Melbourne-Cup-2005
British-bred Australian thoroughbred racehorse Makybe Diva made history on November 1, 2005 by becoming the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup, three consecutive times. Jockey Glen Boss rode Makybe Diva in all three of her Melbourne Cup wins. This was the fifth win for the mare's trainer Lee Freedman. He said after the Melbourne Cup 2005 race, "Go and find the youngest child on the course, because that's the only person here who will have a chance of seeing this happen again in their lifetime." During the presentation of the Melbourne Cup 2005, owner Tony Santic announced that Makybe Diva would "retire from racing as of today".
Makybe Diva's Melbourne Cup 2005 winning time was 3m 19.17s. It was less than three seconds outside Kingston Rule's record time set in 1990 and the 13th fastest cup ever. On A Jeune stood second, while Xcellent finished third.
The trophy awarded since 1919 is a gold cup worth $75,000 at 2005 prices. The Melbourne Cup 2005 winning trainer and jockey also received a miniature replica of the cup and the strapper was awarded the Tommy Woodcock Trophy, named after the strapper of the legendary Phar Lap. Total prize money for Melbourne Cup 2005 stood at $AU5.1 million.
The Melbourne Cup 2005 carnival held before a crowd of 106,479, entertained Melbourne, with the weather steadily improving as race time approached. A total of 383,784 race fans attended the Melbourne Cup 2005 carnival annual event. The year's Federation Square events for Melbourne Cup 2005 included live concerts, all the action from the track on the big screen, autograph sessions with the stars of the turf and plenty of interactive activities. A new highlight in Melbourne Cup 2005 was the inaugural Melbourne Cup Carnival 'Hat Swap', where pre-loved hats were swapped through a silent auction process.
The Melbourne Cup 2005 field consisted of the following arranged in the order of Number, Horse (Nation), Trainer, Jockey, Weight, Barrier:
- MAKYBE DIVA (GB), Lee Freedman, Glen Boss, 58, 14
- VINNIE ROE (IRE), Dermot K Weld, Pat Smullen, 58, 24
- DISTINCTION (IRE), Michael Stoute, Michael Kinane, 56.5, 21
- GREYS INN (USA), Mike De Kock, Weichong Marwing, 56.5, 13
- FRANKLINS GARDENS (GB), Mark Tompkins, Darryl Holland, 54.5, 10
- EYE POPPER (JPN), Izumi Shimizu, Shinju Fujita, 54, 9
- RAILINGS, John Hawkes, Greg Childs, 54, 5
- XCELLENT (NZ), Michael Moroney, Michael Coleman, 54, 17
- KINDJHAL (FR), David Hayes, Dwayne Dunn, 52.5, 12
- HUGS DANCER (FR), David Hayes, Nicholas Ryan, 52, 7
- DEMERGER, Danny O'Brien, Blake Shinn, 51.5, 4
- DIZELLE, John Hawkes, Darren Beadman, 51.5, 18
- LACHLAN RIVER (NZ), John Morrisey, Glen Colless, 51.5, 3
- PORTLAND SINGA (NZ), Neville McBurney, Larry Cassidy, 51.5, 1
- VOUVRAY (NZ), Peter G Moody, Scott Seamer, 51.5, 15
- ON A JEUNE, Peter Montgomerie, Darren Gauci, 51, 11
- UMBULA, Mick Price, Stephen Baster, 51, 8
- BAZELLE (NZ), Paul Jenkins, Rhys McLeod, 50.5, 22
- ENVOY (NZ), Ken Kelso, Peter Mertens, 50.5, 2
- RIZON, Cliff Brown, Jay Ford, 50.5, 16
- STRASBOURG, Bart Cummings, Luke Nolen, 50.5, 6
- LEICA FALCON, Richard Freyer, Kerrin McEvoy, 50, 20
- MR CELEBRITY (NZ), Gai Waterhouse, Danny Beasley, 49.5, 19
- KAMSKY, Bart Cummings, Craig Williams, 48.5, 23
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