Peter MacDonald
When Australians talk about the Melbourne Cup, it’s often framed as the nation’s signature sporting event: “the race that stops a nation”. Yet the truth is far more trans-Tasman than that. New Zealand horses, breeders, trainers and owners have had an outsized influence on the cup, arguably shaping its greatest moments more than Australians themselves.
Horse racing has long been known as the ‘sport of kings’ and, in Australia, that description fits its origins. Thoroughbred racing was established and organised primarily by the wealthy colonial elite, army officers, landholders and government officials, not the working class. The first official race meeting in Sydney in 1810 was arranged by officers of Governor Macquarie’s 73rd Regiment and subsequent events were led by men of wealth and social status.
By contrast, horse racing in New Zealand had a far different beginning. It was not founded by nobility or officers but by ordinary settlers and working folk who brought with them a love of horses and competition. Introduced by English visitors and colonists in the early days of settlement, the sport quickly took root among local communities. Farmers, labourers and enthusiasts raced their own horses on rough paddock tracks, as still happens today in many rural districts – a pastime of the people rather than the privileged. It was this grassroots spirit that built the foundation of New Zealand’s racing industry and still shapes its character today.
New Zealand, like Ireland, produces remarkable horses. The secret lies in the lush, green pastures, nourished by rain and mineral rich soil. Just as in Britain the strength of great racehorses was once attributed to Scottish oats, the same oats that made Highlanders men of bold hearts, so too in New Zealand it is the land itself that feeds the muscle, spirit and endurance of its horses.
From Carbine in 1890 to Ethereal in 2001, New Zealand has quietly written much of the Melbourne Cup’s history. In total, over 40 winners have been New Zealand bred, an extraordinary record that underlines Kiwi excellence. As British author Jeffrey Archer once said, New Zealanders are a nation of achievers and nowhere is this more visible than on the turf at Flemington.
Among those champions was Baghdad Note, trained at Wingatui by Bob Heasley and ridden by leading New Zealand jockey E J Didham. In 1970, Baghdad Note came from behind to storm home in one of the most memorable Melbourne Cup finishes. That same year, the cup itself, displayed in the owner’s Dunedin home, was stolen in a burglary and never recovered. While insured, the loss made trophy premiums unrealistic in later years. Struck in 18-carat gold and weighing over 1.65 kilograms, the Melbourne Cup is today valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars – not pure gold, but gold enough to never lose its shine.
Another unforgettable moment came in 1983, when a horse fittingly named Kiwi stormed from the back of the field to seize victory in the final strides. Trained by Snow Lupton of Waverley and ridden by Jim Cassidy, Kiwi’s run from nowhere stunned Australia and delighted New Zealand – his name forever stamping Kiwi pride onto the Melbourne Cup itself.
Over the decades, New Zealand-bred winners have also carried some of the cup’s most distinctive and character filled names: Kiwi, Baghdad Note, Think Big (a dual winner), Hi Jinx, Empire Rose, What a Nuisance, Tawrrific, Jezabeel, Gold and Black and Ethereal, names that still resonate with punters and romantics alike. Each carries a piece of New Zealand’s character, bold, humble, and built for endurance.
No story about the Melbourne Cup, or horse racing itself, would be complete without mention of Phar Lap. Phar Lap’s heroic performance in 1930 captured the world’s imagination. The most famous horse in the world, he encapsulated the Melbourne Cup – a New Zealand bred horse from Timaru. His potential was spotted by a shrewd Australian trainer who took a gamble on him, much to the ridicule of other horsemen. Yet, as the saying goes, you can never judge a good book by a bad cover. Phar Lap was a rough diamond: unchiselled rock hiding brilliance.
Born in Timaru in 1926 and later trained in Australia, Phar Lap became more than just a racehorse: he became a legend that both nations proudly claim. His heart, weighing 6.2 kilograms, was nearly twice that of an average horse – a fitting symbol of his courage and endurance.
Following his mysterious death in California in 1932, Phar Lap’s remains were shared between the two countries: his skeleton rests in Te Papa, his hide at the Melbourne Museum and his great heart in the National Museum of Australia. It’s a strangely poetic division, a kind of eternal partnership between the two racing nations that shaped him. Phar Lap’s story captures the essence of the trans-Tasman relationship: rivalry, respect and shared pride. While Australians call him their champion and New Zealanders point to his birthplace, both sides know that greatness like his could only have come from the combination of Kiwi breeding and Australian opportunity.
Ironically, this spirit is mirrored today in the flow of people and talent between the nations. New Zealanders flock to Australia for work, sport and opportunity and the Australian economy benefits from that Kiwi diaspora. Begrudgingly or not, both nations recognise that when Kiwi and Aussie talent combine, they can change and shake the world, just as the great Phar Lap did nearly a century ago.
As the saying goes, he had “a heart as big as Phar Lap”, and that heart continues to beat in the shared racing spirit of New Zealand and Australia, in every Kiwi horse that thunders down the straight at Flemington, in every triumphant ride and in every proud cheer from across the Tasman.
Perhaps that’s why, when the cup is run, it always feels, at least in part, like our race too, because, in truth, it is our race. While Australians proudly call it ‘the race that stops a nation’, across the Tasman it’s long been known as ‘the race that stops two nations’. For every roar that rises from Flemington, there’s an echo across New Zealand. To understand the Melbourne Cup, you must look across the Tasman, because its greatest champions, its legends and much of its soul are, in truth, New Zealand born.
