan (1936), Old Rowley (1940) and Prince of Penzance (2015) being the other three.

Before the day of the race, Pyrrhus was heavily backed and was the favoured of the two runners owned and trained by John Tait. Previous winner Nimblefoot wasn't as favoured, although the horse that it beat by a half head in 1870, Lapdog was said to have been better prepared for a good run. Lapdog's stablemate Romula would start favourite. Following a win in the Essendon Stakes during November, Mermaid was fancied by a few punters, while the lightly-raced Cleolite also attracted attention following the death of owner John Moffatt in the months prior to the race. Small grey horse Saladin was high on the betting sheets following a win in the Hotham Handicap. Previous winners Warrior and Glencoe were less fancied to feature in the placings, while Little Dick was noted as one to watch.

After morning showers, the weather didn't brighten much for the race in the afternoon. Due to a public holiday, the attendance at Flemington Racecourse was one of the largest seen, with the course crowded hours before the commencement of the race.

There have been 23 starters for the race following the withdrawals of Lottery and Hamlet. Saladin led the field ahead towards the first turn, but as the field rounded the turn, The Monk fell and Lord of Lynne threw its jockey. Both jockeys needing medical attention. The fall almost took out Glencoe and a couple of other runners. Barbelle took the lead down the back straight, with Saladin retaking the lead before the turn for home. Under the whip entering the Flemington straight, The Pearl dashed clear with Romula gamely keeping up, and it would be the 100/1 outsider The Pearl that was in front by two lengths at the winning post. It was John Tait's third Melbourne Cup triumph as owner/trainer, following wins with The Barb (1866) and Glencoe (1868).

Following the race, the owner of second-placed finisher Romula protested against the winner, claiming that jockey John Kavanagh had struck Romula's jockey James Wilson Jr, but the protest was dismissed after a short deliberation by the stewards. Irish King was awarded third place ahead of Saladin.

A training accident had seemingly discounted The Pearl's chances in the Melbourne Cup, with Tait uncertain that the horse would start.

The Melbourne Cup was The Pearl's fourth win in 21 races, while winning jockey John Kavanagh also won the 1865 Melbourne Cup riding Toryboy. Writing in The Age Kavanagh described the finish of the race:

The horse was covered with froth about the shoulders, and I kept saying to myself "I wish this was the post. I wish this was the post." I could feel Romula's breath puffing hot on my right leg. All at once I knew we were past the post by a tremendous big shout. I felt just as if I could fall off the horse. Then I dropped back upon the saddle, and the horse eased off with the rest. Almost before I could turn, there was a monster crowd of people all around me cheering, and so we went back to the stand.

Full results This is the list of placegetters for the 1871 Melbourne Cup.

PlaceHorseAgeGenderJockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin1The Pearl 5y hJohn Kavanagh John TaitJohn Tait100/12 lengths2Romula 4y mJames Wilson Jr James WilsonJoe Thompson3/1 1 length3Irish King 3y cHaughey James J. Miller50/1½ neck4Saladin Aged gDan Robinson Dan Robinson Mr J.R. Crocke7/15Little Dick5y gT. Brown Mr W. Winch7/16Mermaid 5y mWilliam Simpson James WilsonMr E. Twomey14/17Pyrrhus4y hShields John TaitJohn Tait10/18Cleolite4y mJohnny Day John Moffatt (deceased)5/19The Baron6y gBryan Mr W. Winch33/1Duke of MontroseAged hFleeson Mr J. Brown33/1Glencoe7y hWilliam Lang William LangHoratio Huntly Hoskins25/1Nimblefoot8y gCharles Stanley William LangHoratio Huntly Hoskins33/1Barbelle6y mJoe Kean Edward Lee25/1BylongAged hBennett Thomas Ivory 18/1Warrior8y gWilliam Yeomans Robert Standish Sevior Austin Saqui20/1Valentine6y mHiram Howard Henry Bowler25/1ArumaAged mJ. Sherringham Mr J. Ilhffe25/1RamblerAged gChalker Phil Glenister100/1Lapdog7y gSavage James WilsonMr J. Gilbert5/1The Foam5y mMcInnes William LangMr J. Arthur100/1PraetorAged hMathieson Mr P. Lewis25/1FellThe Monk7y hWilliam Enderson Mr F. Henty50/1FellLord of Lynne3y cCarey Messrs H. & B. Allen50/1Lottery5y h Mr T. LamondHamlet3y c Mr P. LewisMiss Jessie3y f James WilsonJames Wilson

Prizemoney First prize £1040, second prize £50, third prize £20.

1871 Melbourne Cup

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