The art of training a winner

Aside from the ability to complete the 3200 meters with a strong finishing burst, there is no direct correlation linking all the winners of the Melbourne Cup, other than their display of immense stamina on the first Tuesday in November at Flemington.

Several factors contribute to this performance, involving numerous decisions and planning, all wrapped in the inherent uncertainty of horse racing. However, there are often successful trends among winners, whether related to their training methods or breeding.

At one time, the prevailing formula for success was to have a busy spring leading up to the Melbourne Cup. There have been periods when New Zealand-bred horses dominated, only to be later replaced by Northern Hemisphere-bred horses.

Just when it seemed safe to say the race favoured Northern Hemisphere-bred horses – either brought over with their trainers for the Melbourne Cup or trained in Australia – this trend has changed with the last two winners, Knight’s Choice and Half Yours, being Australian-bred and prepared.

BART CUMMINGS ERA

Bart Cummings developed a successful formula for winning the Melbourne Cup, achieving 12 victories. His contemporaries also embraced this strategy.

Cummings’s approach involved ensuring his Melbourne Cup contenders had completed a total of 10,000 metres in their lead-up races, with their final preparatory race typically on Victoria Derby Day, often featuring a New Zealand-bred galloper.

His horses usually began their campaigns in August with the Aurie’s Star Handicap and had their last lead-in race for the Melbourne Cup in either the Mackinnon Stakes (now the TAB Champions Stakes) or the Hotham Handicap (now the Lexus Archer Stakes), held just four days before Australia’s most prestigious race. Times have changed significantly; the TAB Champions Stakes is now held on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and the Hotham Handicap is currently known as The Lexus Archer.

To illustrate that there isn’t a specific type of horse that wins Melbourne Cups, Cummings’ winners varied greatly, from the small Light Fingers to the more ungainly Hyperno.

HOLD YOUR HORSES

In this century, a notable trend emerged in the Melbourne Cup: a Northern Hemisphere-bred horse, either trained in Australia or sourced from abroad, won 11 of the 14 Cups held from 2010 to 2023. The only Australian-bred winner during this period was Vow And Declare, trained by Danny O’Brien, in 2019. Additionally, New Zealand-bred horses achieved victories with Prince Of Penzance in 2016 and Verry Elleegant in 2021. These foreign bred horses were represented by six winners, all trained in Australia.

However, the results of the last two Melbourne Cups have defied this trend, as Australian-bred horses Knight’s Choice (2024) and Half Yours (2025) claimed victory. Half Yours faced significant odds, being the only Australian-bred horse in the race last year, while Knight’s Choice was one of three Australian-bred horses competing in the Lexus Melbourne Cup. Half Yours co-trainer Tony McEvoy stated that recent results have provided a significant boost for local trainers and breeders, showing that winning the race is achievable for anyone in the industry.

“I’ve seen a lot of Melbourne Cups, and winners can come from anywhere, but Half Yours, Knight's Choice and Vow And Declare have changed the face of the Cup,” McEvoy said.

“They aren’t Europeans, and they haven’t got the big European staying pedigrees that have been dominating for many years. Those three horses are standouts as they were bred here and not from big staying pedigrees.”

NORTHERN STATE PREPARATIONS

Local trainers closely observed the practices of their European counterparts and adopted similar strategies.

Between 2019 and 2025, several Lexus Melbourne Cup winners competed in Queensland during the winter carnival, including Vow And Declare, Without A Fight (trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman), Half Yours, and Knight's Choice. Gold Trip and Verry Elleegant also participated in the winter races in Sydney. The only exception was Twilight Payment, trained by Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien, who did not race in a Northern State during that period.

Danny O’Brien noted that he took particular inspiration from Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh, who won the Melbourne Cup in 2009 with Shocking after having raced in Queensland as a three-year-old.

O’Brien observed that many European trainers are travelling to Australia with horses that are effectively three years old and would greatly benefit from the journey. He noted that Vow And Declare only had two races in Melbourne during the spring before the Lexus Melbourne Cup, specifically the Turnbull Stakes and the Caulfield Cup.

McEvoy echoed this sentiment, noting that Half Yours was immature when he campaigned in Queensland and that it experienced significant growth during that time. He pointed out that local trainers have adopted strategies from European trainers by running their young horses in the middle of the year, but instead of targeting Ascot, they are focusing on Queensland.

Both Laxon and O’Brien agreed that our stayers benefit from training in an English style, which involves a lot of slow work and minimal racing. “It seems to be a formula that’s working; similar to the European horses who also race in June. Rather than starting from scratch in August, this approach appears to be more effective,” O’Brien said.

WHEN ARE HORSES TARGETED FOR THE CUP?

Sheila Laxon has the distinction of having trained two Melbourne Cup winners: Ethereal in 2001 and Knight’s Choice, which she co-trained with her partner John Symons. Laxon mentioned that after Knight’s Choice won the Winx Guineas at the Sunshine Coast as a three-year-old, she told his connections that he could win the Lexus Melbourne Cup – and she was proven right 16 months later.

“We went out to dinner that night. I said to everyone this horse can win the Melbourne Cup because what I saw in that Winx Guineas was the turn of foot you need to win a Melbourne Cup.”

“He’s got exactly what you need. He’s a horse who can sprint off a mark, he’s got good overdrive and an incredible attitude, and he’s got the best wind and lung capacity of any horse I’ve ever dealt with. “Everybody said, ‘he’s by Extreme Choice, so don’t be ridiculous.’ If they’ve got that innate speed ability, you can develop them to do whatever you want them to do,” she said.

Laxon noted that both Knight’s Choice and Ethereal benefited from being trained at Macedon Lodge, where they were able to gradually build their fitness by working up the hills and then maintain it. She explained that the Melbourne Cup came onto Ethereal’s radar after her Caulfield Cup victory; prior to that, they had planned to head to Hong Kong with her.

Danny O’Brien recalled that he first considered the Lexus Melbourne Cup for Vow And Declare after the horse won an 1800m three-year-old event on Oaks Day, the year before his Cup victory.

“We knew he would go further. We set him for the Queensland Derby, which he ran second in, and then he won the Tatts Cup against the older horses, which was over 3000m. After that, we were bullish on his Lexus Melbourne Cup chances.”

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER

Laxon’s two Melbourne Cup winners were both small but had the ability to sprint quickly. She noted that Knight’s Choice weighed only 484 kilograms, while Ethereal was 473 kilograms on Melbourne Cup Day.

“Knight's Choice and Ethereal were quite small compared to most horses, but being small and agile gives them the chance to get out of problems and be able to sprint off the mark,” Laxon said.

O’Brien remarked that when Vow And Declare won the Lexus Melbourne Cup, he was a “rangy, lean horse.” However, as he aged, he thickened and gained weight, making it difficult for him to run the 3200 metres.

“He got older and heavier, and as a result, he didn’t stay as well. As a five, six and seven-year-old, he was forty kilos heavier and had thickened up, so 2400m was his optimum distance.”

While there is no set formula for winning the Lexus Melbourne Cup, there is a growing consensus that a long, gradual buildup is necessary. The McEvoy stable had Half Yours in training for nearly a year. And though nothing is certain in the quest for victory, it is clear that an agile, lean, and super-fit horse is essential to win Australia’s most prestigious race.