1861 Melbourne Cup

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1861 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
Location Flemington Racecourse
Date7 November 1861
Distance2 miles
Winning horse Archer
Winning time3:52
Final odds6/1
Jockey John Cutts
Trainer Etienne L. de Mestre
OwnerEtienne L. de Mestre
SurfaceTurf
Attendance4000
1862  →

The 1861 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 7 November 1861. [1] [2]

Contents

This year was the first running of the Melbourne Cup. [1] Billed as "one of the finest races ever seen upon the course," [3] 57 horses were nominated and there were 20 acceptances. Three were scratched on race day, leaving 17 starters. [4] [5] [6]

Three horses fell due to congestion on the first turn, [5] resulting in deaths to two runners Despatch and Medora. [7] One jockey was knocked unconscious and Joe Morrison sustained a compound fracture to his arm after coming off Despatch. [6] The fall led to changes to the track at Flemington, including lengthening the straight. [5]

Ridden by John Cutts, Archer won the race by six lengths in a time of 3:52. [7] Archer had been leased by Etienne L. de Mestre, and had been brought to Melbourne from Sydney aboard the SS City of Sydney, which transported several horses to Melbourne. A long-standing folktale was that Archer had walked from Nowra to Flemington. [6] [5]

As a lessee de Mestre owned and was fully responsible for Archer during the lease. Archer was leased from the "Exeter Farm" of Jembaicumbene near Braidwood, New South Wales. His owners were Thomas John "Tom" Roberts (a good school-friend of de Mestre's), Rowland H. Hassall (Roberts' brother-in-law), and Edmund Molyneux Royds and William Edward Royds (Roberts' nephews). [8] [9] [10]

The race was held not long after news had reached Melbourne of the death of explorers Burke and Wills who had left Melbourne in August 1860, with some accounting that the news had led to lower than expected attendance for the race meeting. [6]

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1861 Melbourne Cup. [1] [11] [12] [3]

PlaceHorseAge
Gender		JockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin
1 Archer 5y h John Cutts 9 st 7 lb (60.3 kg) Etienne L. de Mestre Etienne L. de Mestre 5/16 lengths
2Mormon6y hWilliam Simpson10 st 1 lb (64.0 kg)N/aJames Henderson3/1 fav.2 lengths
3PrinceAged gJ. Bishop8 st 0 lb (50.8 kg)N/aWilliam Pearson20/1
4Antonelli3y cCowen6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg)N/aMr. Warby20/1
5 Toryboy 4y gH. Cooke7 st 11 lb (49.4 kg)N/a William Cross Yuille 5/1
6FlatcatcherAged gPerkins9 st 8 lb (60.8 kg)N/aMr T.J. Bavin10/1
7The MoorAged gRobinson8 st 12 lb (56.2 kg)N/aGeorge Watson12/1
N/aNutwithAged gSam Waldock8 st 12 lb (56.2 kg)N/aMr. J.D. Fisher12/1
N/aInheritorAged gMcCabe8 st 7 lb (54.0 kg) Etienne L. de Mestre Etienne L. de Mestre 10/1
N/aGrey Dawn4y mYeend7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg)N/aJohn Coldham25/1
N/aBlack Bess6y mJames Monaghan7 st 11 lb (49.4 kg)N/aMr. Evans50/1
N/aSorcerer3y gHughes6 st 9 lb (42.2 kg)N/aJames Henderson33/1
N/aFireaway3y gH. Howard6 st 6 lb (40.8 kg)N/aMr. Cole20/1
N/aLucy Ashton3y fS. Davis6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg)N/aMr. Coleman50/1
FellDespatchAged mJoe Morrison8 st 9 lb (54.9 kg)N/aJames Henderson7/2
FellTwilightAged mHaynes7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg)N/aJohn Coldham20/1
FellMedora3y fJ. Henderson7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg)N/aJames Henderson16/1
SCREagle's Plume3y cLankey6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg)N/aJohn Orr20/1
SCRParisanAged gN/a8 st 7 lb (54.0 kg)N/aMr. T. ChirnsideN/a
SCRDefence6y gN/a7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg)N/aMr. ColemanN/a

Prizemoney

First prize £710, second prize £20. [2]

The winning owner was also presented with a hand-beaten gold watch. [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "On this day: The Melbourne Cup begins". Australian Geographic. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 "1861 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 "The Melbourne Cup". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 7 November 1861. p. 6. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Essay – First Past the Post: The Melbourne Cup of 1861". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 7–8. ISBN   9781742035093.
  7. 1 2 "The Melbourne Cup". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 8 November 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "Archer at Thoroughbred Heritage.com". Tbheritage.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Shoalhaven - Sporting Hall of Fame" (PDF). www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2011.
  10. ↑ Binney, Keith Robert (2005). Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788–1900) and the Serpent's Legacy. Volcanic Productions. p. 367. ISBN   0-646-44865-X. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "1861 to 1870 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Cavanough, Maurice (1978). The Melbourne Cup (8 ed.). p. 445. ISBN   0727004859.
  13. ↑ "Melbourne Cup trophy has colourful and creative history". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2026.


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