17 AUSTRALIAN CUP LUCKY FOR SOME: Peter Mertens rode Bart Cummings’ thirteenth Australian Cup winner, Sirmione, to perfection in a commanding win over a quality field in 2008. (Image: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images) weight-for-age. The determination he showed earned high praise from his jockey after winning from an almost impossible position. Just two years younger than the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Cup shares deep roots with its spring counterpart. Twelve horses feature on both honour rolls, and four—Tim Whiffler (1867), The Parisian (1911), Saintly (1996), and Makybe Diva (2005)—have completed the Australian Cup–Melbourne Cup double in the same year. Eleven winners have earned induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame: Malua, Leilani, Dulcify, Vo Rogue, Better Loosen Up, Let’s Elope, Saintly, Octagonal, Northerly, Lonhro, and Makybe Diva. The latter’s 2005 victory remains the fastest on record, and her elevation to Legend status saw her join racing’s greatest icon, J.B. “Bart” Cummings, who trained an extraordinary thirteen Australian Cup winners including Leilani, Hyperno, Let’s Elope, Saintly, and Dane Ripper. The Cummings dynasty continues through Bart’s great-grandsons: Edward, who won the 2022 edition with Duais, and James, who followed with Cascadian’s back-to-back triumphs in 2023 and 2024. The riding honours go to Thomas Hales who rode an astonishing eight winners of the Australian Cup between 1875 and 1890. More recently Harry White rode five winners, three of them aboard Bart Cummingstrained runners.
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