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1871 Melbourne Cup

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1871 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
LocationFlemington Racecourse
Date9 November 1871
Distance2 miles
Winning horseThe Pearl
Winning time3:39.00
Final odds100/1
JockeyJohn Kavanagh
TrainerJohn Tait
OwnerJohn Tait
SurfaceTurf
Attendance40,000
← 1870
1872 →

The 1871 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 9 November 1871.[1]

This year was the eleventh running of the Melbourne Cup. It was the third Melbourne Cup win for owner and trainer John Tait.[2]

The Pearl was one of four horses to win the Melbourne Cup at 100/1. Wotan (1936), Old Rowley (1940) and Prince of Penzance (2015) being the other three.

Before the day of the race, Pyrrhus was heavily backed and was the favoured of the two runners owned and trained by John Tait. Previous winner Nimblefoot wasn't as favoured, although the horse that it beat by a half head in 1870, Lapdog was said to have been better prepared for a good run.[3] Lapdog's stablemate Romula would start favourite. Following a win in the Essendon Stakes during November, Mermaid was fancied by a few punters, while the lightly-raced Cleolite also attracted attention following the death of owner John Moffatt in the months prior to the race. Small grey horse Saladin was high on the betting sheets following a win in the Hotham Handicap. Previous winners Warrior and Glencoe were less fancied to feature in the placings, while Little Dick was noted as one to watch.[3]

After morning showers, the weather didn't brighten much for the race in the afternoon. Due to a public holiday,[4] the attendance at Flemington Racecourse was one of the largest seen, with the course crowded hours before the commencement of the race.[5]

There was be 23 starters for the race following the withdrawals of Lottery and Hamlet.[5] Saladin led the field ahead towards the first turn, but as the field rounded the turn, The Monk fell and Lord of Lynne threw its jockey. Both jockeys needing medical attention.[5] The fall almost took out Glencoe and a couple of other runners.[4] Barbelle took the lead down the back straight, with Saladin retaking the lead before the turn for home. Under the whip entering the Flemington straight, The Pearl dashed clear with Romula gamely keeping up, and it would be the 100/1 outsider The Pearl that was in front by two lengths at the winning post.[4] It was John Tait's third Melbourne Cup triumph as owner/trainer, following wins with The Barb (1866) and Glencoe (1868).[5][4]

Following the race, the owner of second-placed finisher Romula protested against the winner, claiming that jockey John Kavanagh had struck Romula's jockey James Wilson Jr, but the protest was dismissed after a short deliberation by the stewards. Irish King was awarded third place ahead of Saladin.[5][6]

A training accident had seemingly discounted The Pearl's chances in the Melbourne Cup, with Tait uncertain that the horse would start.[7]

The Melbourne Cup was The Pearl's fourth win in 21 races,[5] while winning jockey John Kavanagh also won the 1865 Melbourne Cup riding Toryboy.[8][9] Writing in The Age Kavanagh described the finish of the race:

The horse was covered with froth about the shoulders, and I kept saying to myself "I wish this was the post. I wish this was the post." I could feel Romula's breath puffing hot on my right leg. All at once I knew we were past the post by a tremendous big shout. I felt just as if I could fall off the horse. Then I dropped back upon the saddle, and the horse eased off with the rest. Almost before I could turn, there was a monster crowd of people all around me cheering, and so we went back to the stand.[10]

Full results

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This is the list of placegetters for the 1871 Melbourne Cup.[11][12][1][8][3][5][4][13]

Place Horse Age
Gender 		Jockey Weight Trainer Owner Odds Margin
1 The Pearl 5y h John Kavanagh 7 st 3 lb (45.8 kg) John Tait John Tait 100/1 2 lengths
2 Romula 4y m James Wilson Jr 7 st 10 lb (49.0 kg) James Wilson Joe Thompson 3/1 fav. 1 length
3 Irish King 3y c Haughey 6 st 0 lb (38.1 kg) James J. Miller 50/1 ½ neck
4 Saladin Aged g Dan Robinson 6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg) Dan Robinson Mr J.R. Crocke 7/1
5 Little Dick 5y g T. Brown 8 st 8 lb (54.4 kg) Mr W. Winch 7/1
6 Mermaid 5y m William Simpson 8 st 10 lb (55.3 kg)[a] James Wilson Mr E. Twomey 14/1
7 Pyrrhus 4y h Shields 6 st 12 lb (43.5 kg) John Tait John Tait 10/1
8 Cleolite 4y m Johnny Day 6 st 9 lb (42.2 kg)[b] John Moffatt (deceased) 5/1
9 The Baron 6y g Bryan 7 st 5 lb (46.7 kg) Mr W. Winch 33/1
N/a Duke of Montrose Aged h Fleeson 6 st 12 lb (43.5 kg) Mr J. Brown 33/1
N/a Glencoe 7y h William Lang 9 st 8 lb (60.8 kg) William Lang Horatio Huntly Hoskins 25/1
N/a Nimblefoot 8y g Charles Stanley 9 st 2 lb (58.1 kg) William Lang Horatio Huntly Hoskins 33/1
N/a Barbelle 6y m Joe Kean 8 st 0 lb (50.8 kg) Edward Lee 25/1
N/a Bylong Aged h Bennett 7 st 7 lb (47.6 kg) Thomas Ivory 18/1
N/a Warrior 8y g William Yeomans 8 st 10 lb (55.3 kg) Robert Standish Sevior Austin Saqui 20/1
N/a Valentine 6y m Hiram Howard 7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg) Henry Bowler 25/1
N/a Aruma Aged m J. Sherringham 6 st 9 lb (42.2 kg) Mr J. Ilhffe 25/1
N/a Rambler Aged g Chalker 6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg) Phil Glenister 100/1
N/a Lapdog 7y g Savage 7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg) James Wilson Mr J. Gilbert 5/1
N/a The Foam 5y m McInnes 7 st 5 lb (46.7 kg) William Lang Mr J. Arthur 100/1
N/a Praetor Aged h Mathieson 7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg) Mr P. Lewis 25/1
Fell The Monk 7y h William Enderson 7 st 2 lb (45.4 kg) Mr F. Henty 50/1
Fell Lord of Lynne 3y c Carey 5 st 7 lb (34.9 kg) Messrs H. & B. Allen 50/1
SCR Lottery 5y h N/a 7 st 7 lb (47.6 kg) N/a Mr T. Lamond N/a
SCR Hamlet 3y c N/a 6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg) N/a Mr P. Lewis N/a
SCR Miss Jessie 3y f N/a 5 st 12 lb (37.2 kg) James Wilson James Wilson N/a

Prizemoney

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First prize £1040, second prize £50, third prize £20.[1]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Was supposed to carry 8st 8lb
  2. ^ Was supposed to carry 6st 6lb

References

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  1. ^ a b c "1871 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  2. ^ Rutledge, Martha (1976). "Tait, John (1813–1888)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "THE VRC Spring Meeting - The Cup Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 9 November 1871. p. 7. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "The Cup Day". The Australasian. Melbourne, Victoria. 11 November 1871. pp. 10–11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "THE VRC Spring Meeting - The Cup Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 10 November 1871. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  6. ^ "WINNERS AND PLACED HORSES IN MELBOURNE CUP. 1861-1913". Winner. Melbourne, Victoria. 28 October 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  7. ^ Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 29–30. ISBN 9781742035093.
  8. ^ a b "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  9. ^ Kelly, Jen (28 October 2021). "Cup mystery solved". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: News Corporation Australia. p. 57.
  10. ^ "How the Melbourne Cup was won - The winning jockey's account of Pearl's victory". The Empire. Sydney, New South Wales. 20 November 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  11. ^ "1861 to 1870 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  12. ^ Cavanough, Maurice (1978). The Melbourne Cup (8 ed.). p. 445. ISBN 0727004859.
  13. ^ Reubertstein. The History of the Melbourne Cup from 1861 to 1894 (1895 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: James J. Miller. pp. 20–21.
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