Toparoa | |
---|---|
Sire | Massowa |
Grandsire | Massine |
Dam | Miss Sally |
Damsire | Posterity |
Sex | Gelding |
Foaled | 1948 |
Country | New Zealand |
Colour | Bay |
Owner | Norm McDonald |
Trainer | T J Smith |
Jockey | Neville Sellwood |
Major wins | |
Melbourne Cup (1955) |
Toparoa (foaled 1948) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse that was most notable for winning the 1955 Melbourne Cup.
Toparoa started as the 6/1 second favourite in the 1955 Melbourne Cup. Holding favouritism at 2/1 was future Hall of Fame champion Rising Fast who was attempting to go back-to-back after winning the race in 1954. [1]
Rising Fast carried the top weight of 10 stone (63.5 kilograms), whilst Toparoa with jockey Neville Sellwood carried just 7 stone 8 pound (48 kilograms). [2]
Toparoa was able to hold off the fast finishing Rising Fast to win the race by three quarters of a length and give trainer T J Smith his first winner of the Melbourne Cup. Sellwood was subsequently suspended for two months for causing interference to Rising Fast during the race, however controversy followed when no protest was lodged and Toparoa remained the winner. [3]
Sire Massowa (GB) 1939 | Massine (FR) 1920 | Consols | Doricles |
---|---|---|---|
Console | |||
Mauri | Ajax | ||
La Camargo | |||
Evangeline (GB) 1933 | Press Gang | Hurry On | |
Fifinella | |||
Daughter-in-Law | Son-in-Law | ||
Clerical Error | |||
Dam Miss Sally (NZ) 1937 | Posterity (GB) 1926 | Son-in-Law | Dark Ronald |
Mother in Law | |||
Hemlock | Spearmint | ||
Keystone | |||
Miss Thespian (NZ) 1925 | Thespian | Absurd | |
Leta | |||
Sea Elf | Seaton Delaval | ||
St Evelyn |
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous annual Thoroughbred horse race. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 pm on the first Tuesday of November and is known locally as "the race that stops the nation".
The W.S. Cox Plate is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres, held at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late October. The race has a purse of A$5,000,000.
The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 metres at the Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in mid October. The prize money is A$5,000,000.
Northerly was an Australian racehorse who is considered arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersley, won nine Group One (G1) races, including the Australian Cup twice, and the Cox Plate, regarded as the Weight for Age championship of Australasia, also on two occasions.
Might and Power was a New Zealand bred, Australian owned and trained Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australian Horse of the Year in 1998 and 1999. As a four-year-old, Might And Power won the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, and returned at five to become only the second horse in the history of Australian racing to win both Cups and the Cox Plate. He also won a number of other weight-for-age races in this period, including the Mercedes Classic, the AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Doomben Cup. A strong, free-striding front-runner, he broke course records in winning the Caulfield Cup, the Doomben Cup, and the Cox Plate, and won a number of races by big margins.
Rising Fast was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is the only horse to complete the Spring Grand Slam, winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Cox Plate in 1954. He also won the 1955 Caulfield Cup and came second in the 1955 Melbourne Cup.
The LKS Mackinnon Stakes, raced as the Paramount+ Mackinnon Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Saturday after the Melbourne Cup. Total prize money is A$2,000,000.
High Caste was a Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion that was bred in New Zealand and was considered the best two-year-old in New Zealand after winning three of his four race starts. He was a good racehorse under handicap and weight for age conditions and combined this with wins in good races from 5 furlongs to 1+3⁄4 miles (2,800 m), carrying up to 10 stone 6 pounds.
Thomas John Smith was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales.
William James Williamson was an Australian jockey who enjoyed considerable success in Australia during the 1950s and in Europe during the 1960s. He was named after his father William James Williamson, a machinist, and his wife Euphemia Agnes.
Viewed was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 148th Melbourne Cup on 4 November 2008.
Tulloch was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the greatest Australian stayers.
Delta (1946–1960) was a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse who raced from a two-year-old to a six year-old from distances of 6 furlongs to 2 miles. Champion jockey Neville Sellwood won 22 races including the 1949 VRC Derby, 1949 Cox Plate and the 1951 Melbourne Cup. Neville Sellwood was also the regular jockey of the champions Tulloch and Todman. Purchased by owner Adolph Basser for £2,665 at the 1948 Sydney yearling sales he was trained by former jockey and successful trainer Maurice McCarten. He died at Widden Stud in 1960.
The Neville Sellwood Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred quality handicap horse race, for horses aged four years old and older, over a distance of 2000 metres, held annually at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Total prize money for the race is A$160,000.
Neville Francis "Nifty" Sellwood was an Australian jockey who was known for, among other victories, riding Delta and Toparoa to victory in the 1951 and 1955 Melbourne Cup races, respectively. He also rode Larkspur to victory in the 1962 Epsom Derby. The Neville Sellwood Stakes, hosted by the Australian Turf Club, was named in honour of him.
Prince Cortauld, was a brown Thoroughbred stallion, performing in Australia trained by Australian Racing Hall of Fame trainer Maurice McCarten raced from a two-year-old to a five-year-old recording 25 wins from 5 furlongs to 1¾ miles with champion jockey Neville Sellwood winning 19 races.
Kysaiah "Kozzy" Pickett is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, he is 1.71 metres tall and weighs 72 kilograms (159 lb).
Verry Elleegant is a New Zealand-bred Australian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She was crowned the 2020/2021 Australian Racehorse of the Year, and was the winner of the 2021 Melbourne Cup and 2020 Caulfield Cup, as well as 8 other Group One races.
The 1997 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 4 November 1997. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), at Flemington Racecourse.
The 1954 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 2 November 1954.