Melbourne Cup Horses 2025: Field, Results, Form Guide

Half Yours defied the pre-race market to win the 2025 Melbourne Cup by three lengths at Flemington on 4 November, handing Jamie Melham a historic victory as the first female jockey to win the race since 2015. The result upstaged Irish raider Al Riffa, who carried the topweight of 59kg and finished seventh despite being the $8.50–$9 favourite.

Winner: Half Yours ·
Jockey: Jamie Melham ·
Race Date: November 2025 ·
Key Horses: Al Riffa, Buckaroo, Arapaho, Vauban ·
Field Size: 24 runners

Which horses are running in the Melbourne Cup in 2025?

The final field for the 2025 Melbourne Cup comprised 24 runners declared on 1 November 2025, drawn from 120 total nominations that included 19 international entries. The field mixed seasoned Cup veterans with international raiders and local talent. Here’s how the key runners lined up:

Australian stables dominated numerically, with Chris Waller leading all trainers with 27 entries and Ciaron Maher contributing 13 more between them. The international contingent featured Aidan O’Brien’s trio (Aftermath, Mount Kilimanjaro, Scandinavia), Joseph O’Brien’s pair, Willie Mullins’s Absurde, and Dermot Weld’s nominees Duraji and Harbour Wind. Mark Zahra was chasing a third Melbourne Cup win aboard Al Riffa, while W M Lordan rode Goodie Two Shoes from barrier 20.

Who is the favourite horse to win the Melbourne Cup in 2025?

Before the race, Irish raider Al Riffa held favouritism at $8.50–$9 with Racing Post, carrying the topweight of 59kg under jockey Mark Zahra. The Joseph O’Brien-trained entire had won the Group 1 Irish St Leger at the Curragh in September 2025 and entered the Cup with recent wins at Gowran Park, Down Royal, and Fairyhouse on his record. His last 10 starts read 210x3x4211, a form line that had handicappers and punters alike taking notice. Mark Zahra was seeking his third Melbourne Cup victory, having gone back-to-back on Gold Trip in 2022 and Without A Fight in 2023.

Vauban, now trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, opened at $21 odds with a career record of 32 starts: 11 wins, 5 seconds, 4 thirds. The French import had finished 11th in the 2024 Cup and returned for a second attempt with strong Cox Plate credentials. Middle Earth, third placegetter in the actual results, started at $19 with barrier 13 and 54.5kg.

The implication: the 6kg weight differential between the winner and the favourite proved decisive in a race where late fatigue decides outcomes.

What horses are most likely to win the Melbourne Cup?

Pre-race analysis from Races.com.au highlighted several standouts based on form and pedigree. Al Riffa’s Irish St Leger victory and near-perfect strike rate made him the clear pick, while Vauban’s Cup experience and Cox Plate-level conditioning earned him second-tier respect. Buckaroo’s second attack on the Cup came after a strong Cox Plate preparation, and Chevalier Rose arrived from Japan with credentials worth watching at $51. The McEvoy camp’s Half Yours flew under the radar — barrier 8 at 53kg with form F211215141 gave each-way appeal, though few had him winning outright.

The actual result flipped the script. Half Yours won by three lengths under Jamie Melham, with Goodie Two Shoes second and Middle Earth third. The winner’s 53kg lightweight was six kilograms less than Al Riffa’s burden, a significant differential in a 3200-metre test where late fatigue decides outcomes. Ciaron Maher’s Middle Earth ran a solid third at $19, while Chris Waller’s River of Stars completed the quartet.

Is there an Irish horse in the Melbourne Cup 2025?

Ireland was represented by multiple runners in the 2025 Melbourne Cup. Joseph O’Brien sent two starters: Al Riffa, the pre-race favourite at $8.50–$9 odds carrying 59kg with Mark Zahra, and Goodie Two Shoes, drawn in barrier 20 with W M Lordan aboard at 51.5kg. Al Riffa had won the 2025 Irish St Leger at the Curragh in September en route to Melbourne, his preparation sharpened by wins at Gowran Park, Down Royal, and Fairyhouse.

Aidan O’Brien entered three colts — Aftermath, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Scandinavia — all from his Ballydoyle base, with Scandinavia having won the Group 1 Goodwood Cup. Willie Mullins contributed Absurde, while Dermot Weld nominated Duraji and Harbour Wind from his stable. The race start at 3pm AEDT translated to 4am Irish time, meaning the Irish contingent’s connections watched from the opposite side of the world.

The pattern: weight advantage ultimately outweighed the form advantage that Irish raiders carried into the race.

What horse is Jamie Melham riding in the Melbourne Cup?

Jamie Melham rode Half Yours to victory in the 2025 Melbourne Cup, winning by three lengths for trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy. The result gave Half Yours the Cups Double, having previously won a lead-up race, and gave Melham a place in the history books as the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup since 2015. According to Races.com.au, Melham had Half Yours at barrier 8 carrying 53kg with form F211215141 heading into the race.

Melham’s win with Half Yours marked the first Melbourne Cup victory for the McEvoy stable, a significant milestone for the trainers who had targeted the race repeatedly. The three-length margin of victory was decisive rather than close, suggesting Half Yours travelled comfortably from the 3200m start.

What this means: female jockeys now have a proven pathway to Melbourne Cup success, building on the milestone set in 2015.

Timeline

Clarity on what’s confirmed and unclear

For a bettor weighing up Melbourne Cup form for future editions, the lesson is straightforward: weight matters as much as form. Al Riffa entered with elite credentials and finished seventh carrying 59kg, while Half Yours won carrying 53kg. Each kilogram below the topweight can translate directly into a length or more on the Flemington straight.

“The top Irish trainer, Aidan O’Brien, could run three horses in the Melbourne Cup.”

— Sky Racing World early entries report

“Local stables are still dominant, however. Chris Waller leads with 27 entries.”

— Sky Racing World early entries report

For anyone watching the Melbourne Cup next year, the message from 2025 is clear: watch the weight assignments as closely as the odds. The winner’s 53kg was six kilograms below Al Riffa’s burden, and that gap likely made the difference. Irish raiders will almost certainly return in 2026, but they’ll need lighter weights or stronger form to overcome the local advantage at Flemington.

Related reading: Melbourne Cup form guide · Melbourne Cup field

The complete 2025 field guide mixed proven stayers with international challengers, setting the stage for Half Yours’ dramatic victory over Goodie Two Shoes at Flemington.

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