1975 Melbourne Cup Explained

1975 Melbourne Cup
Horse Race:Melbourne Cup
Location:Flemington Racecourse
Date:4 Nov 1975
Distance:3200m
Winning Horse:Think Big
Winning Time:3:29.6
Final Odds:33/1
Winning Jockey:Harry White
Winning Trainer:Bart Cummings
Winning Owner:Dato Tan Chin Nam, Rick O'Sullivan & Tunku Abdul Rahman
Conditions:Slow
Surface:Turf
Previous:1974
Next:1976

The 1975 Melbourne Cup was a handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 4 November 1975 over 3200m, at Flemington Racecourse.

Background

The race was won by the gelding Think Big, trained by Bart Cummings and ridden by Harry White. The combination of Think Big, Bart Cummings and Harry White had also won the 1974 Melbourne Cup. The runner up was Holiday Waggon also trained by Bart Cummings, and third place went to Medici.[1] The winning margin was three quarters of a length with three lengths to third place.

This win gave Bart Cummings his fifth Melbourne Cup win equaling the record of Etienne L. de Mestre in the period 1861 to 1878. It was also Bart's fourth quinella of the race. Bart went on to record twelve Melbourne Cup training victories.[2] [3]

Bred by the estate of the late L. A. Alexander, Think Big was purchased by Bart for Dato Tan Chin Nam at the Trentham yearling sales in New Zealand at a price of $10,000. Think Big was sired by Sobig and his dam Sarcelle was by Oman.[4]

As well as the two victories on Think Big, Harry White also won the 1978 Melbourne Cup on Arwon and the 1979 race on Hyperno.[5] [6]

Field

The following are the placegetters in the 1975 Melbourne Cup.[7]

PlaceHorseWeight (kg)TrainerJockey
1st58.5Bart CummingsHarry White
2ndHoliday Waggon50Bart CummingsJohn Duggan
3rdMedici (NZ)46Maurice D Hennah[8] Malcolm Johnston

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Past Winners - 1971 to 1980 Melbourne Cup Winners - Races.com.au. 22 September 2009. www.races.com.au.
  2. News: Bart's Melbourne Cup winners . 8 November 2023 . Herald Sun.
  3. Web site: Bart Cummings – Twelve Melbourne Cups. Thirteen Australian Cups. www.vrc.com.au.
  4. Web site: Think Big racehorse Melbourne Cup winner 1974 - 75. www.racerate.com.
  5. Web site: Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Harry White dies, aged 78. 22 October 2022. racenet.com.au.
  6. Web site: Four-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey Harry White passes away aged 78 > Australia and International Horse Racing news updated daily. www.thoroughbrednews.com.au.
  7. Cummings, J.B. (2009). Bart: My life. Pan Macmillan, Australia.
  8. Web site: Canny Kiwi Maurice Hennah never gave up on Flemington goal. Max. Presnell. 29 October 2013. The Sydney Morning Herald.