| Melbourne Cup | |
| Location | Flemington Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 November 1878 |
| Distance | 2 miles |
| Winning horse | Calamia |
| Winning time | 3:35.75 |
| Final odds | 10/1 |
| Jockey | Thomas Brown |
| Trainer | Etienne de Mestre |
| Owner | Etienne de Mestre |
| Surface | Turf |
| Attendance | ≈80,000 |
The 1878 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 5 November 1878. [1]
This year was the eighteenth running of the Melbourne Cup. Won by five-year-old Calamia, it was the fifth time a horse trained by Etienne de Mestre had won the Melbourne Cup. [2]
1877 cup winner Chester fell and collided with a post during the race. Chester's veteran jockey Joe Morrison was seriously injured in the fall, suffering a badly broken leg, an injury from which he never really recovered. [3] [4] [5]
Highly fancied runner First King had suffered an injury prior to the race and had to be withdrawn by James Wilson ahead of the day of the race, while previous year's winner Chester had shown good form again in the lead-up, winning the Melbourne Stakes on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup, easily beating both Cap-a-pie and Device. Savanaka, who had come second the previous year was not well-backed by its stable a year later, eventually being withdrawn from the race on the day. [6] Columbus had been heavily backed following the Victoria Derby which was won by Wellington. But the most backed runner was Wilson's Melita, taking favouritism ahead of Wellington and Firebell. [6] Many believed that Chester would be able to repeat its win from the year before. [7]
Cup Day dawned under grey skies, but brightened as the morning progressed, and by the time the race was run the weather had turned to pleasant sunshine, albeit with a cool wind. [8] Following a number of withdrawals, 30 runners were sent to the start. Rapidity jumped clear after the flag fell, leading the field for more than the first mile of the race, Tom Kirk the only runner to match the speed of the leader. When Chester fell rounding a post, its jockey Joe Morrison was badly injured. The fall caused Glengarry to bolt inside the course. Wellington and Fireball looked in good position as the field tried to catch Rapidity, but it was Calamia that lead from beyond the final turn to ease home win by more than two lengths. Tom Kirk and Waxy finished in the minor placings, while the favourite Melita was never really in the race, having been run wide around much of the course. [8] [7]
For jockey Thomas Brown it was his first win in the Melbourne Cup. He would return as a trainer to win the race in 1880 with Grand Flaneur. The fifth win in the race for Etienne de Mestre confirmed his standing as Australia's first outstanding racehorse trainer, and his stables at Terrara near Nowra to be the finest in the country. [5] [9] [10] In typical style, de Mestre had backed his other runner Firebell to win the race, despite expressing confidence in Calamia. [11]
As a three-year-old, Calamia had previously won the Randwick Plate over three miles, as well as the Canterbury Plate. In other races, Calamia finished second in the VRC Champion Stakes and the Australian Cup. It was unplaced in a number of races earlier in 1878, having not raced since the autumn race meetings in Sydney. [12] [7] [11]
Attendances at the racecourse were estimated to be at a similar level to the previous years, [13] with thousands of visitors from the other colonies making their way to Melbourne. [7] Reporters questioned whether the VRC would need to extend the grandstands before the next running of the Melbourne Cup as "for every additional mile of railway that is constructed to connect the country districts with Melbourne an increase in the number of visitors at carnival times may be expected." [7]
This is the list of placegetters for the 1878 Melbourne Cup. [3] [14] [1] [15] [6] [8] [7] [11]
| Place | Horse | Age Gender | Jockey | Weight | Trainer | Owner | Odds | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calamia | 5y h | Thomas Brown | 8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | Etienne de Mestre | 10/1 | 2½ lengths |
| 2 | Tom Kirk | 7y h | William Murphy | 7 st 8 lb (48.1 kg) | Ike Carslake | Mr C. James [a] | 33/1 | 1¼ lengths |
| 3 | Waxy | 6y h | Braithwaite | 6 st 11 lb (43.1 kg) | Ike Carslake | James Liddell Purves | 16/1 | |
| 4 | Swiveller | 4y h | William Yeomans | 7 st 13 lb (50.3 kg) | Walter Hickenbotham | Charles Madden Lloyd | 25/1 | |
| 5 | Wellington | 3y c | J. King | 5 st 13 lb (37.6 kg) [b] | Edward Alfred Johnson-Boe | 8/1 | ||
| 6 | Strathearn | 4y h | C. Gordon | 7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg) | John Tait | John Tait | 33/1 | |
| 7 | Newminster | 5y h | Brickwood Colley | 8 st 8 lb (54.4 kg) | Andrew Chirnside | 25/1 | ||
| 8 | Glenormiston | 4y h | George Williams | 7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg) | William Filgate | William Filgate | 25/1 | |
| 9 | K.C.B. | 3y c | Emsworth | 5 st 10 lb (36.3 kg) | John Tait | John Tait | 50/1 | |
| 10 | Warlock | 3y c | R. Walker | 6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg) | Mr J. Paterson | 33/1 | ||
| 11 | Lockleys | 4y h | John Kilduff [c] | 8 st 5 lb (53.1 kg) | Tom Jordan | Tom Jordan | 33/1 | |
| 12 | Riverton | 3y c | C. Hutchins | 5 st 12 lb (37.2 kg) | John Whittingham | 50/1 | ||
| N/a | Cap-a-pie | 4y h | W. Huxley | 8 st 8 lb (54.4 kg) | Mr G. Hill | 20/1 | ||
| N/a | Macaroni | 6y g | Paddy Pigott | 8 st 6 lb (53.5 kg) | Thomas Ivory | 20/1 | ||
| N/a | Rapidity | 4y h | Weston | 7 st 5 lb (46.7 kg) | Mr W. Brown | 33/1 | ||
| N/a | Burwood | 8y g | Samuel Davis | 7 st 4 lb (46.3 kg) | Mr S. Bradbury | 50/1 | ||
| N/a | Columbus | 6y h | T. Aspinall | 7 st 3 lb (45.8 kg) | Edward Alfred Johnson-Boe | 16/1 | ||
| N/a | Devilshoof | 4y h | Pearson | 7 st 2 lb (45.4 kg) | Joe Thompson | 100/1 | ||
| N/a | The King | 6y h | William Samuel Cox Jr | 6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg) | William Samuel Cox | 50/1 | ||
| N/a | Darriwell | 4y h | Sam Cracknell | 8 st 8 lb (54.4 kg) | William Algernon Guesdon [d] | 20/1 | ||
| N/a | Emily | 3y f | J. Williamson | 6 st 6 lb (40.8 kg) | Hercules Robinson | 16/1 | ||
| N/a | Glengarry | 5y h | Donald Nicholson | 6 st 6 lb (40.8 kg) | Louis Lawrence Smith | 100/1 | ||
| N/a | Auckland (late Maori) | 4y h | Cornwell | 6 st 5 lb (40.4 kg) | Mr A.E. Cornwell | 12/1 | ||
| N/a | Melita | 3y f | Peter St Albans | 5 st 7 lb (34.9 kg) | James Wilson | Henry J. Bowler | 4/1 fav. | |
| N/a | Numa Pompilius | 4y g | G. Poole | 5 st 7 lb (34.9 kg) | Mr C.G. Baldock | 100/1 | ||
| N/a | Firebell | 4y h | G. Burton | 5 st 7 lb (34.9 kg) | William Samuel Cox | 8/1 | ||
| N/a | Pride Of The Vale | 3y f | Geoghegan | 6 st 0 lb (38.1 kg) | Mr R.T. Reid | 100/1 | ||
| N/a | Franciscan | 3y c | J. Deasy | 6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg) | Stephen Mahon | Stephen Mahon | 100/1 | |
| N/a | Device | 4y m | Tom Hales | 7 st 5 lb (46.7 kg) | Tom Jordan | William Pile | 50/1 | |
| Fell | Chester | 4y h | Joe Morrison | 9 st 0 lb (57.2 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | James White | 12/1 | |
| SCR | Savanaka | 4y h | N/a | 8 st 1 lb (51.3 kg) | James Wilson | Herbert Power | 16/1 | |
| SCR | Democrat | 5y h | N/a | 8 st 0 lb (50.8 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | James White | ||
| SCR | His Lordship | 3y c | N/a | 7 st 4 lb (46.3 kg) | Charles Brown Fisher | |||
| SCR | Vulcan | 3y c | N/a | 7 st 3 lb (45.8 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | Etienne de Mestre | ||
| SCR | Roodee | 3y c | N/a | 7 st 1 lb (44.9 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | James White | ||
| SCR | Jasper | 3y c | N/a | 6 st 6 lb (40.8 kg) | Etienne de Mestre | Etienne de Mestre | ||
| SCR | Murrabinna | 4y h | N/a | 6 st 5 lb (40.4 kg) | John Crozier Jr | |||
| SCR | Coongoola | 3y c | N/a | 6 st 2 lb (39.0 kg) | Mr F. Williams | |||
| SCR | Lillian | 3y f | N/a | 5 st 8 lb (35.4 kg) | Mr W. Kite | |||
First prize £1790, second prize £50, third prize £20. [1]
