Mark Zahra (born 19 May 1982) [1] is an Australian jockey who is notable for having won the Melbourne Cup on Without A Fight in 2023 and on Gold Trip in 2022, as well as the Caulfield Cup on Without A Fight in 2023 and on Verry Elleegant in 2020. He is the ninth jockey to ride back to back Melbourne Cup winners.
Mark Zahra started his racing career in Western Australia and started his apprenticeship with Dean White. His first raceday ride was on Wail Spring on Boxing Day 1998 at Geraldton Racecourse. He won his first race at the same track on 1 March 1999 on Winrosy. He then moved to Victoria to work for Brian Cox at Wodonga and later with Tony McEvoy at Lindsay Park.
In August 2010, Zahra was found guilty of reckless riding and suspended for 29 meetings after causing a serious spinal injury to jockey Danny Brereton, who fell from Marquee Player in the Mitchell Mackenzie stakes at Moonee Valley. Brereton is still disabled as a result, and is only able to walk with the assistance of a walking aid. [2]
Zahra's first Group One victory was in the 2006 Doomben Cup on Above Deck, trained by Jim Conlan. As of early December 2023, he has ridden 1,359 winners, including 28 in Group 1 races. [1]
The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November.
Damien Oliver is an Australian retired thoroughbred racing jockey. Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie Cup in Western Australia. In 2008, Oliver was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In August 2023 he announced that he would retire at the end of that year's spring carnival.
Nash Rawiller is a prominent Australian jockey, based in Sydney. He has ridden races in many other parts of the world, including France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. He began his career in Victoria but moved to Sydney in 2007 to link up with prominent trainer Gai Waterhouse. Waterhouse has described Rawiller as "a brilliant rider".
Craig Williams is a jockey based in Victoria, Australia. He has won multiple group one races in Australia and worldwide, including the 2019 Melbourne Cup.
Brett Prebble is an Australian jockey, currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. Having ridden over 1200 career winners, Prebble's most famous win came aboard Green Moon in the 2012 Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Darren Beadman is an Australian champion jockey. In 2007 at age 41 he was the youngest jockey ever to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, being the first to do so while still active in the industry.
Chris Waller, is a Hall of Fame trainer in Australian Thoroughbred racing best known for training the racemare Winx, a four-time winner of Australian Horse of the Year honours.
Nature Strip is a retired champion Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 2020 and 2022 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year, a nine-time Group 1 winner, and the winner of The Everest in 2021, the richest turf race in the world.
Verry Elleegant was a New Zealand-bred Australian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse that won 11 Group One races. She was crowned the 2020/2021 Australian Racehorse of the Year, and was the winner of the 2021 Melbourne Cup and 2020 Caulfield Cup.
Warning is a Group 1 winning Australian bred thoroughbred racehorse who is most notable for winning the 2019 Victoria Derby.
Pippie is a multiple Group 1 winning Australian bred thoroughbred racehorse.
Probabeel is a multiple Group 1 winning New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse.
Anamoe is a retired nine-time Group 1 winning champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse. Affectionately known as "The Big A", Anamoe is considered one of the most decorated Australian produced stallions ever. He is one of only two Australian horses to win Group 1 races at ages 2, 3 and 4 since the 1990s. In 2023 he was named Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.
Damian Lane is an Australian jockey based in Victoria.
James McDonald is a New Zealand thoroughbred racing jockey and member of the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame. On 2 November 2021, McDonald rode the winning horse Verry Elleegant in the 2021 Melbourne Cup. He has been awarded the World Jockey of the Year in 2021 and 2024 in the TRC Global Rankings.
Incentivise is a multiple Group One winning Australian thoroughbred racehorse.
The 2021 Melbourne Cup was the 161st running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 2 November 2021 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
The 2022 Melbourne Cup was the 162nd running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 1 November 2022 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
The 2023 Melbourne Cup, known commercially as the 2023 Lexus Melbourne Cup, was the 163rd running of the Melbourne Cup, an Australian thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 7 November 2023 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
Romantic Warrior is a multiple Group 1 winning champion thoroughbred racehorse that was born in Ireland and trained in Hong Kong. After it arrived in Hong Kong in June 2021, he scored a five-winning streak, including a championship of the Hong Kong Classic Mile. He is currently owned by Lau Pak Fai and trained by Danny Shum Chap Shing. he was the Champion Middle-Distance Horse, the Champion Four-Year-Old and the Most Improved Horse in the year 2022. He is notable for winning the Cox Plate in 2023 and the Hong Kong Cup in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He also won the Yasuda Kinen in 2024, being the first foreign-trained horse in 18 years to win at the Tokyo Racecourse since Bullish Luck in 2006, also in the same race.
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