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Will Bart Cummings win the 2010 Melbourne Cup with champion 4YO horse So You Think, the winner of the 2009 and 2010 Weight for Age Championship of Australia, the W. S. Cox Plate?

In 2008 the 5YO horse, Viewed, trained by the legendary Bart Cummings, ridden by top jockey Blake Shinn and owned by Dato Tan Chin Nam won the Melbourne Cup. Viewed started at $41.00 with the bookies and paid best tote odds of $46.50. Last year Viewed, ridden by Brad Rawiller, won the Caulfield Cup, and then followed that up with a good third in the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes on Derby Day - both these races historically have been great form guides for the Melbourne Cup. So on paper Viewed was in the 2009 Melbourne Cup with a massive chance of winning the Melbourne Cup two years in a row, but failed to finish in the top four.

The 2009 Melbourne Cup was won by 4YO horse Shocking trained by Mark Kavanagh and ridden by Corey Brown. Shocking won a Group 3 Handicap at Flemington on Derby Day over 2500 metres and was only handicapped at 51 kg. in the Melbourne Cup. In the bookmaker betting ring Shocking firmed from $17.00 to start at $14.00 while best tote odds were $14.10.

In 2007 the 4YO gelding Efficient, officially trained by Graeme Rogerson, ridden by outstanding jockey Michael Rodd and owned in a partnership that included Lloyd Williams, won the Melbourne Cup. Efficient started at $17.00 with the bookies and paid best tote odds of $24.10.

Efficient was the 2006 Group 1 3YO Victoria Derby winner at Flemington over 2500 metres, but had never raced over the Melbourne Cup distance of 3200 metres. Efficient's lead up race to the Melbourne Cup was a disappointing ninth in the Group 1 Weight for Age Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, beaten over six lengths by the winner, El Segundo. Most recent Melbourne Cup winners have had a win or a strong result in their lead up race to the Cup.

In 2005 the champion 7YO mare Makybe Diva won the Cox Plate and followed up that win by creating equine history, becoming the first horse to win three consecutive Melbourne Cups. She also carried equal top weight of 58kg.; the same weight as the 7YO Irish champion horse, Vinnie Roe.

Here are some interesting betting tips and facts about the Melbourne Cup:

1. The Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861. Archer easily won that race over two miles in a time of 3:52.00s. In 1968 Rain Lover set  the two miles race record time of only 3:19.10s.

2. In 1972 the race was converted to the metric distance of 3200 metres which is 18.69 metres or 61.30 feet short of  two miles. There is no doubt that some of the metric winners would not have won had the race remained two miles or, as many people wanted at the time, been changed to 3218.7 metres.

3. The metric record of  3:16.30 was set by Kingston Rule in 1990.

4. In 1985 the race reached $1 million dollars in prize money for the first time. What A Nuisance, ridden by Pat Hyland, won the $650,000 first prize. In 2008 prize money was $5,500,000 with $3,300,000 for the winner, Viewed.

5. Jim Cummings trained one Cup winner, Comic Court in 1950. In 1965 his son Bart trained  his first Melbourne Cup winner, the four year old mare Light Fingers. Bart Cummings holds the trainers' record having trained an incredible 12 winners. He won the race in 2008 with Viewed. His previous win in the race was in 1999 with Rogan Josh. However in 2001 and 2002 Bart Cummings missed out on getting a runner into the Cup field. In 2003 he had a runner, the 4YO horse Frightening, which was ridden by Shayne Dye and in 2005 the 6YO gelding, Strasbourg, which was ridden by Luke Nolen. Bart Cummings's next Melbourne Cup runner was in 2007, the 4YO gelding, Sirmione, which was ridden by Peter Mertens, but was unplaced.

6. When Ethereal won the Melbourne Cup in 2001, Sheila Laxon was the first woman trainer to officially win the Melbourne Cup. However Catalogue who won the 1938 Cup was trained by Mrs. A. McDonald. Women then could not be registered as trainers. It was her husband who was the registered trainer.  
 
7. The two most successful Melbourne Cup jockeys are Bobbie Lewis and Harry White with four wins each.

Bobby Lewis won on The Victory 1902, Patrobas 1915, Artilleryman 1919 and Trivalve 1927. He finished second four times and third on Phar Lap in 1929. Had the race been run then under Quality Handicap conditions, like it is now,  which means a compressed weight scale, there is no doubt Phar Lap would have won very easily.

Harry White won on the Bart Cummings' trained Think Big in 1974 and 1975. Think Big did not win a race in between those two Melbourne Cup wins. Harry White also won on Arwon in 1978 and another  Bart Cummings' trained horse Hyperno in 1979. So Harry White also holds a unique record of two Melbourne Cup doubles!

Glen Boss has three wins thanks to his success on the champion mare Makybe Diva.
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