Kiwi (1 August 1977 – 2 February 1995) was a New Zealand

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who won both the

Wellington Cup The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club. History Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various ...

in New Zealand and the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

in Australia in 1983. Kiwi is especially renowned for his last-to-first victory in the Melbourne Cup, and remains the only horse in history to have won both of these cups. Kiwi raced from 1980 to 1987, and died in 1995 at the age of 18.

Background

Kiwi was bred by Brian Fischer in Parore, New Zealand. He was bought for

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

1000 by

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

sheep farmer Snow Lupton and his wife Ann, with Ann's personal preference for him to have a chestnut hair coat. They had previously owned a Blarney Kiss horse. Though Kiwi showed promise as a racehorse, Lupton believed the horse would perform better as a distance runner.

Racing career

Kiwi won the

in January 1983 from the rear of the field in a close finish, with a time of 3 minutes 20.29 seconds. Despite winning the Wellington Cup earlier in the year, Kiwi was still considered by numerous bookmakers as an outsider for the

and started with odds of 10/1. Similar to the previous race, Kiwi's jockey Jim Cassidy began the race by settling the horse at the very back of the 24-horse field. At the turn of the Flemington track, with 500 metres remaining, Kiwi was positioned as the second last horse. The last horse was Amarant, which had been injured and was running lame. Upon approaching the final straight, Kiwi began to advance through the field. At the finish line, Kiwi won the race by just over a length. Many race commentators only mentioned Kiwi's name as he neared the finish line, for example, ''"and here comes Kiwi out of the blue"''. Kiwi's victory in 1983 has become one of the most memorable performances in the history of the Melbourne Cup, and illustrated a classic stayer's victory. Kiwi has become a household sporting hero in New Zealand and formed a key example of the underdog winning a horse race against the odds Lupton openly admitted that Kiwi was used to "round up the sheep" as part of his conditioning routine. Kiwi entered the 1984 Melbourne Cup, but was controversially scratched due to a veterinary check. Lupton always maintained that Kiwi was fit for the race and could have won. The event sparked criticism of the scratching as a potential act of bad sportsmanship, due to the rivalry between New Zealand and Australia. Kiwi also ran in the 1985 Melbourne Cup finishing thirteenth. In 1986, he was positioned well to repeat his 1983 'come-from-behind' victory, but was injured and pulled up lame close to the finish line still managing to finish fourth. Later that year, he represented New Zealand in the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

, and placed fifth.

Retirement

Kiwi is the only horse to have won both the Wellington Cup and Melbourne Cup consecutively. This historical feat is highly regarded, especially as the Melbourne Cup is esteemed as the premier staying race in Australia and New Zealand. After his run in Japan, Kiwi was retired to the Luptons' farm, where he died and was buried in 1995. The headstone simply states: "Kiwi, 1983 Melbourne Cup". A plaque commemorating Kiwi is also located at the Waverley Racecourse.

Honorific eponym

In 2012, Australian rail operator

CFCL Australia Rail First Asset Management (RailFirst), formerly known as CFCL Australia (CFCLA), is an Australian rolling stock leasing company operating in the rail freight market. It leases assets to a number of private rail operators in the local rail indus ...

named locomotive CF4406 "Kiwi" after the horse. In 2022 a bronze statue of Kiwi was constructed. A life-size plasticine mould of Kiwi, with jockey Jim Cassidy on its back in full flight, was donated to Waverley by New Plymouth artist, the late Fridtjof Hanson. $155,000 was allocated $155,000 from Waverley's masterplan arts grant to cover the cost of bronzing the statue at Heavy Metals in Lower Hutt. It was hoped the statue would be completed and installed early in 2023.

Pedigree

References