The 2015 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 155th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 3 November 2015 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse. The date is a public holiday in the state of Victoria. The final field for the race was declared on 31 October.^[2] The total prize money for the race was A$6.2 million, the same as the previous year.^[3]

The winner was Prince of Penzance, ridden by Michelle Payne, who became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.^[4]

Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.^[5]

Background

Prior to the race, racehorse advocacy groups and animal rights activists attempted to highlight the number of racehorse deaths due to injuries sustained during a race.^[6] The deaths of two horses in Melbourne Cup 2014 race^[7] has called into question the use of the whip and whether it results in unnecessary harm to the animal.^[8] Racing Australia has since amended its rules governing the use of the whip, effective from 1 December 2015.^[9]

Race summary

Prince of Penzance, ridden by jockey Michelle Payne, won the race. He was trained by Darren Weir, who has since been banned from horseracing & charged with animal cruelty offences.^[10]

Max Dynamite ran second and Criterion third.^[5]

Prince of Penzance pulled ahead of the front-runners only around 100m from the finish of the race,^[11] surprising many, including Payne.^[12] Payne's technique focused on galloping, due to her belief that doing so was key to winning.^[12]

Field

№	Horse		Trainer(s)		Jockey		Weight	Barrier	Place
1		Snow Sky		Sir Michael Stoute		Ryan Moore	58 kg	16	23
2		Criterion		David Hayes Tom Dabernig		Michael Walker	57.5 kg	4	3
3		Fame Game†		Yoshitada Munakata		Zac Purton	57 kg	12	13
4		Our Ivanhowe		Lee Freedman Anthony Freedman		Ben Melham	56 kg	22	10
5		Big Orange		Michael Bell		Jamie Spencer	55.5 kg	23	5
6		Hartnell		John O'Shea		James McDonald	55.5 kg	17	15
7		Hokko Brave		Yasutoshi Matsunaga		Craig Williams	55.5 kg	20	17
8		Max Dynamite		Willie Mullins		Frankie Dettori	55 kg	2	2
9		Red Cadeaux		Ed Dunlop		Gérald Mossé	55 kg	8	DNF
10		Trip To Paris		Ed Dunlop		Tommy Berry	55 kg	14	4
11		Who Shot Thebarman		Chris Waller		Blake Shinn	54.5 kg	6	11
12		Sky Hunter		Saeed bin Suroor		William Buick	54 kg	7	22
13		The Offer		Gai Waterhouse		Damien Oliver	54 kg	13	8
14		Grand Marshall		Chris Waller		Jim Cassidy	53.5 kg	15	21
15		Preferment		Chris Waller		Hugh Bowman	53.5 kg	11	20
16		Quest For More		Roger Charlton		Damian Lane	53.5 kg	21	9
17		Almoonquith		David Hayes Tom Dabernig		Dwayne Dunn	53 kg	10	18
18		Kingfisher		Aidan O'Brien		Colm O'Donoghue	53 kg	9	19
19		Prince of Penzance		Darren Weir		Michelle Payne	53 kg	1	1
20		Bondi Beach		Aidan O'Brien		Brett Prebble	52.5 kg	18	16
21		Sertorius		Jamie Edwards		Craig Newitt	52.5 kg	5	12
22		The United States		Robert Hickmott		João Moreira	52.5 kg	3	14
23		Excess Knowledge		Gai Waterhouse		Kerrin McEvoy	51 kg	24	7
24		Gust Of Wind		John Sargent		Chad Schofield	51 kg	19	6

† Indicates race favourite

Fatalities

Three-time cup runner-up Red Cadeaux did not finish,^[13] suffering a suspected fracture in the left fetlock,^[14] a joint above the hoof similar to an ankle in humans.^[15] The gelding was taken to a veterinary clinic for surgery.^[16] Red Cadeaux's trainer initially announced that the horse would likely recover, but retired from racing.^[16] However, on 21 November, Red Cadeaux was euthanised, due to complications from the injury.^[17][18]

See also

• List of Melbourne Cup winners
• List of Melbourne Cup placings

References