The 2015 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 155th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 3 November 2015 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse. The date is a public holiday in the state of Victoria. The final field for the race was declared on 31 October.[2] The total prize money for the race was A$6.2 million, the same as the previous year.[3]

2015 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
LocationFlemington Racecourse
Melbourne, Australia
Date3 November 2015
Winning horsePrince of Penzance
Starting price$101
JockeyMichelle Payne
TrainerDarren Weir
SurfaceGrass
Attendance101,015[1]
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Coming past the 300 meters, Excess Knowledge went to the lead narrowly, here's Prince Of Penzance coming on down the outside, Prince of Penzance for Michelle Payne. Now Max Dymanite starts to charge home. Prince of Penzance from Max Dymanite, Prince of Penzance it's history at Flemington, Michelle Payne! Prince of Penzance beat Max Dymanite.

Commentator Greg Miles describes the climax of the race

The winner was Prince of Penzance, ridden by Michelle Payne, who became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.[4]

Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.[5]

Background

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Prior to the race, racehorse advocacy groups and animal rights activists attempted to highlight the number of racehorse deaths due to injuries sustained during a race.[6] The deaths of two horses in Melbourne Cup 2014 race[7] has called into question the use of the whip and whether it results in unnecessary harm to the animal.[8] Racing Australia has since amended its rules governing the use of the whip, effective from 1 December 2015.[9]

Race summary

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Prince of Penzance, ridden by jockey Michelle Payne, won the race. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.[4]

Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.[5]

Prince of Penzance pulled ahead of the front-runners only around 100m from the finish of the race,[10] surprising many, including Payne.[11] Payne's technique focused on galloping, due to her belief that doing so was key to winning.[11]

Field

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Horse Trainer(s) Jockey Weight Barrier Place
1   Snow Sky   Sir Michael Stoute   Ryan Moore 58 kg 16 23rd
2   Criterion  
 
David Hayes
Tom Dabernig
  Michael Walker 57.5 kg 4 3rd
3   Fame Game†   Yoshitada Munakata   Zac Purton 57 kg 12 13th
4   Our Ivanhowe   Lee Freedman
Anthony Freedman
  Ben Melham 56 kg 22 10th
5   Big Orange   Michael Bell   Jamie Spencer 55.5 kg 23 5th
6   Hartnell   John O'Shea   James McDonald 55.5 kg 17 15th
7   Hokko Brave   Yasutoshi Matsunaga   Craig Williams 55.5 kg 20 17th
8   Max Dynamite   Willie Mullins   Frankie Dettori 55 kg 2 2nd
9   Red Cadeaux   Ed Dunlop   Gérald Mossé 55 kg 8 DNF
10   Trip To Paris   Ed Dunlop   Tommy Berry 55 kg 14 4th
11   Who Shot Thebarman   Chris Waller   Blake Shinn 54.5 kg 6 11th
12   Sky Hunter   Saeed bin Suroor   William Buick 54 kg 7 22nd
13   The Offer   Gai Waterhouse   Damien Oliver 54 kg 13 8th
14   Grand Marshall   Chris Waller   Jim Cassidy 53.5 kg 15 21st
15   Preferment   Chris Waller   Hugh Bowman 53.5 kg 11 20th
16   Quest For More   Roger Charlton   Damian Lane 53.5 kg 21 9th
17   Almoonquith  
 
David Hayes
Tom Dabernig
  Dwayne Dunn 53 kg 10 18th
18   Kingfisher   Aidan O'Brien   Colm O'Donoghue 53 kg 9 19th
19   Prince of Penzance   Darren Weir   Michelle Payne 53 kg 1 1st
20   Bondi Beach   Aidan O'Brien   Brett Prebble 52.5 kg 18 16th
21   Sertorius   Jamie Edwards   Craig Newitt 52.5 kg 5 12th
22   The United States   Robert Hickmott   João Moreira 52.5 kg 3 14th
23   Excess Knowledge   Gai Waterhouse   Kerrin McEvoy 51 kg 24 7th
24   Gust Of Wind   John Sargent   Chad Schofield 51 kg 19 6th

Indicates race favourite

Fatalities

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Three-time cup runner-up Red Cadeaux did not finish,[12] suffering a suspected fracture in the left fetlock,[13] a joint above the hoof similar to an ankle in humans.[14] The gelding was taken to a veterinary clinic for surgery.[15] Red Cadeaux's trainer initially announced that the horse would likely recover, but retired from racing.[15] However, on 21 November, Red Cadeaux was euthanised, due to complications from the injury.[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Track records and Attendances". Flemington.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  2. ^ 2015 Melbourne Cup Horses – racenet.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  3. ^ 2015 Melbourne Cup – HorseRacingInfo.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Darren Weir charged with animal cruelty offences". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Melbourne Cup 2015: Michelle Payne first woman to ride winner as long shot Prince of Penzance wins – as it happened". Guardian Australia.
  6. ^ "127 horses killed on Australian tracks in a year". News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Cup runner Admire Rakti died of heart attack, initial autopsy finds". ABC News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  8. ^ Chang, Charis (3 November 2015). "Courier Mail". Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Whips" (PDF). 2015 media releases. Racing Australia. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Fly Emirates Melbourne Cup 2015 Race (video)". Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Melbourne Cup: Michelle Payne lauds 'incredible' Prince Of Penzance after historic win". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Melbourne Cup 2015 results: finishing order". The Age (Australia). Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Red Cadeaux breaks down: Trainer Ed Dunlop confirms retirement of popular Melbourne Cup runner". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Red Cadeaux 'alive and well'". NewsComAu. NewsComAu. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Red Cadeaux to retire after Melbourne Cup injury". 9news. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  16. ^ "British Stayer Red Cadeaux Euthanized". bloodhorse.com. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Red Cadeaux euthanised after succumbing to injuries". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.