1884 Melbourne Cup

Annual horse race in Victoria, Australia May 2022 May 2022 1884 Melbourne Cup Melbourne Cup Malua.jpg 1884 Melbourne Cup winner Malua Flemington Racecourse 4 November 1884 2 miles Malua 3:31.75 6/1 Alec Robertson Isaac Foulsham John Ord Inglis Turf ≈100,000 1883 1885 The 1884 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 4 November 1884. This year was the twenty-fourth running of the Melbourne Cup. The race was won by five-year-old stallion Malua, owned by John Ord Inglis. Entries and odds Praised before the race as "the greatest horse in the country" and as "having the greatest dash of foot of any horse we have seen this season,"The Melbourne Cup https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/23308755 5 February 2026 Sportsman 3 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 1 Malua was the pundits pick to win the race after winning the Melbourne Stakes on the Saturday before the race. The only query was whether it could finish strongly across the two miles. Finishing a strong second in the Hotham Handicap, Hastings was seen as a strong chance across the two mile distance, with the horse eventually starting as the 5/1 favourite. Coming off a third placed finish in the Victoria Derby, Bargo was considered the strongest colt in the field following good form in Sydney, including winning the AJC Derby.Ibbett Ian 1884 – Newmarket – and the Hon. James White! https://www.kingsoftheturf.com/1884-newmarket-and-the-hon-james-white/ Kings of the Turf 6 February 2026 29 December 2017 After winning the Caulfield Cup at long odds, Tasmanian horse Blink Bonny showed that it would be hard to beat in the race, having beaten short-priced favourite Vergy.Caulfield Cup Day https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/23308747 6 February 2026 Sportsman 22 October 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 1 (supplement) Of the other runners, there was some support for Off Colour, Hilltop and Claptrap. Missing from the field were 1883 runners Le Grand, Despot and winner Martini-Henry,The Melbourne Cup https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/18362073 6 February 2026 The Age 4 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 5 with Martini-Henry retired to stud after being injured running unplaced in the 1884 Caulfield Cup.In the days of Martini-Henry https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154817908 6 February 2026 Sporting Judge 2 November 1914 Melbourne, Victoria 1 Also not in the field was 1884 Metropolitan Handicap winner Sir Modred, while five-time winning trainer Etienne de Mestre was a notable absentee after financial and health problems saw his estate auctioned off in late 1883.Ibbett Ian 1882 – The Fall of the Master of Terrara! https://www.kingsoftheturf.com/1882-the-fall-of-the-master-of-terrara/ Kings of the Turf 28 January 2026 27 December 2017 For the second year in a row, Commotion was the top-weighted runner, carrying 9 st 12 lb kg 1 on, slightly less than what it had been handicapped when finishing third in 1883. The race thumb|Illustrations of the 1884 Melbourne Cup published in The Illustrated Australian News From the initial entry of 134 runners,Racing - The Melbourne Cup and Champion Entries https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/6050654/268866 6 February 2026 The Argus 3 June 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 6 24 horses headed to the start under cloudless skies with a hint of a breeze.Cup Day https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197039220/21344566 6 February 2026 The Leader 8 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 7 An even start saw Hill Top find its way to the front of the field, in front of Vergy, Signor and Anchorite. Off Colour and Plausible brought up the rear of the field. Signor led the field past the stands and around the first turn, maintaining a lead of a length ahead of The Broker down the riverside part of the course. The Plunger made a move at the top of the course, but was running against Lord Clifden while trying to go forward. Able to shake loose, The Plunger took the lead as Signor faded, leading a pack which included Bargo, Hill Top, The Broker, Commotion, Plausible, Malua and Hastings. At the final turn, The Plunger led by three lengths from Commotion. Down the Flemington straight, The Plunger tired badly with Commotion taking the lead ahead of Plausible.To some observers it looked like Commotion had the race in its control, but down the outside Malua came with a rush, taking the lead in the final stages to win by half a length from a gallant Commotion. Plausible was third by more than two lengths having lost ground by swerving on the straight, heading a large group of runners. Bristol, Tremando, Claptrap and Merrimu the last to cross the line. The finishing time was the third fastest in the Melbourne Cup's history. A brown-bay five-year-old stallion, Malua was bred in Tasmania and purchased by Thomas Reibey as a yearling where it raced under the moniker of Bagot. The horse was sold at auction to John Ord Inglis for £500 in November 1882. Malua won the Newmarket Handicap earlier in 1884, also winning the Oakleigh Handicap and Adelaide Cup, then the Spring Stakes at Randwick in the spring season before the Melbourne Cup. As described in The Leader: The Melbourne Cup of 1884 will long remain memorable for being associated with the victory of one of the best, if not the best, racehorses that ever tred Australia's turf. The performance was an equine triumph of the most pronounced order, and the style in which Malua cut down his field at the end of a severe two mile struggle under the crushing impact of 9st 9lb will not easily be obliterated from the memories of the thousands and tens of thousands who witnessed the spectacle. It was the conquest of a great horse in a great race and under what more judges of racing considered an annihilating burden. Nevertheless Malua accomplished the task assigned to him with comparitive ease, for there can be no mistaking that electric dash of his when he cut down the stable associates Commotion and Plausible in the last furlong, as if they were nothing more than a pair of common hacks.Turf Topics and Anticipatons https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197039432/21344576 6 February 2026 The Leader 8 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 17 It was the first Melbourne Cup win for owner John Ord Inglis, trainer Isaac Foulsham and jockey Alec Robertson. It was reported that Robertson rode "with commendable patience" to win the race in the final stages. It was again estimated that a crowd of over 100,000 patrons attended the racecourse, with the "national holiday... rapidly becoming of wide intercolonial significance." At least half of those in attendance had made their way to the racecourse via railway using Melbourne's Spencer Street railway station. Full results This is the list of placegetters for the 1884 Melbourne Cup.1881 to 1890 Melbourne Cup Winners http://www.races.com.au/melbourne-cup/melbourne-cup-history/past-winners/1881-to-1890-melbourne-cup/#1884 races com au 21 September 20211881 to 1890 Melbourne Cup Winners http://www.races.com.au/melbourne-cup/melbourne-cup-history/past-winners/1881-to-1890-melbourne-cup/#1881 races com au 12 November 2021WINNERS AND PLACED HORSES IN MELBOURNE CUP. 1861-1913 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155526601 12 January 2026 Winner 28 October 1914 Melbourne, Victoria 4Cavanough Maurice The Melbourne Cup 1978 0727004859 445 81884 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide http://millersguide.identika.com.au/1884-melbourne-cup/ millersguide.identika.com.au 4 February 2026 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20220314095017/http://millersguide.identika.com.au/1884-melbourne-cup/ 14 March 2022Melbourne Cup Winners - 1881-1900 https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/melbourne-cup-winners-honour-roll/1881-1900/ Victoria Racing Club 5 November 2025Rolfe Costa Winners of the Melbourne Cup 2008 Red Dog Fitzroy, Australia 9781742035093 55–59Reubertstein The History of the Melbourne Cup from 1861 to 1894 James J. Miller Melbourne, Australia 40–42 1895The Eve of the Cup https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/270125 6 February 2026 The Argus 4 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 7Cup Day https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/270141 6 February 2026 The Argus 5 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 5-7The Second (Cup) Day https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197039409/21344578 6 February 2026 The Leader 8 November 1884 Melbourne, Victoria 19-20 PlaceHorseAgeGenderJockeyWeightTrainerOwnerOddsMargin1Malua5y hAlec RobertsonRobertson Sometimes spelled Alick Robertson 9 st 9 lb kg 1 onIsaac FoulshamJohn Ord Inglis7/1½ length2Commotion6y hPower 9 st 12 lb kg 1 onFrancis DakinWilliam Pearson20/12½ lengths3Plausible5y gMurphy 6 st 13 lb kg 1 onFrancis DakinWilliam Pearson 10/14 lengths4Hastings (late Waterloo)5y hTeddy McGrade 7 st 13 lb kg 1 onC.T. RobertsMr T. Sampson5/1 fav. Favourite5Boolka5y hOlds 7 st 7 lb kg 1 on H. BellamyMr S. Miller33/16Battalious (late Brisbane)5y hJ. Kelso 7 st 7 lb kg 1 onDugganMr M. Griffin33/17Bargo3y cTom Hales 7 st 6 lb kg 1 on Michael Fennelly James White14/18The Plunger5y hPaddy Piggott 8 st 11 lb kg 1 on James Redfearn James Redfearn12/19Lord Clifden8y hR. Davis 7 st 0 lb kg 1 onLordClifden Was supposed to carry 6st 12lb E. Keys Mr E. Keys33/110Anchorite4y hT. Williams 6 st 11 lb kg 1 onAnchorite Was supposed to carry 6st 9lbJ.D. RobertsonMr D.M. Robertson50/111Lord Wilton4y hSanders 6 st 11 lb kg 1 on F. McNamaraMr E.W. Ellis50/112Brown and Rose3y fJim Gough 7 st 3 lb kg 1 onJ. BainesArthur F. Smart50/113Vergy4y hM. O'Brien 7 st 6 lb kg 1 onWilliam LangMr J.A. Lang12/114Off Colour4y hMoore 8 st 10 lb kg 1 on James WilsonWilliam Branch12/115Bonnie Bee8y gTrahan 7 st 5 lb kg 1 onJ. McDonaldMr W.J. Forrester50/116Hill Top5y hDonald Nicholson 7 st 2 lb kg 1 onJames RedfearnMr M. Jacobs12/117Blink Bonny6y mJohn WilliamsonWilliamson Also known as Jack Williamson 7 st 7 lb kg 1 onThomas WilsonRichard Gilbert Talbot25/1The Broker3y cEttridge 7 st 1 lb kg 1 on Joe Morrison Mr A.R. Robertson50/1Signor4y hG. Williams 6 st 13 lb kg 1 on W. Doyle Mr E.P. Wilson50/1Hippogriff3y cSam Cracknell 6 st 11 lb kg 1 on W.H. Gray Mr W.H. Gray33/1Bristol4y hBrickwood Colley 8 st 1 lb kg 1 on D. Lawson Mr J. Mondy50/1Claptrap5y hCharles Ivimy 7 st 4 lb kg 1 on J.R. Crooke John Whittingham25/1Tremando3y cBob Ellis 6 st 9 lb kg 1 on Michael Fennelly James White20/1LastMerrimu3y cBacchus 6 st 8 lb kg 1 on J.R. Crooke John Whittingham50/1SCR Scratched Guesswork 5y h8 st 12 lb kg 1 on James Wilson Jr. James Wilson Jr.SCR Scratched Warwick 4y h8 st 8 lb kg 1 on J. Baines Arthur F. SmartSCR Scratched Sir Garnet (late The Hebrew) 5y h7 st 8 lb kg 1 on C.L. McDonald Mr T. BarnfieldSCR Scratched Seahorse 3y c6 st 7 lb kg 1 on Robert Howie Robert HowieSCR Scratched Silver King 3y c7 st 0 lb kg 1 on James Wilson William Branch Prizemoney First prize £1977, second prize £300, third prize £200. See also Horses Sports Australia Melbourne Cup List of Melbourne Cup winners Victoria Racing Club Notes References External links 1884 Melbourne Cup footyjumpers.com 1884 Melbourne Cup Melbourne Cup Category:19th century in Melbourne Category:1880s in Melbourne