1882 Melbourne Cup

There were 128 nominations for the race,^[3] with 25 runners headed for the start following a number of withdrawals. The top weight was given to Darebin, running in its second Melbourne Cup. Owned and trained by Francis F. Dakin, had won the Melbourne Stakes on the Saturday before the Cup, winning by a couple of lengths in front of Belmont, while John Eden Savill's runner The Assyrian was unplaced well back behind the winner. Veteran runner Odd Trick was also in good form, winning the Hotham Handicap in the race following Darebin's win.^[4] Etienne de Mestre had brought a number of horses from Sydney for the VRC Spring Meeting, winning the Victoria Derby with Navigator, ahead of Segenhoe, one of three wins on the day for champion jockey Tom Hales.^[4] With Navigator withdrawn before the day of the race, the betting favourite was de Mestre's Sweet William who was booked to be ridden by Hales. Winner of the 1882 Caulfield Cup Little Jack, and William Branch's Mistaken were also near the top of the betting charts, with both being trained by previous Cup winning trainer James Wilson.^[4][5] Of the heavy-weighted runners, some fancied 1879 Sydney Cup winner Savanaka who was running in its fourth Melbourne Cup, including a second place finish in 1877, while also highly regarded was Cunnamulla who had also won the Sydney Cup earlier in the year.^[3]

Cup Day had dawned fine, but was accompanied by a hot wind. A cool change blew through Melbourne just after noon, bringing with it heavy rain which fell all afternoon through the running of the race.^[5][6] The start was delayed slightly due to Cunnamulla kicking out at other runners, including the favourite Sweet William. It was thought that Sweet William had been injured by the incident.^[5][7][8] Cunnamulla was moved to the outside of the field as a result of the incident.^[6] Following the dropping of the flag for the start, Flying Jib got the best of the early running, with Stockwell taking the advantage at the first turn. Stockwell would lead the field for more than the first mile of the race, ahead of Gudarz and Sylvanus. Stockwell maintained its lead into the final straight, followed by Gudarz, The Assyrian and Darebin. Just behind those four runners were Sweet William and Segenhoe with the remainder of the field out of contention. In the straight, The Assyrian joined both Stockwell and Darebin in the lead and with a final effort, The Assyrian took the lead on the outside to win by a half a length. Stockwell held on to second place ahead of a fast-finishing Gudarz, with Sweet William fourth. The last three runners to finish were First Water, Pollio and Sting.^[7] Observers noted that had a more experienced jockey ridden Stockwell, that the horse would have likely maintained its lead to the end of the race, with the rain-sodden ground providing excuses to a number of the more-fancied runners that failed to feature in the finish.^[6][8]

Racing under the name Rothschild when owned by William Pile, The Assyrian had previously run in the 1880 Melbourne Cup, finishing well down in the field behind winner Grand Flaneur.^[9] Bred in South Australia, the horse was sold at auction to John Eden Savill who had renamed the horse. A noted artist and theatre manager, Savill ran Adelaide's Lockleys Stud during his time in Australia.^[9] It was reported that Savill had sold the horse to his friend James Allison for £300 in the lead up to the race. Allison had lost betting on The Assyrian to win the Caulfield Cup and might have lost more betting against the horse in the Melbourne Cup.^[6][10][11] The win in the Melbourne Cup was The Assyrian's third, following two wins in Adelaide in 1881.^[11] It was the second time a South Australian bred horse had won the Melbourne Cup.^[11]

The defeat of both Gudarz and Sweet William was especially costly for Etienne de Mestre who had heavily backed both horses in doubles betting with Navigator to win the Victoria Derby.^[12]

Attendance estimates were that more than 80,000 people were at the racecourse, less than the previous year's exhibition inflated numbers.^[5] Although it was reported that it was the largest attendance ever seen on the flat, the area inside the racecourse.^[6][8]

This is the list of placegetters for the 1882 Melbourne Cup.^{[13][14][15][1][9][16][7][3][17][5][6][8]}

First prize £1710, second prize £200, third prize £100.^[1]

• Melbourne Cup
• List of Melbourne Cup winners
• Victoria Racing Club