2025 Melbourne Cup
| Melbourne Cup | |
 Flemington Racecourse, location of the race | |
| Location | Flemington Racecourse Melbourne, Australia |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 November 2025 |
| Distance | 3,200 metres |
| Winning horse | Half Yours |
| Starting price | $8 |
| Jockey | Jamie Melham |
| Trainer | Tony & Calvin McEvoy |
| Surface | Grass |
| Attendance | 84,374 |
300 meters to go, Goodie Two Shoes for Ireland led by a length and a quarter, Middle Earth and Half Yours is getting through. Goodie Two Shoes with Half Yours challenging at the clock tower. Half Yours takes the lead from Goodie Two Shoes, Middle Earth, River of Stars. Half Yours is coming clear, for Jamie Kah for the Cups Double. Half Yours the history-maker, won the Lexus Melbourne Cup by three lengths!
The 2025 Melbourne Cup, known commercially as the 2025 Lexus Melbourne Cup, was the 165th running of the Melbourne Cup, an Australian thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 4 November 2025 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.[1][2]
The final field for the race was declared on 1 November 2025.[3] The total prize money for the race is A$10 million, a $144,000 increase from 2024.[4] The race was won by Half Yours, ridden by Jamie Melham, the first woman to win since Michelle Payne in 2015.[5]
Field
| Number | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Weight (kg) | Barrier | Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Riffa (FR) | Joseph O'Brien | Mark Zahra | 59 | 19 | 7th |
| 2 | Buckaroo (GB) | Chris Waller | Craig Williams | 57 | 12 | 24th |
| 3 | Arapaho (FR) | Bjorn Baker | Rachel King | 56.5 | 15 | 12th |
| 4 | Vauban (FR) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Blake Shinn | 56.5 | 2 | 6th |
| 5 | Chevalier Rose (JPN) | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 55.5 | 5 | 23rd |
| 6 | Presage Nocturne (IRE) | Alessandro Botti | Stephane Pasquier | 55.5 | 9 | 19th |
| 7 | Middle Earth (GB) | Ciaron Maher | Ethan Brown | 54.5 | 13 | 3rd |
| 8 | Meydaan (IRE) | Simon & Ed Crisford | James McDonald | 54 | 22 | 10th |
| 9 | Absurde (FR) | Willie Mullins | Kerrin McEvoy | 53.5 | 4 | 8th |
| 10 | Flatten The Curve (FR) | Henk Grewe | Thore Hammer-Hansen | 53.5 | 17 | 13th |
| 11 | Land Legend (FR) | Chris Waller | Joao Moreira | 53.5 | 16 | 22nd |
| 12 | Smokin' Romans (NZ) | Ciaron Maher | Ben Melham | 53.5 | 11 | 14th |
| 13 | Changingoftheguard (IRE) | Kris Lees | Tim Clark | 53 | 24 | 9th |
| 14 | Half Yours | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Jamie Melham[6] | 53 | 8 | 1st |
| 15 | More Felons (IRE) | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 53 | 23 | 18th |
| 16 | Onesmoothoperator (USA) | Brian Ellison | Harry Coffey | 53 | 6 | 16th |
| 17 | Furthur (IRE) | Andrew Balding | Michael Dee | 52 | 7 | 11th |
| 18 | Parchment Party (USA) | William Mott | John Velazquez | 52 | 3 | 20th |
| 19 | Athabascan (FR) | John O'Shea & Tom Charlton | Declan Bates | 51.5 | 1 | 21st |
| 20 | Goodie Two Shoes (IRE) | Joseph O'Brien | Wayne Lordan | 51.5 | 20 | 2nd |
| 21 | River Of Stars (IRE) | Chris Waller | Beau Mertens | 51.5 | 14 | 4th |
| 22 | Royal Supremacy (IRE) | Ciaron Maher | Robbie Dolan | 51 | 21 | 15th |
| 23 | Torranzino (NZ) | Paul Preusker | Celine Gaudray | 51 | 18 | 5th |
| 24 | Valiant King (GB) | Chris Waller | Jye McNeil | 51 | 10 | 16th |
Previous Melbourne Cup involvement
Horses
Absurde, Land Legend, Buckaroo, Vauban, Onesmoothoperator and Valiant King returned from 2024, where they placed 5th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. Absurde and Vauban also participated in 2023, placing 7th and 14th respectively, as well as More Felons who placed 12th. Smokin' Romans and Arapaho participated in 2022, placing 7th and 11th respectively. Athabascan was in the field in 2024 but was scratched.
Jockeys
Several former champions raced: three-time champion Kerrin McEvoy (2000, 2016 and 2018), two-time champion Mark Zahra (2022 and 2023), and one-time champions Blake Shinn (2008), Craig Williams (2019), Jye McNeil (2020), James McDonald (2021) and Robbie Dolan (2024). Other jockeys in the field with Cup success included Joao Moreira (2nd in 2016 and 2023), Ben Melham (2nd in 2017), Jamie Melham (3rd in 2020 and 2024, but who won this iteration), Wayne Lordan (3rd in 2019) and Beau Mertens (3rd in 2023). Among the jockeys, only five had not previously participated in the cup: Ethan Brown, Celine Gaudray, Thore Hammer-Hansen, Stéphane Pasquier and John Velazquez.
Trainers
Former winning trainers participating were Joseph O'Brien (2017 and 2020), Gai Waterhouse (2013), Chris Waller (2021) and Ciaron Maher (2022).
Prizemoney
The A$10,000,000 prize pool is distributed as follows:[7]
- First: $4,500,000 and trophies valued at $910,000[a]
- Second: $1,110,000
- Third: $560,000
- Fourth: $360,000
- Fifth: $240,000
- Sixth to Twelfth: $160,000
- Thirteenth to Twenty Fourth: $100,000
The prizemoney increased by A$2,250,000 from the 2024 race to include, for the first time, prizemoney for runners that finshed from thirteenth to last should the runner meet conditions set out by the VRC.
See also
Notes
- ^ $850,000 (owner); $25,000 (rider – including the Harry White Whip); $15,000 (trainer); $10,000 (strapper – the Tommy Woodcock Trophy) & $10,000 (breeder)
References
- ^ "Racenet - Australia's Premier Horse Racing News, Form Guides & Tips".
- ^ Gardiner, Gilbert (9 April 2025). "Racing Victoria increases 2025 Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup weight scales". The Australian. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ 2025 Melbourne Cup field and barrier draw – racenet.com.au. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
- ^ "Melbourne Cup Prize Money 2025". racenet.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ "CUP HISTORY MADE: Female jockey's stunning double as Aussie horse Half Yours upstages rivals". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ^ Guerin, Michael. "From coma to Cup glory: Jockey's remarkable rise to Melbourne Cup victory". NZ Herald.
- ^ "VRC Feature race dates and conditions". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 14 January 2026.