Melbourne Cup betting

The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s most famous horse race and is known as “the race that stops a nation”. Melbourne Cup betting is available all year round for the richest 2m handicap race in the world.

The best stayers in Australia face a strong invasion force from Europe and beyond. Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005) is the only horse in history to win three Melbourne Cups.

Other famous winners include Vintage Crop (1993), Dunaden (2011), Fiorente (2013) and Cross Counter (2018).

Melbourne Cup betting tips

The Melbourne Cup attracts horses from around the globe with recent winners trained in France, Germany, Ireland and Japan. England finally claimed a first Melbourne Cup win in 2018 with Charlie Appleby’s Cross Counter.

Class is certainly a key factor in picking the Melbourne Cup winner. Previous form in Group races has been a common trend in recent seasons as the quality of entries continues to rise.

Colts and geldings have the best record, although the great mare Makybe Diva was a notable exception.

It’s worth remembering the going is usually good at Flemington. You should look for horses who show their best form on good or fast ground when compiling your Melbourne Cup bets. A middle draw is generally considered ideal.

Bart Cummings trained a record 12 Melbourne Cup winners. His final winner came in 2008 when Viewed was given the official verdict over Bauer by one-hundredth of a second.

Owner Lloyd Williams celebrated his sixth victory in the race with Rekindling in 2017, trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien.

Melbourne Cup betting trends

Favourites have a poor recent record in the Melbourne Cup. Fiorente (6/1 favourite) was a popular Melbourne Cup bet in 2013 and there was plenty of support for Dunaden (15/2), Protectionist (7/1), Almandin (10/1) and Cross Counter (8/1).

The shortest-priced winner in the history of the race was the great Phar Lap in 1930 at 8/11 favourite. He had finished third the previous season and was eighth in 1931, where he carried a record weight of 10st 10lbs.

Prince of Penzance (2015) won at Melbourne Cup odds of 100/1. He was ridden by Michelle Payne, who became the first female jockey to win the race.

Viewed was virtually ignored in the Melbourne Cup betting in 2008 when winning at 40/1. Green Moon returned at 19/1 in 2012 and Rekindling at 14/1 in 2017, both in the famous Lloyd Williams colours.

Horses aged 4-6 have dominated this race in the past, although the recent success of European-trained three-year-olds Rekindling and Cross Counter certainly bucks the trend.

Almandin won the race as a seven-year-old. He was only having his ninth career start, so was less exposed than a horse usually is at his age.

Melbourne Cup ante-post betting pointers

The Caulfield Cup is one of several key trials to consider for your Melbourne Cup tips. Let’s Elope (1991), Doriemus (1995), Might and Power (1997) and Ethereal (2001) all won both races in the same season. The Caulfield Cup has been less of an influence in recent years.

The Cox Plate has been used as a stepping stone to the Melbourne Cup, despite being over the much shorter distance of 10f. Efficient (2007), Green Moon (2012) and Fiorente (2013) all had their prep run in the Cox Plate. Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) all won the Geelong Cup and the Melbourne Cup in the same season.

European trainers have a mixed approach on preparing a horse for this race. Some opt to send their horses over early with the intention of running in one of the trials, while others go straight to Flemington.

Americain (2010), Dunaden (2011) and Protectionist (2014) all had prep races in Australia, but Rekindling (2017) and Cross Counter (2018) didn’t.

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Melbourne Cup history and memorable winners

The inaugural Melbourne Cup was won by Archer in 1861, who followed up by a record eight lengths the following season. In 1875 the race was held on the first Tuesday in November for the first time and this has remained its traditional place in the calendar ever since.

Vintage Crop gave Ireland a famous victory in 1993, the first winner trained in the Northern Hemisphere. He was trained by Dermot Weld, who returned to win the race a second time with Media Puzzle in 2002, ridden by Damien Oliver. It was a poignant victory for Oliver who had suffered the tragic loss of his brother only a week earlier.

Makybe Diva became the first horse to win three Melbourne Cups. She started 7/1 and carried 8st when winning her first Melbourne Cup in 2003.

The following season she was featured in plenty of Melbourne Cup tips after being beaten a short-head in the Caulfield Cup. She beat Vinnie Roe when 13/5 favourite to set up an unprecedented hat-trick.

Makybe Diva warmed up for her famous third victory by winning the Group 1 Cox Plate. The 17/5 favourite didn’t let her supporters down in the Cup, Glen Boss delivering her with her usual late run to beat 70/1 outsider On A Jeune.

Although he never won the race, Ed Dunlop’s Red Cadeaux had a huge following in Australia after finishing runner-up in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

He came closest to victory when beaten a nose by the French-trained Dunaden in 2011. Tragically, he had to be put down after fracturing his leg during the 2015 Melbourne Cup.

Fiorente began his racing career in England and won the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes for Sir Michael Stoute. He was sold to race in Australia and finished runner-up to Green Moon in 2012.

Fiorente featured in plenty of Melbourne Cup tips the following year when providing trainer Gai Waterhouse with her first winner in the race.

Melbourne Cup betting 2021

Cross Counter finally made the breakthrough for English-trained runners in 2018. He won the Group 2 Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March and the Ascot Gold Cup is reported to be his summer target.

He carried 8st when beating Marmelo and Prince Of Arran at Flemington, but will find himself at the opposite end of the handicap if returning to Australia this winter.

Stable companion Ispolini finished a length-and-a-quarter behind Cross Counter in Dubai. He had bolted up in a Group 3 on his previous start, but the handicapper will have noted his improved form.

Ghostwatch is another progressive stayer in the blue of Godolphin. He ended last season with a game win from Sir Michael Stoute’s Mekong in a Listed race at Ascot.

Marmelo will surely be aimed at a third tilt at the Melbourne Cup after his excellent run last year. Hughie Morrison’s six-year-old entire was joint favourite in 2017 when only ninth to Rekindling.

Finche joined Chris Waller from Andre Fabre ahead of last season’s race, finishing a fine fourth. The son of Frankel was a Group 2 winner in France. Johannes Vermeer was runner-up in 2017, but missed last season through injury. He is now in training with Liam Howley in Australia.

Torcedor was purchased by Australian Bloodstock Stable last season and transferred to Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler in Germany.

Unfortunately he was ruled out of the big race due to a high temperature but he has some excellent form in the book. He was beaten only half a length by Stradivarius in last season’s Goodwood Cup.

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