- In a heart-pounding photofinish, Viewed won the 2008 Melbourne Cup, closely followed by Bauer, second, and C'est la Guerre, third. See blog.
The 2008 Melbourne Cup was the seventh race in a 10-race program at Flemington Racecourse on Novembert 4, the first Tuesday in November.
The Melbourne Cup, a Group 1 handicap race over 3200 metres, was run just after 3pm, Australian eastern daylight saving time. It has a total prizemoney of $5,650,000, including trophies.
Unbroken tradition
The Melbourne Cup has been run each year without fail since 1861. The 2008 Melbourne Cup was the 148th in an unbroken series.
The 24 horses running in the 2008 Melbourne Cup were made known after the running of the last race on Victoria Derby Day, the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day.
And then there were 22
On Monday, the day before Melbourne Cup Day, it was announced that $71 chance Zarita had been scratched due to a virus, reducing the field to 23 runners.
By nightfall, $81 chance Yellowstone was also scratched due to failure to recover from injury, reducing the field further.
Questions about favorite Septimus being able to handle a hard track lengthened her odds to $5.50 in the early morning of Cup day, placing English racehorse Mad Rush ahead in the betting at $5.
Septimus' price lengthened further during the day but the Irish racehorse remained in the top three of betting.
Earlier scratchings
Scratched before the announcement of the 24 Melbourne runners were last year's Melbourne Cup winner, Efficient, and 2008 Caulfield Cup winner, All the Good. Both had been well fancied Cup hopes.
The runners
These were the runners announced for the 2008 Melbourne Cup:
Racehorse, Barrier Draw, Jockey, Weight
- Septimus (10) J P Murtagh 58.5
- Master O'Reilly (6) V Duric 55
- Honolulu (24) Colm O'Donoghue 54.5
- C'est La Guerre (5) B Prebble 54
- Nom Du Jeu (1) J Lloyd 54
- Yellowstone (12) J F Egan 54 - SCRATCHED
- Zipping (16) D Nikolic 54
- Mad Rush (4) D Oliver 53.5
- Ice Chariot (22) M Rodd 53
- Viewed (9) B Shinn 53
- Littorio (17) S R King 52.5
- Bauer (13) C W Brown 52
- Boundless (20) G J Childs 52
- Gallopin (21) J Winks 52
- Guyno (8) C Newitt 52
- Zarita (7) D Dunn 52 - SCRATCHED
- Newport (15) Chris Symons 51.5
- Profound Beauty (2) G Boss 51.5
- Red Lord (14) Nicholas Hall (a) 51.5
- Varevees (23) Craig Williams 51.5
- Prize Lady (18) M C Sweeney 51
- Alessandro Volta (11) W M Lordan 50.5
- Barbaricus (3) S Baster 50.5
- Moatize (19) Ms C Lindop 50
Lead-up Races
Lead-up races to the Melbourne Cup during the 2008 spring racing carnival included:
- Turnbull Stakes at Flemington Racecourse on October 4
- Caulfield Cup at Caulfield Racecourse on October 18
- Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse on October 25
Melbourne Cup winners
Melbourne Cup winners and placegetters since 2000:
2000 - Brew, Yippyio, Second Coming
2001 - Ethereal, Give the Slip, Persian Punch
2002 - Media Puzzle, Mr Prudent, Beekeeper
2003 - Makybe Diva, She's Archie, Jardines Lookout
2004 - Makybe Diva, Vinnie Roe, Zazzman
2005 - Makybe Diva, On a Jeune, Xcellent
2006 - Delta Blues, Pop Rock, Maybe Better
2007 - Efficient, Purple Moon, Mahler
2008 - Viewed, Bauer, C'est la Guerre
