Kōrero: Horse and greyhound racing

Melbourne Cup: remembering Rising Fast (3 o 4)

Melbourne Cup: remembering Rising Fast

In 2011 Gerry Morris (right) organised a street party in Greytown, birthplace of Melbourne Cup winner Rising Fast. In preparation for the day he visited Sue Robertson (left), widow of Frank Robertson, the horse's breeder. Rising Fast won the cup in 1954, following his victory in the Cranfield Cup. In 1955 he won the Caulfield Cup, and in the Melbourne Cup came within three-quarters of a length of completing a unique double. Under the top weight of 10 stone (63.5 kilograms), and after a buffeting run, he was beaten by fellow New Zealander Toporoa, carrying 15 kilograms less. After a controversial suspension midway through his career, Rising Fast was sent to Australia, and never raced in New Zealand again. His owner, Leicester Spring, wrote a book about Rising Fast, who was widely regarded as the best New Zealand-bred horse to race in Australia since Phar Lap.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Wairarapa Times-Age
Reference: 29 June 2011
Photograph by Lynda Feringa

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Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Mary Mountier, 'Horse and greyhound racing - Growth from the 1880s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/38955/melbourne-cup-remembering-rising-fast (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Mary Mountier, i tāngia i te 5 Sep 2013, updated 1 Nov 2015