How many Melbourne Cups did Phar Lap win?

While some 154 different horses have won the Melbourne Cup, none have captured the imagination quite like Phar Lap did. But how many times did Australia’s most famous racehorse actually win the race that stops a nation?

Phar Lap ran in the Melbourne Cup three times between 1929 and 1931. However, his only win in the race came during his incredible 1930 season, when he also won the Cox Plate and 14 other weight-for-age races. He paid 8/11 odds for his Melbourne Cup victory that year – still the shortest winning price in history.

Although he won the race only once, Phar Lap’s Melbourne Cup legacy goes deeper than that. The great gelding finished third in 1929, going down to Nightmarch in the first instalment of a riveting rivalry with his half-brother. In 1931, he managed eighth place while carrying one of the top weights on record in the race’s history – a whopping 10st 10lb (68kg).

2021 Melbourne Cup Field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Twilight Payment	Joseph O’Brien	Jye McNeil	2	58kg	$11
2	Incentivise	Peter Moody	Brett Prebble	16	57kg	$2.50
3	Spanish Mission	Andrew Balding	Craig Williams	14	57kg	$9
4	Verry Elleegant	Chris Waller	James McDonald	19	57kg	$15
5	Explosive Jack	C Maher & D Eustace	John Allen	4	54kg	$51
6	The Chosen One	M Baker & A Forsman	Damian Lane	5	54kg	$61
7	Delphi	A & S Freedman	Damien Oliver	3	53.5kg	$41
8	Ocean Billy	Chris Waller	Damian Thornton	13	53.5kg	$101
9	Selino	Chris Waller	Ron Stewart	24	53.5kg	$151
10	Johnny Get Angry	Denis Pagan	Lachlan King	22	53kg	$101
11	Knights Order	G Waterhouse & A Bott	Daniel Stackhouse	9	53kg	$201
12	Persan	C Maher & D Eustace	Luke Currie	11	53kg	$31
13	Carif	P & P Snowden	Blaike McDougall	8	52.5kg	$201
14	Master Of Wine	Team Hawkes	Fred Kersley	6	52.5kg	$101
15	Pondus	Robert Hickmott	Rachel King	1	52.5kg	$41
16	Grand Promenade	C Maher & D Eustace	Kerrin McEvoy	21	52kg	$21
17	Miami Bound	Danny O’Brien	Patrick Moloney	17	52kg	$151
18	Port Guillaume	Ben & JD Hayes	Harry Coffey	23	52kg	$151
19	She’s Ideel	Bjorn Baker	Craig Newitt	20	52kg	$101
20	Future Score	Matt Cumani	Dean Yendall	15	51.5kg	$301
21	Tralee Rose	Symon Wilde	Dean Holland	12	51kg	$17
22	Floating Artist	C Maher & D Eustace	Teo Nugent	10	50kg	$18
23	Great House	Chris Waller	Michael Dee	7	50kg	$31
24	Sir Lucan	G Waterhouse & A Bott	Glen Boss	18	50kg	$26