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MELBOURNE CUP PEODIGIES The Melbourne Cup last was run for on its sixty-first anniversary. The first owner of a Melbourne Cup winner was Mr. de Mestre, father of the present Newmarket trainer of S. B. Joel. The winner was Archer, by Atfilliam Tell, which in 1861 carried 133 pounds to victory in 3 :52, ridden by Cutler, and won again the following year with 142 pounds in 3:17, Cutler again riding him. It i3 safe to assume that the cjas3 was not really high in those days, but the Melbourne Cup caught the public fancy from the start and in the early list of winners Tim Whiffler, Briseis, Chester, Grand Flaneur, Martini Henry, Malua and Sheet Anchor will always be remembered. The deified one of all the winners was Carbine, which won easily under the welter burden of 145 pounds from a field of thirty-eight in 1890. This, however, hardly surpassed the performance of Wakeful, which in the Melbourne Cup of 1903 her last race carried 110 pounds in a field of twenty-four, and was beaten by only three-quarters of a length by Lord Cardigan, nine-two pounds. Judges know, to some extent, what manner of horses these Melbourne Cup Avinners were, for two of them, Newhaven and The Grafter, run and Avon in England. No second-class English horse would have had a chance to do great things if imported to Australia in those daya Merman and Maluma, not to mention Australian Star, effectually demonstrated it when they were sent to England and proved most formidable winners and stayers.
