Point of Law Wins the Melbourne Cup as Ciaron Maher Saddles First, Second and Third
The three-year-old favourite ran down a long-time leader at Flemington on Tuesday to give jockey Ethan Brown his first Cup, while one trainer filled the first three places in a 166-year-old race.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026/2 min read
Royal Supremacy had built a lead that looked, for a few hundred metres of the Flemington straight, as if it might hold. Then Point of Law got clear running, and the race that stops a nation was decided by a three-year-old who had never raced in Australia before last month. Ethan Brown rode him to his first Melbourne Cup win on Tuesday, RNZ reported, with Zahrann second and Juja Kibo third, and the one thing the three horses had in common was the man who trained them.
Ciaron Maher sent out a record seven runners in the 3,200-metre handicap, and the first three home were all his. Yahoo News Australia called him the first trainer in the Cup's 166-year history to train the trifecta. Royal Supremacy, the horse that set the pace, was also his, finishing fifth.
Who won the 2026 Melbourne Cup and how?
Point of Law, a British-bred colt who won the Geelong Cup on 21 October to earn his place in the field, started as the favourite after a build-up in which Maher told AAP that barrier nine was ideal for him. He settled off the speed while Royal Supremacy went a long way clear, and Brown waited. Once a gap opened in the straight he went through it and the race was over quickly. Brown said afterwards that he had to stay cool and patient, and that once he found the clear run the horse's turn of foot was enormous. RNZ, drawing on AFP's report from the course, noted the colt was bred by King Charles and that this was Maher's second Melbourne Cup after Gold Trip in 2022.
Behind the Maher trio came Sons And Lovers, from Joseph O'Brien's Irish stable, in fourth, then Royal Supremacy and another Maher runner, Shockletz, in sixth. Hopewell Rock, who had been heavily backed through the afternoon, finished ninth. Vauban, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott runner, was last of the 23.
Why did Asterix not run?
The field was reduced to 23 before the start when stewards scratched Asterix after finding that medication had been administered to the Chris Waller-trained horse on race day. Waller described it as a simple mistake made in the heat of the moment, RNZ reported.
What was the Melbourne Cup worth in 2026?
The figures differ slightly by outlet. RNZ described the race as worth A$10 million, around US$12.4 million; Yahoo put the total at A$10.2 million with A$4.5 million to the winner, and reported that Brown's riding fee for the victory came to roughly A$200,000 on top of the prize money. Either way it remains the richest handicap in the world, and a seven-horse hand, a record for one stable according to AAP, paid off handsomely.
Maher said it had been a whirlwind and that he was very proud of all the team. The record he set on Tuesday, a trifecta in the Cup, is one no trainer had managed since the race was first run.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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