Green Moon is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia, and owned by Australian businessman Lloyd Williams. He won the

2012 Melbourne Cup The 2012 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 152nd running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race. The race, held on Tuesday, 6 November 2012, at Flemington Racecourse (in Melbourne, Victoria), was won by Green ...

, ridden by

Brett Prebble Brett Prebble (born 23 September 1977 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is a leading Australian jockey, currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. Having ridden over 1200 career winners, Prebble's most famous win came aboard Green Moon in the 201 ...

and trained by

Robert Hickmott Robert Hickmott (born 28 January 1969) is an Australian racehorse trainer and former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In 2012, he became the first former football ...

. The horse was originally to be ridden in the cup by

Damien Oliver Damien Oliver (born 22 June 1972) is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie cup in Western Australia. ...

, but Oliver was dropped by Williams, the owner, after being accused of illegal betting.

Background

Sired by

Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to November 2000, he ran sixteen times and won eleven races, including ...

, Green Moon was owned by the Goldsmith family and trained by Harry Dunlop. Then he was sold to Lloyd Williams in 2010.

Racing career

Green Moon started his career in England with trainer Harry Dunlop. After two placings as a two-year-old in 2009, he won his first three starts as a three-year-old, including a listed race. Three unplaced runs followed before he was purchased by Lloyd Williams and sent to Australia. Green Moon's first Australian campaign was in the spring of 2011. He rose to prominence when winning the

Newcastle Gold Cup The Newcastle Gold Cup is a Newcastle Jockey Club Group 3 Australian Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 2300 metres, held at Broadmeadow Racecourse in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in September. Total prize money for ...

after a hard run, and lived up to that promise when running second in the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

. However, he failed to qualify for the Melbourne Cup when being well-beaten in the

Lexus Stakes The Hotham Handicap, raced as the Lexus Archer Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under quality handicap conditions, over a distance of 2500 metres, held annually at Flemin ...

. Returning the following autumn, he won the

Blamey Stakes The Blamey Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for three years old and older, with Set Weights with Penalties conditions over 1600 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March during the VRC Autumn ...

over 1600m in his only start that campaign, confirming his status as a major contender for the 2012 Melbourne Cup. Green Moon's 2012 spring campaign started well, with a narrow defeat in the

Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes The John F. Feehan Stakes is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Australian Thoroughbred horse race held under Weight for Age conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1600 meters at Moonee Valley Racecourse in ...

and a win in the

Turnbull Stakes The Turnbull Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, for horses four years old and older, run under set weights with penalties conditions over a distance of 2,000 metres. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse, Melb ...

making him one of the favourites in both the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

and Melbourne Cup. However, after a disappointing seventh in the Cox Plate, his odds drifted in the Melbourne Cup, eventually starting at $22 on the tote. In the Melbourne Cup, he settled seventh in an on-pace-dominated race, before running clear early in the straight and holding out second-placed

Fiorente Fiorente (foaled 2008) is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia. When racing in Europe, he showed high-class form, winning the Princess of Wales's Stakes in 2012. He had greater success when campaigned in Australia, ...

by one length.

Trivia

Despite the short odds, radio host and comedian

Hamish Blake Hamish Donald Blake (born 11 December 1981) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on tel ...

confidently predicted on ''

Hamish & Andy Hamish & Andy are an Australian comedy duo formed in 2003 by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. Best known for their various drive time radio programmes on the Hit Network, which aired in multiple formats until 2017, their shows gained consistently h ...

'' that Green Moon would win after having a dream about "green" and "horses". In 1996, Blake had dreamed about the number 5 and surmised

Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his tra ...

would win (because of its number in the race), which it did.

References

{{Reflist Melbourne Cup winners 2007 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Australia Thoroughbred family 22-d