Kiwi wins the 1983 Melbourne Cup.
Live television coverage certainly helped raise the profile of the Melbourne Cup in this country – as exemplified by Kiwi’s victory in 1983. Kiwi was last at the turn, and his dash to victory was barely picked up by the commentators until the last few strides
As the field was within sight of the finish, the commentator suddenly yelled, ‘and here comes Kiwi out of the blue’, signalling one of the greatest-ever finishes in the history of the Cup.
Kiwi’s victory was the ultimate Kiwi triumph. Ridden by a New Zealander, Jim Cassidy, he was trained by Waverley’s Snowy Lupton. When he was purchased for $1000 Kiwi was not expected to race, and his original role was ‘to round up sheep on the farm’.
This video clip is sourced from the YouTube website. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage does not claim any responsibility for the contents or copyright status of the clip. The YouTube posting includes this reference, 'Many thanks to the Melbourne Cup Club (www.melbournecupclub.com.au)'.
