Point of Law Wins Melbourne Cup After Late Charge Past Leader
Of Law, previously owned by King Charles, won the Melbourne Cup after jockey Ethan Brown surged from the middle of the field to take the lead near the finish…
FLEMINGTON — King's former horse Point of Law won the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday after jockey Ethan Brown drove the runner from the middle of the field to the lead in the closing stretch. The victory gave Brown a race he called “every jockey's dream” and put a horse sold by King Charles earlier this year at the centre of Australia's most prestigious race.
Point of Law made its move with only a few hundred metres remaining, overtaking Royal Supremacy, which had raced more than a dozen lengths ahead. The win came after Point of Law was considered an early favourite, though the horse's purchase price was not disclosed.
Brown summed up the moment simply. “Don't wake me up, this is every jockey's dream,” he said in a post-race interview.
How Point of Law took the Melbourne Cup
Brown said he kept telling himself to “just stay cool, stay patient” while Royal Supremacy held a substantial lead. He then pushed Point of Law forward from the pack and passed the front-runner on the home stretch.
“He's going to be a superstar horse. He's something special,” Brown said. He added that Point of Law was “in the best of hands with Ciaron Maher,” the trainer who prepared the horse.
Maher had a record seven horses in this year's cup. Zahrann and Juja Kibo were among his runners, finishing second and first, respectively, according to the race account.
Point of Law had also won the Geelong Cup last month. The three-year-old thoroughbred was sold by King Charles to a group of investors that included former AFL player Chris Judd and his wife Bec.
The result has a human story behind it, too. Brown grew up in Alice Springs and said he never expected as a child to ride in the Melbourne Cup. He credited “a lot of great support” during his career after returning from a serious fall in a 2023 race that sent him to hospital and kept him out of racing for six months.
What else shaped race day?
The Melbourne Cup carries a A$10.2m prize and ranks as Australia's third-richest race, while holding the country's most prestigious status. It has been run since 1861 and is often called the “race that stops a nation”.
For the racing industry, the day's events also underscored the scrutiny around race-day treatment rules. Asterix was scratched after a stable worker administered penetrene earlier that morning. The medication treats inflammation and muscle soreness, but race-day treatments are not permitted.
Race stewards said the medication had been applied by mistake but still amounted to a “serious breach”. Trainer Chris Waller was fined A$50,000, with the incident described as a staff member's simple mistake under pressure.
Outside Flemington, people from the Australia-wide “Nup to the Cup” movement protested against horse racing. Some carried signs reading “horse racing kills”, “don't bet on cruelty” and “no more whips”. Their presence gave the event a counterpoint to the racing and entertainment inside the venue.
Tens of thousands attended Flemington in sunny weather on Tuesday. Robbie Williams performed with a 10-piece band, backup dancers and pyrotechnics; organisers called it the biggest pre-cup performance ever staged at the venue.
Public interest figures showed a mixed picture. A Guardian Essential poll found 9% of Australians had high interest in the race this year and 23% had moderate interest, while more than 60% considered it a unique part of national identity. Last year, the Melbourne Cup drew a record $382.5 million in bets.
