Melbourne Cup favourites

THE Melbourne Cup is the one time of the year that the casual fan opens up the wallet and has a flutter.

Naturally the average punter is going to turn to the horses that feature towards the top of the market, and if there’s an outright favourite that horse is going to see the majority of the once-a-year money.

We’ve taken a look at how the favourites have fared in recent Melbourne Cup history to see if the short price is justified.

Who is the 2019 Melbourne Cup favourite?

After taking out the 2018 Melbourne Cup in barnstorming fashion, Godolphin import Cross Counter is the early $17 favourite at online bookmaker Sportsbet for next year’s cup.

The runner-up Marmelo is at the $21 quote, while Latrobe and Withold are locked together at the $26 quote.

2018 Melbourne Cup finishing order

Place	Silks	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1		23	Cross Counter	Charlie Appleby	Kerrin McEvoy		19	51kg	$15
2		9	Marmelo	Hughie Morrison	Hugh Bowman	1L	10	55kg	$12
3		17	A Prince Of Arran	Charlie Fellows	Michael Walker	3L	20	53kg	$23
4		13	Finche	Chris Waller	Zac Purton	3.5L	15	54kg	$26
5		24	Rostropovich	Aidan O’Brien	Wayne Lordan	4.5L	21	51kg	$21
6		22	Youngstar	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	5.75L	21	51.5kg	$11
7		19	Sir Charles Road	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Oliver Peslier	8.25L	14	53kg	$126
8		1	Best Solution	Saeed Bin Suroor	Pat Cosgrove	8.75L	6	57.5kg	$16
9		5	Muntahaa	John Gosden	Jim Crowley	9.5L	13	55.5kg	$17
10		16	Ventura Storm	David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig	Mark Zahra	11L	7	54.5kg	$31
11		11	Yucatan	Aidan O’Brien	James McDonald	11.75L	23	54.5kg	$6
12		18	Nakeeta	Iain Jardine	Regan Bayliss	11.85L	3	53kg	$81
13		18	Zacada	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	Damian Lane	13.85L	20	53kg	$151
14		4	Chestnut Coat	Yoshito Yahagi	Yuga Kawada	16.1L	4	55.5kg	$71
15		15	Vengeur Masque	David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig	Patrick Moloney	16.3L	2	54kg	$51
16		3	Magic Circle	Ian Williams	Corey Brown	19.55L	15	56kg	$7
17		7	Who Shot TheBarman	Chris Waller	Ben Melham	22.55L	17	55.5kg	$31
18		6	Sound Check	Michael Moroney	Jordan Childs	27.55L	16	51kg	$41
19		21	Runaway	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Stephen Baster	28.05L	12	52kg	$81
20		8	Ace High	David Payne	Tye Angland	28.15L	22	55kg	$71
21		12	Auvray	Richard Freedman	Tommy Berry	68.15L	1	54kg	$81
22		10	Avilius	James Cummings	Glyn Schofield	69.15L	11	54.5kg	$16
23		14	Red Cardinal	Darren Weir	Damien Oliver	69.55L	5	54kg	$31
24		2	The Cliffsofmoher	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	DNF	9	56.5kg	$21

How have the most recent Melbourne Cup favourites fared?

It may be surprising to punters to find out that just one horse in the last ten years has registered a win as the favourite heading into the Melbourne Cup.

Fiorente all the way back in 2013 as a $7 favourite at Sportsbet was the only time this decade a top elect has got the win, with Hartnell (2015) and So You Think (2010) the next best with a pair of third placed finishes.

How often do favourites win the Melbourne Cup?

As of 2018, the starting favourite has won 34 of 158 Melbourne Cups, which works out to be just under a 1/4 shot.

Typically any horse in a 24 horse field is going to jump at long odds, but these odds shorten considerably when the once-a-year backers place their bets on whatever is on top of the betting market.

Fiorente in 2013 was the last time a favourite saluted in the Melbourne Cup, which means we’re overdue for another top elect to win in the race that stops a nation.

Recent Melbourne Cup favourites & their finishing order

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