The Assyrian was an Australian bred

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 ...

owned by CS Agnew and trained by J.E. Savill that won the 1882

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 ...

being ridden by C Hutchins, presumably named after the Assyrians of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

and their ancient empires. In the final stages of the 1882 Melbourne Cup, The Assyrian drew clear to defeat

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

by half a length, and send the heavily backed Gudarz into third place. The Assyrian also won the 1883

Hobart Cup The Hobart Cup is a Tasmanian Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race held as an open handicap race over a distance of 2400 metres at Elwick Racecourse in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. The Cup is usually held on the first or second Mond ...

, becoming the only horse to win both the Melbourne Cup and the Hobart Cup for almost 89 years until being joined by

Piping Lane Piping Lane (foaled 1966, died 1996) was a brown Australian Thoroughbred racehorse gelding by Lanesborough out of the mare Londonderry Air by Piping Time. Piping Lane came to prominence by winning the 1972 Melbourne Cup over 3,200 metres at odd ...

in 1972, with the currently two remaining alone in the achievement.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Melbourne Cup winners 1877 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Thoroughbred family 4-b