1873 Melbourne Cup

Last updated

1873 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
Location Flemington Racecourse
Date6 November 1873
Distance2 miles
Winning horse Don Juan
Winning time3:36.0
Final odds3/1
Jockey William Wilson
Trainer James Wilson
OwnerW. Johnstone
SurfaceTurf
Attendance63,000
←  1872
1874  →

The 1873 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 6 November 1873.

Contents

This was the thirteenth running of the Melbourne Cup.

Don Juan's victory was a controversial one. Immediately following the race Don Juan's victory was called into question and a protest was lodged. The Sydney Mail reported on 22 November that the protest claimed the horse was a year older than his stated four years of age. [1] There were also rumours that Don Juan was substituted for a better horse. The protest was dismissed and the rumours were never proven. [2]

Following morning showers, [3] a final field of 24 horses started the race. Protos and Calaba were in front at the first post, with Protos maintaining its lead in front of King Tom and Lapidist down the back straight. King Tom took the lead approaching the final turn, but it was Don Juan that lead the field down the final straight. Don Juan pulled away to win easily, the betting favourite saluting ahead of Dagwood who held off a fast-finishing Horatio. [4] [3]

Don Juan won by three and a half lengths in a new record time of 3:36.0. [5]

Three horses were injured in the race with Horatio badly splitting a hoof, while Hamlet broke down during the race. It was reported that Index returned to the paddock lame. [6]

For trainer James Wilson it was his first Melbourne Cup victory coming after three second-place finishes. [3] The owner of the horse was listed as "Mr W. Johnstone" which was a known alias of Melbourne bookmaker Joe Thompson. Don Juan had been listed for sale before the spring season and had been sold to grazier Joe Inglis, [7] but remained at the stables of James Wilson until after the spring season. [3] Thompson won so handsomely on the race that he directed some winnings to charity and built himself a mansion in East Melbourne which he named Don Juan House in tribute to the winning horse. [8] Don Juan had also won the Caulfield Handicap and the Essendon Stakes in the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup. [3]

Then Governor of New South Wales, Sir Hercules Robinson's horse Fitz-Yattendon finished the race in eighth place, with the governor one of the distinguished attendees at the race. [3]

Newspaper reports of the race were limited by the withdrawal of free passes to the racecourse provided by the Victoria Racing Club, leading both The Argus and The Australasian to reduce their coverage and complain about the lack of access. [9]

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1873 Melbourne Cup. [10] [11] [5] [12] [4] [3]

PlaceHorseAge
Gender		JockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin
1 Don Juan 4y hWilliam Wilson6 st 12 lb (43.5 kg) James Wilson Mr W. Johnstone [a] 3/1 fav.3½ lengths
2Dagworth5y hGeorge Donnelly9 st 9 lb (61.2 kg) Etienne de Mestre Mr. R. Bloomfield20/1½ length
3Horatio4y hM. Thompson7 st 13 lb (50.3 kg) Etienne de Mestre Etienne de Mestre 5/1
4The Arrow4y hH. Lewis8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg)John TaitJohn Tait10/1
5King Tom4y hSamuel Davis6 st 12.5 lb (43.8 kg) [b] Mr P. Lewis14/1
6Ace of Trumps5y hSam Cracknell7 st 2 lb (45.4 kg)Mr W. Gerrard50/1
7Dolphin5y mNolan7 st 11 lb (49.4 kg)Mr W. Pearson50/1
8Fitz-Yattendon3y cDuggan5 st 10.5 lb (36.5 kg) [c] Hercules Robinson 8/1
N/aHamlet5y hThomas Enderson9 st 7 lb (60.3 kg)Mr J. Crozier Jr14/1
N/aPriam5y hG. Thomson8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg)Mr H. Herbert25/1
N/aLancer5y h Tom Hales 8 st 0 lb (50.8 kg)Thomas Joseph Ryan10/1
N/aExile (late Lapdog)Aged gGardener7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg)Mr S.G. Bowler50/1
N/aKing of Clubs4y hJ. Jellett7 st 11 lb (49.4 kg)Eli Jellett10/1
N/aMcCallum Mohr4y hWilliam Enderson7 st 11 lb (49.4 kg)John TaitJohn Tait20/1
N/aEarly Morn6y hM. Bryan7 st 9 lb (48.5 kg)John Coldham14/1
N/aCalaba4y hT. Hill7 st 7 lb (47.6 kg)Mr R. Holland20/1
N/aProtos6y gHaughtey7 st 7 lb (47.6 kg)Mr S.P. Winter33/1
N/aIndexAged gSwannell7 st 4 lb (46.3 kg)Mr E. Gough50/1
N/aBenjiroo5y hChalker6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg)Mr C.S. King12/1
N/aLapidist3y cH. Grubb6 st 11 lb (43.1 kg) [d] William FilgateWilliam Filgate50/1
N/aVictorianAged gRobert Batty6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg)Mr K. Brown20/1
N/aLothair5y hJohn Kean6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg)Mr CassidyMr R.J. Hunter50/1
N/aFlag of New Zealand.svg Fearnought (NZL)4y gA. Ross6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg)Andrew Chirnside50/1
N/aBismarckAged gJ. Green6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg)Eli Jellett50/1

Prizemoney

First prize £1360, second prize £50, third prize £20. [5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Alias of Melbourne bookmaker Joe Thomson
  2. ↑ Was supposed to carry 6st 10lb
  3. ↑ Was supposed to carry 5st 9lb
  4. ↑ Was supposed to carry 6st 10lb

References

  1. ↑ "The Melbourne Cup". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser . Vol. XVI, no. 699. New South Wales, Australia. 22 November 1873. p. 661. Retrieved 5 November 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ O'Reilly, Paddy (2016). "Don Juan (1873)". Facts, Stats & Trivia of The Melbourne Cup. Melbourne: New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd. p. 25. ISBN   9781742579054.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Second (Cup) Day - Thursday, Nov. 6". The Australasian. Melbourne, Victoria. 8 November 1873. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 "The Races - Second Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 7 November 1873. p. 5. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "1873 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "News of the Day". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 7 November 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 33–35. ISBN   9781742035093.
  8. ↑ "East Melbourne, Albert Street 268, Woollahra". East Melbourne Historical Society. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Press and the Victoria Racing Club". The Australasian. Melbourne, Victoria. 8 November 1873. p. 9. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "1871 to 1880 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ↑ Cavanough, Maurice (1978). The Melbourne Cup (8 ed.). p. 445. ISBN   0727004859.
  12. ↑ "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.