Melbourne Cup 2025 Recap: Half Yours wins race that stops nation in thrilling finish
Racing: The Melbourne Cup has been run and won with pre-race fancy Half Yours claiming the race that stops the nation!
More than 30mm of rain hit Melbourne in the 24 hours before the race while another 1-10mm was forecast for Cup day, including showers in the afternoon for the day’s feature race at midday (WA time).
But the weather held as history was made again.
Recap the news and developments as they happened below!
The heavens have opened at Flemington
Right on cue the heavens have opened at Flemington and the crowd has been left scrambling for umbrellas.
Infield bookmakers were seen grabbing into their stand rails as the rain began to hammer down, further adding to punters stress levels as they launch into last minute wagers.
With a little over 30 minutes to go it will be nearly impossible for stewards to change the grade of track condition if the downpour continues.
Big Dance run and won
Across the border at Randwick in NSW, the biggest race on the cards there is in the books.
Gringotts ($3.10) with Nash Rawiller on board goes back-to back after holding off Vivy Air and Lugh in the closing stages.
Race 6 PROTEST!
In a less than ideal preparation for the Melbourne Cup, jockey Ethan Brown fired in a protest after Race 6 at Flemington.
Brown rode the second placed Saint George and wanted stewards to check the finish against winner Kingswood.
The protest has been dismissed but stewards and jockeys have lost precious time before the big race.
Final lead-in race done
We’ve seen the last race at Flemington before the big one.
John Allen has saluted on Kingswood, which was a $4.50 chance.
It’s continued a theme of no major long-shots winning in any of the six lead-in races, with $5 the longest odds to salute.
Will that pattern continue with one of the leading contenders taking out the Melbourne Cup?
Recent history has been most unkind to favourites, with only Fiorente in 2013 winning as the shortest-priced horse since Makybe Diva’s last run 20 years ago.
Ernie Manning’s Cup tip
The West’s esteemed racing writer Ernie Manning has just about seen it all in 50 years of covering Melbourne Cups!
This is a great read about his career - and of course, who he’s selecting to get the job done in an hour from now.
Weather update
It’s looking a bit more promising at Flemington as the sun pokes through some cloud cover!
The forecast is for it to stay fairly dry across the next hour or so in the lead-up to the midday race, and then showers returning from about that time onwards.
Craig Williams saluted in race 5 on Litzdeel, which was a $5 chance. He’s set to ride $11 shot Buckaroo in the Cup.
J-Mac’s big win for charity
James McDonald has also enjoyed some winning form in the lead-up to his Melbourne Cup ride on Meydaan.
The star jockey scored a race 4 victory on Pallaton, which is great news for Tom Prebble’s fundraiser. McDonald announced he’s set to donate today’s winnings to Prebble, an apprentice jockey who is now paraplegic after a race-day fall at Warrnambool in September.
Those interested can donate to the cause here.
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Zahra’s strong early form
Mark Zahra has been on two of the past three Melbourne Cup winners, and he’s again firmly in the conversation to salute today as he climbs aboard Al Riffa - the $7.50 favourite.
And he’s made a winning start to his Cup day at Flemington.
Zahra has produced victories in race two - with $4.60 Party Crasher - and race three with similar $4.60 hope Different Gravy.
For punters who keep a strong eye on form, it’s a promising sign.
Weather latest
It’s wet in the Victorian capital, with one of the dampest Melbourne Cups in recent times on the cards.
Two-and-a-half hours out from the main race, it’s not currently raining, but there’s plenty of cloud cover and a soft track under foot.
More showers are forecast for this afternoon, with 1-10mm on the cards across the coming hours as we tick past noon local time.
It comes after more 30mm hit Melbourne over the past 24 hours.
The forecast maximum is a chilly 17C.
