1880 Melbourne Cup

1880 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
Image of Grand Flaneur
LocationFlemington Racecourse
Date2 November 1880
Distance2 miles
Winning horseGrand Flaneur
Winning time3:34.75
Final odds4/1
JockeyTom Hales
TrainerTom Brown
OwnerWilliam Long
SurfaceTurf
Attendance≈100,000

The 1880 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 2 November 1880.[1]

This year was the twentieth running of the Melbourne Cup. The winner Grand Flaneur holds the distinction of being the only horse to win the Melbourne Cup and finish its career undefeated.[2] Grand Flaneur won nine times including five times against the James Wilson trained Progress.[2] Ridden by Peter St Albans, Progress started 3/1 favourite but Grand Flaneur at 4/1 won by a length despite carrying an extra stone in weight. Grand Flaneur would go on to sire future cup winners Bravo and Patron.[3]

The race

In perfect weather conditions,[4][5] 22 runners started the race, the fewest since 1875.[5] Progress and Grand Flaneur were the two standout horses before the race, with the pair having battled it out in the Victoria Derby on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup, with Grand Flaneur winning by a length.[6] The other favoured runner was Lord Burghley who was to be ridden by Paddy Piggott. Previous winners Chester ((1877) and Darriwell (1879) were both expected to feature prominently again in the running.[6] New Zealand import Mata was also expected to run well.[5]

Following a slight delay to the start due to the notoriously "wicked" Lothair kicking out and potentially injuring Darriwell,[6] Elastic led the field for a short while, but it would be Lothair to lead at the first turn, with Richmond and Secundus at the rear of the field.[5] Down the riverside, Totalisator and Riverton held the advantage ahead of Chester,[5] with the three favourites well placed. It would be Lord Burghley in front at the final turn entering the Flemington straight, but Progress shot pass to take what looked to be a winning lead. That was until Tom Hales on board Grand Flaneur came hard on the outside for the unbeaten horse to kick home to win by a length. Progress again finished second behind Grand Flaneur, with Lord Burghley taking third place ahead of Lothair and Richmond.[6]

It was Hales' first Melbourne Cup victory for the popular jockey with reporters stating that he "never rode a better race in his life."[6]

Grand Flaneur was owned by William A. Long, a representative in the New South Wales parliament. Long had purchased the horse as a yearling and left Grand Flaneur with trainer Tom Brown when the horse was in Sydney and sometimes in the care of Melbourne trainer A. Davis when stabled for racing in Victoria. The horse won its first start in the Normanby Stakes at Flemington on New Year's Day in 1880, but injury forced the horse to be spelled at Hawkesbury through the 1880 Autumn racing season. Grand Flaneur returned to racing in September 1880, winning the AJC Derby after starting as 2/1 favourite, beating home Trevallyn and Lord Lisgar in a tight finish. After winning another race at Randwick Racecourse, Grand Flaneur was taken to Melbourne for the VRC Spring Meeting. In heavy rain, Grand Flaneur won the Victoria Derby on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup, beating Progress by a length, with the two horses well clear of the rest of the field. By becoming the third horse to win the Victoria Derby/Melbourne Cup double, following Lantern (1864) and Chester (1877), Grand Flaneur had won Long almost £20,000 in betting on the races.[7][6]

This edition of the race was held during the Melbourne International Exhibition, the eighth World's fair and the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. The influx of visitors lead to an even greater attendance than previous editions of the race, with estimates of over 100,000 spectators at the course.[4][7][6]

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1880 Melbourne Cup.[2][8][1][9][10][11][12][6][5]

Place Horse Age
Gender 		Jockey Weight Trainer Owner Odds Margin
1 Grand Flaneur 3y c Tom Hales 6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg) Tom Brown William Alexander Long 4/1 1 length
2 Progress 3y c Peter St Albans 5 st 10 lb (36.3 kg) James Wilson William Branch 3/1 fav. ½ head
3 Lord Burghley 5y h Paddy Piggott 7 st 5 lb (46.7 kg) Thomas Ivory Francis Robert Lewis Rossi[a] 4/1 3 lengths
4 Lothair 3y c Sam Cracknell 6 st 0 lb (38.1 kg) Robert Howie Robert Howie 20/1
5 Richmond 8y h Barlow 7 st 12 lb (49.9 kg) Eli Jellett 16/1
6 Chester 6y h Huxley 9 st 6 lb (59.9 kg) James White 20/1
7 Martindale 6y h Conner 8 st 7 lb (54.0 kg) James White 33/1
8 Auckland (later Maori) 6y h Donald Nicholson 6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg)[b] Mr R. Warn 12/1
9 Riverton 5y h Burton 7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg) John Whittingham 100/1
10 The Wandering Jew 4y h John Kilduff[c] 7 st 0 lb (44.5 kg) Tom Jordan John Eden Savill 100/1
11  Mata (NZL) 6y g Clifford 8 st 2 lb (51.7 kg) Mr R.H. Vallance 7/1
12 Rivalry 4y m William Murphy 7 st 8 lb (48.1 kg)[d] Tom Jordan Tom Jordan 50/1
13 Totalisator 3y c Bowes 5 st 9 lb (35.8 kg) Mr J.H. Hill 25/1
14 First Water 4y h Campbell 8 st 1 lb (51.3 kg) Tom Jordan William Pile 20/1
15 Napper Tandy 5y h Williamson 7 st 1 lb (44.9 kg) Mr W.H. Kent 12/1
16 Secundus 5y h Roarty 7 st 10 lb (49.0 kg)[e] John Mayo 25/1
17 Rothschild (later The Assyrian) 3y c Quinn 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg) Tom Jordan William Pile 100/1
18 Elastic 4y h Emsworth 6 st 13 lb (44.0 kg) John Mayo 33/1
19 Woodlands 6y g J. King 8 st 10 lb (55.3 kg) Mr T. Jones 33/1
20 Banter 9y g J. Geoghegen 7 st 13 lb (50.3 kg) Mr C.L. Macdonald 100/1
21 Bosworth 5y h Walker 8 st 8 lb (54.4 kg) Eli Jellett 25/1
Last Darriwell 6y h M. O'Brien 8 st 7 lb (54.0 kg) William E. Dakin Thomas Elder 12/1
SCR South Hamilton 4y h N/a 8 st 1 lb (51.3 kg) James Wilson William Branch
SCR Imperial 11y g N/a 7 st 6 lb (47.2 kg) N/a William Samuel Cox
SCR Trevallyn 3y c N/a 6 st 10 lb (42.6 kg) N/a Mr S. Martin
SCR Geraldine 3y f N/a 6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg) Tom Brown William Alexander Long
SCR Pawnbroker 4y h N/a 6 st 8 lb (41.7 kg) N/a Mr R.T. Moore
SCR Respite 3y c N/a 6 st 7 lb (41.3 kg) James Wilson James Wilson
SCR Lord Lisgar 3y c N/a 5 st 10 lb (36.3 kg) N/a Francis Robert Lewis Rossi[f]
SCR Stockbridge 9y h N/a 7 st 6 lb (47.2 kg) N/a James Bathe

Prizemoney

First prize £1485, second prize £200, third prize £100.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sometimes known as Captain Rossi
  2. ^ Was supposed to carry 6st 5lb
  3. ^ Also known as Jack Kilduff
  4. ^ Was supposed to carry 7st 3lb
  5. ^ Was supposed to carry 7st 7lb
  6. ^ Sometimes known as Captain Rossi

References

  1. ^ a b c "1880 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "1871 to 1880 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  3. ^ O'Reilly, Paddy (2016). "Grand Flaneur (1880)". Facts, Stats & Trivia of The Melbourne Cup. Melbourne: New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd. p. 29. ISBN 9781742579054.
  4. ^ a b "Sporting News". Illustrated Australian News. Melbourne, Victoria. 6 November 1880. p. 199. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "The Cup Day". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 3 November 1880. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Second Day - Tuesday Nov. 2". The Australasian. Melbourne, Victoria. 6 November 1880. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  7. ^ a b Ibbett, Ian (24 December 2017). "1880 – William Long and the Unbeaten Grand Flaneur!". Kings of the Turf. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  8. ^ Cavanough, Maurice (1978). The Melbourne Cup (8 ed.). p. 445. ISBN 0727004859.
  9. ^ "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  10. ^ "The Victoria Racing Club". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 2 November 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  11. ^ Reubertstein. The History of the Melbourne Cup from 1861 to 1894 (1895 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: James J. Miller. pp. 32–34.
  12. ^ Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 48–49. ISBN 9781742035093.


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