1875 Melbourne Cup

1875 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
LocationFlemington Racecourse
Date9 November 1875
Distance2 miles
Winning horseWollomai
Winning time3:38.0
Final odds16/1
JockeyRobert Batty
TrainerStephen Moon
OwnerJohn Cleeland
SurfaceTurf
Attendance≈100,000

The 1875 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 9 November 1875.[1]

This year was the fifteenth running of the Melbourne Cup. This would be the first year of the race being held on a Tuesday.[2][3] The day was a declared public holiday in Victoria in recognition of the 34th birthday of the then Prince of Wales Edward.[4]

There were 29 runners that had declared to run in the race, with Imperial and Kingsborough the favoured horses in early betting.[3] The top-weighted horse was John Tait's Goldsborough, who had finished seventh the previous year. 1874 Melbourne Cup winner Haricot was expected to run well again, although stable-mate Nimrod was more fancied. Following its win in the Victoria Derby, John Tait's horse Melbourne was the subject of many bets, more so than the horse it defeated in heavy conditions in that race, Richmond.[5]

A total of 20 runners made their way to the start after a number of horses were withdrawn on race day, including two nameless colts owned by Etienne de Mestre.[a][5] The weather for the race day was overcast and windy, and showers began as the field made their way to the start.[7] Goldsborough and Nimrod had the best of the start, with Polidori racing to the front before the first turn.[6] Down the back straight, Nimrod bolted interfering with Sterling,[6] and by the time the horses approached the mile marker Polidori had run its race and started to drop backwards. Goldsborough led the field for a time, but it was Coquette that would lead at the final turn. On the Flemington straight, Coquette wasn't able to hold off Goldsborough, but it was Wollomai that galloped clear to win by two lengths, Richmond rushed home past tiring runners to claim second place by some distance from Goldsborough in third.[7][8] Bringing up the rear of the field were Calumny, Mohican and Calaba.[6]

Wollomai was a surprise winner,[9] having not been featured in much of the pre-race chatter,[7] with observers suggesting the horse was "too fat" and lacking fitness to cover the two miles.[8] Trainer Stephen Moon had taken over the preparation of the horse just months before the Cup after the horse was transferred from William Lang.[10] Wollomai was owned by John Cleeland who operated the Albion Hotel on Bourke Street, the hub of operations for Cobb & Co coaches.[7][8] Cleeland at the time raced his horses under the alias Mr H. Sharpe.[10] He had previously won the Australian Cup with Shenandoah in 1868.[11] Cleeland would later name his homestead on Phillip Island after the horse.[12] Before its win in the Melbourne Cup, Wollomai had won the 1875 Midsummer Handicap on New Year's Day at Flemington and won two races at Warrnambool including the 1875 Warrnambool Cup.[13]

The winning jockey was Scottish-born Robert Batty who was 20-years-old when he won the Melbourne Cup, having won the inaugural Newmarket Handicap on board Maid of Avenel in 1874.[10]

It was estimated that there were 100,000 spectators at Flemington Racecourse, far exceeding the number from previous years,[9] although a notable absentee for the time was the Acting-Governor of Victoria, Sir William Stawell.[7]

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1875 Melbourne Cup.[2][14][1][10][3][15][6][8]

Place Horse Age
Gender 		Jockey Weight Trainer Owner Odds Margin
1 Wollomai 6y h Robert Batty 7 st 8 lb (48.1 kg) Sam Harding John Cleeland[b] 16/1 2 lengths
2 Richmond 3y c George Williams 6 st 3 lb (39.5 kg) Eli Jellett 16/1 4 lengths
3 Goldsborough 5y h Jimmy Ashworth 9 st 9 lb (61.2 kg) John Tait John Tait 10/1
4 Loquacity 3y f John Kilduff[c] 5 st 9 lb (35.8 kg) Tom Jordan Gabriel Bennett 50/1
5 Coquette 4y m W. Howard 6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg) Mr W. McKenzie 33/1
6 Imperial 6y g Joe Morrison 8 st 4 lb (52.6 kg) William Samuel Cox 3/1 fav.
7 Dilke 4y h Sam Cracknell 6 st 2 lb (39.0 kg) Mr G. Atkinson 10/1
8 Kingsborough 4y h William Yeomans 8 st 11 lb (55.8 kg) Hercules Robinson 5/1
9 Kincrachnie Aged m W. McLeod 6 st 3 lb (39.5 kg) Mr D. McLellan 14/1
N/a Sterling 4y h M. Bryan 8 st 7 lb (54.0 kg) Thomas Ivory 16/1
N/a Melbourne 4y h H. Grubb 8 st 6 lb (53.5 kg) John Tait John Tait 20/1
N/a Haricot 5y g Lynch 8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg) Thomas Chirnside & Andrew Chirnside 14/1
N/a Scanmag 4y h McInnes 7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg) Mr G. Livingstone 20/1
N/a Nimrod 6y g Green 7 st 2 lb (45.4 kg) Thomas Chirnside & Andrew Chirnside 20/1
N/a West Australian 5y h Cleary 6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg) Thomas Ivory 20/1
N/a Kingfisher Aged g Ridley 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg) Andrew Town 7/1
N/a Polidori 4y h Hummerston 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg) James Edward Warby 20/1
N/a  Calumny (NZL) 6y m H. Lewis 9 st 3 lb (58.5 kg) Mr J.B. Wallis 50/1
N/a Mohican 4y g Harden 6 st 2 lb (39.0 kg) Mr S.P. Winter 50/1
Last Calaba 6y h Snarey 6 st 12 lb (43.5 kg) Sam Waldock 50/1
SCR Dante 5y h N/a 8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg) William Filgate William Filgate N/a
SCR Benjiroo 7y h N/a 7 st 3 lb (45.8 kg) William Samuel Cox N/a
SCR Burwood 5y h N/a 7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg) Mr W. Archer N/a
SCR The Deer Aged g N/a 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg) Mr J.S. Solomon N/a
SCR Maid Of All Work 3y f N/a 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg) James Wilson N/a
SCR Ivanhoe 6y g N/a 6 st 3 lb (39.5 kg) Mr R. Fulton N/a
SCR The Painter 3y c N/a 6 st 0 lb (38.1 kg) Charles Brown Fisher N/a

Prizemoney

First prize £1265, second prize £50, third prize £20.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ One of the colts known as the "Sylvia colt" won at short odds the Maiden Plate, the race before the Melbourne Cup.[6]
  2. ^ Listed under the alias Mr H. Sharpe in contemporary references.
  3. ^ Also known as Jack Kilduff

References

  1. ^ a b c "1875 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b "1871 to 1880 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Victoria Racing Club - The Cup Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 9 November 1875. p. 6. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  4. ^ "News of the Day". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 9 November 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Sporting Notes". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 9 November 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Second (Cup) Day - Tuesday, Nov. 9". The Australasian. Melbourne, Victoria. 13 November 1875. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Victoria Racing Club Spring Meeting - The Cup Day". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 10 November 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9781742035093.
  9. ^ a b "News of the Day". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 10 November 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b c d "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  11. ^ "John Cleeland". cleeland.org. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  12. ^ "WOLLOMAI HOUSE". Victorian Heritage Database. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  13. ^ "The Melbourne Cup". The Brisbane Courier. Brisbane, Queensland. 10 November 1875. p. 5. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  14. ^ Cavanough, Maurice (1978). The Melbourne Cup (8 ed.). p. 445. ISBN 0727004859.
  15. ^ "The Cup Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 10 November 1875. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 8 January 2026.


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