Bart’s Best Melb Cup Winner

Every Australian knows Bart Cummings is the “Cups King”. He has had 12 winners from his 78 runners with his first Melbourne Cup runner, Asian Court, coming 12th in 1958.

His winners are
1965 – Light Fingers.
1966 – Galilee.
1967 – Red Handed
1974 – Think Big
1975 – Think Big
1977 – Gold And Black
1979 – Hyperno
1990 – Kingston Rule
1991 – Let’s Elope
1996 – Saintly
1999 – Rogan Josh
2008 – Viewed

Light Fingers won in 1965 as a four year old mare, ahead of Ziema who was also trained by Bart. Light Fingers came second behind Galilee the following year, giving Bart his second quinella in the race. Galilee, was one of the most successful racehorses in Australia. He is still the only horse to win the Caulfield, Melbourne and Sydney Cups in one season. Red Handed gave Bart his third consecutive win. The training of three Melbourne Cup winners in a row (including 2 quinellas) is an amazing feat. Of these first three of Bart’s winners Galilee was beyond doubt the best of the three.

In 1974 there was a third quinella when the favourite Leilani was run down in the last fifty metres by her stablemate Think Big. Leilani has always been my favourite racehorse so if she’d won I would be proclaiming that she was Bart’s best winner. But she didn’t! It was a full year before Think Big won a race again. This time he fought off a challenge from stablemate Holiday Waggon to record his second Melbourne Cup win. Perhaps that gives him some claim to beingBart’s best – winning twice in a row and beating better fancied stablemates.

In 1977 the five-year-old gelding Gold and Black was the winner after running second the year before. Hyperno won in 1979 giving Harry White his third Melbourne Cup win for Bart after his two rides on Think Big. Harry also won in 1978 on Arwon. Hyperno was an excellent racehorse and was voted Australian Horse of the Year in 1981.

The 80’s passed by without a winner from Bart although he had a couple of placings and had runners in the field most years. In 1990 he won with the magnificently bred Kingston Rule who was by Secretariat out of Rose of Kingston. The winning time was 3:16:3 and this still stands as the record today.

In 1991 he claimed his fifth quinella when Let’s Elope beat Shiva’s Revenge to become the first mare in more than 50 years to win the Caulfield Melbourne Cup double since Rivette in 1939.

Saintly with Darren Beadman aboard gave him his heavenly tenth victory in 1996 and in 1999 Rogan Josh gave him number eleven with another runner Zazabelle running third to miss out on quinella number six.

His latest winner, Viewed, gave Bart his 250th group one victory as he celebrated 50 years from his first Melbourne Cup runner.

So who was the best? In my opinion it’s between Galilee who is still the only horse to have won Caulfield, Melbourne and Sydney Cups in one season, Kingston Rule who holds the race record, and Let’s Elope because the Caulfield Melbourne Cup double is a spectacular feat for a mare. I’m willing to let the mare go because Makybe Diva’s Cup wins of 2003, 2004 and 2005 have set new benchmarks for mares, which leaves Galilee and Kingston Rule.

A close contest indeed but I lean towards Kingston Rule. However, I’m secretly hoping the best is yet to come!

Jo Jackson

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