The 2012 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 152nd running of 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 Melb ...

, Australia's most prestigious

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 ...

horse race. The race, held on Tuesday, 6 November 2012, at Flemington Racecourse (in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

), was won by

Green Moon Green Moon is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia, and owned by Australian businessman Lloyd Williams. He won the 2012 Melbourne Cup, ridden by Brett Prebble and trained by Robert Hickmott. The horse was originall ...

, ridden by jockey

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and owned by businessman Lloyd Williams. The race was attended by the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall ( Charles and Camilla), with Camilla presenting the cup to the winner of the race.

Prize money

The

prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...

for the race, held over a distance of 3,200 metres, was A$6.2 million, increased from $6.175 million the previous year. The prize money is split between the first ten runners, with first place taking $3.6 million. The actual cup awarded to the winner of the race (included in the value of the prize money) is valued at $175,000. The race was attended by approximately 106,000 people.

Field

The field for the 2012 Melbourne Cup consisted of 24 horses, with the barrier draw conducted three days prior to the race, on the day of the running of the

Victoria Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbourn ...

. Going into the race, favourites included

Americain Americain (2005−2022) was an American-bred French trained thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 150th Melbourne Cup in 2010, ridden by Gérald Mossé, trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré and owned by Melbourne businessmen Gerry Ryan and Kevin & Coll ...

(winner of the 2010 race),

Dunaden Dunaden (26 February 2006 – 30 April 2019) was a French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 2011 Melbourne Cup, ridden by Christophe Lemaire, trained by Mikel Delzangles. The horse was owned by Sheikh Fahad al Thani and managed by Davi ...

(winner of the 2011 race), and Red Cadeaux (second in the 2011 race), with Dunaden having won the 2012

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 ...

, considered an important lead-up race. With Glencadam Gold leading for most of the race, Green Moon pulled clear in the final straight, and eventually won in 3 minutes, 20.45 seconds, with Fiorente a length behind in second place, and Jakkalberry in third. Ethiopia finished last, 63 lengths behind the winner, having injured a tendon during the race. Green Moon's win was the first in the cup for both the horse's jockey,

, and trainer,

, and the fourth win overall for the owner, Lloyd Williams, who thus became the equal most successful owner in the race's history. The win was later described as "a major upset", with Green Moon having been priced at $22.50 for a win and $7.40 for a place.Green Moon bounces back from Cox Plate failure to win the Melbourne Cup from Fiorente and Jakkalberry
– Fox Sports. Published 6 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012. :''Except where otherwise listed, horses are trained in Australia:''

References

{{MelbourneCup

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2010s in Melbourne November 2012 sports events in Australia

Prize money

Field

See also

References