Melbourne Cup Week Legends: Phar Lap, Vain, and the Horses Who Took Over Flemington

Kristen Manning

Editor

Last updated: Thu 06 Nov 2025 04:17

Kristen Manning 06 Nov 2025

Share this article

Phar Lap, Vain, and Rising Fast achieved historic wins during the Melbourne Cup week.
Briseis and Don Juan, although lesser-known, made significant impacts in the racing world.
These horses' legacies continue to captivate racing enthusiasts today.

Australian racehorse Phar Lap, regarded by many as the greatest of all time, ridden by jockey Jim Pike. (Getty)

Melbourne Cup week has produced countless unforgettable stories, from Derby Day through to Champions Day. Horses from all backgrounds have risen to the occasion, making their mark in the history of the carnival.

Phar Lap – 1930; Four Starts, Four Wins
Vain – 1969; Three Starts, Three Wins
Rising Fast – 1954; Three Starts, Three Wins
Briseis – 1876; Four Starts, Three Wins
Don Juan – 1873; Four Starts, Four Wins

However, a select few have truly made the entire week their own. These legends didn’t just shine in one race but dominated the carnival, leaving their mark across multiple events.

Let’s take a look at some of these remarkable horses who made Flemington their stage and cemented their place in racing history.

Phar Lap – 1930; Four Starts, Four Wins

Phar Lap, the "Mighty Conqueror," is undoubtedly the king of them all. The legend made his first Melbourne appearance on November 2, 1929, where the AJC Derby winner claimed his second Classic victory. It was the same quinella in both the AJC and VRC Derbies, with Carradale finishing second in both. Phar Lap followed that up with a brave third in the Melbourne Cup, having pulled too hard early in the race, which was won by Nightmarch, another horse from the Night Raid stable who became the first to win both the W.S. Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year.

In the following spring, Phar Lap solidified his status as champion with 16 wins from 18 starts, including the W.S. Cox Plate and Melbourne Stakes (later known as the Mackinnon Stakes). That was a remarkable day for the champ, one filled with drama. On the morning of his victory, a failed shooting attempt on Phar Lap saw him whisked away to his hiding place at St Albans Stud near Geelong, arriving at 2:30 am the next day.

Three days later, after some low-key training at St Albans and Geelong, Phar Lap made his way back to Flemington, but not without a hitch. The truck transporting him had engine trouble, delaying his arrival. Despite this, Phar Lap was able to make it to his stall 40 minutes before the race, an arrival dramatically exaggerated in the movie.

The first odds-on favourite in the Melbourne Cup, Phar Lap was keen early off a slow pace but, along with three other runners, began to surge as the field entered the straight. Soon, he left the rest behind. Two days later, he backed up in the Linlithgow Stakes (1600m), where he defeated Mollison by four lengths. He then won the C.B Fisher Plate (2400m), with Second Wind, who had placed second in the Cup, again chasing him home.

In one week: Four starts, four wins – 2500m, 3200m, 1600m, 2400m.

Phar Lap went on to win another Cox Plate and, a year later, raced twice during Cup Week, including another Melbourne Stakes victory. However, his final Melbourne Cup appearance saw him finish eighth under a heavy weight.

Vain – 1969; Three Starts, Three Wins

Flemington’s 1968 carnival saw the second appearance of this brilliant chestnut with an eight-length win in the Maribyrnong Plate. Twelve months later, bigger and stronger at three, he returned to Headquarters for three of the four days. On Derby Day, he took on the older sprinters in the 1200m Craven 'A' Stakes (now the VRC Sprint Classic), winning by a record-breaking 12 lengths.

This victory was made even more remarkable by the fact it came just three weeks after he won the Caulfield Guineas over a mile, defeating the great Daryl’s Joy by three lengths. Vain didn’t race on Cup Day but returned on Oaks Day to contest the Linlithgow Stakes (1400m), where he won by six lengths in track-record time from Black Onyx.

On the final day, he set a weight-carrying record for a three-year-old, defeating the older horses in the George Adams Handicap (now the Cantala Stakes) over a mile. Legendary racing scribe Bert Lillye reported on that day that "Vain was accorded one of the best receptions ever seen at Flemington – worthy of Melbourne Cup success – and he thoroughly deserved it with his great win."

In one week: Three starts, three wins – 1200m, 1400m, 1600m.

The George Adams Handicap was to be Vain’s final race. He went on to a successful stud career, and his lineage even influenced the great Black Caviar. Vain passed away on Christmas Day 1991 at the age of 25.

Rising Fast – 1954; Three Starts, Three Wins

1954 was a memorable spring for Rising Fast, the first and still only horse to win the Caulfield Cup, W.S. Cox Plate, and Melbourne Cup in one campaign. He had already won the Feehan Stakes, Turnbull Stakes, and Caulfield Stakes before arriving at Flemington in top condition.

Rising Fast's Cup Week was a triumph. He started by winning the Mackinnon Stakes on the opening day, then took out the Melbourne Cup three days later, followed by another victory in the C.B Fisher Plate on the final day. This was no easy feat, as the C.B Fisher Plate was then Australia’s richest weight-for-age race. Journalist George Miller described the event as "unquestionably the weight-for-age race of the year," where Rising Fast proved himself "easily the best horse to race in Australia in recent years."

In one week: Three starts, three wins – 2000m, 3200m, 2400m.

Rising Fast returned to Melbourne the following year, winning another Caulfield Cup and Mackinnon Stakes. Unfortunately, he struck trouble in the Melbourne Cup and was narrowly beaten by Toparoa, carrying 48kg against the champ's 63.5kg. A year later, he struck interference again, finishing fifth behind Evening Peal at his final start.

Briseis – 1876; Four Starts, Three Wins

Before her stunning Cup Week success, Briseis had already earned a place in the history books, winning the Doncaster Handicap and All-Aged Stakes in Sydney as a two-year-old. However, it was her Cup Week that truly made her a legend.

She started by smashing the track record in the VRC Derby, winning by three lengths, before securing Melbourne Cup victory. Briseis then won the VRC Oaks on Thursday, and on the final day, she finished second to Pride of the Hills in the Mares Produce Stakes (a 2000m race now defunct).

In one week: Four starts, three wins – 2400m, 2400m, 3200m.

Sadly, Briseis died before producing a foal, but her legacy lives on through the race, club, and tin mine named after her. She also remains famous for her association with Peter St Albans, the youngest rider to ever win the Melbourne Cup.

Don Juan – 1873; Four Starts, Four Wins

Don Juan may be the least known of this group of amazing horses, but his story deserves to be told. Tragically, he died young, preventing him from becoming as renowned as his record merited.

On the opening day of the 1873 carnival, Don Juan won the Essendon Stakes, a 3200m race later contested by legends such as Phar Lap, Carbine, Wakeful, and Flight. Don Juan then won the Melbourne Cup in record time on the Thursday, and the following day won the Royal Park Stakes over 3200m. He capped off his week with a victory in the Flemington Plate, contested over 4800m.

In one week: Four starts, four wins – 3200m, 3200m, 3200m, 4800m.

There was some controversy surrounding Don Juan’s Cup success. He was a maiden when nominated for the race, but by race day, he had become a favourite. Allegations arose that he was older than the reported age of four, but these were dismissed by a VRC investigation.

Sadly, Don Juan's career was short-lived, and just three months after his big week at Flemington, he died of a significant heart fault. His story remains one of the great "what-ifs" in racing history.