Kiwi (horse)

Kiwi (1 August 1977 – 2 February 1995) was a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who won both the Wellington Cup in New Zealand and the Melbourne Cup in Australia in 1983. Kiwi is especially renowned for his last-to-first victory in the Melbourne Cup, and remains the only horse in history to have won both of these cups.[3] Kiwi raced from 1980 to 1987, and died in 1995 at the age of 18.

Kiwi
SireBlarney Kiss
GrandsireIrish Lancer
DamMalrayvis
DamsireMessmate
SexGelding
Foaled1 August 1977[1]
CountryNew Zealand
ColourChestnut
Record60:13-8-2
EarningsNZ$549,839
Major wins
Wellington Cup (1983)
Melbourne Cup[2] (1983)
Last updated on 3 April 2009

Background

Kiwi was bred by Brian Fischer in Parore, New Zealand.[4] He was bought for NZ$1000 by Waverley sheep farmer Snow Lupton and his wife Ann, with Ann's personal preference for him to have a chestnut hair coat.[3] They had previously owned a Blarney Kiss horse. Though Kiwi showed promise as a racehorse, Lupton believed the horse would perform better as a distance runner.

Racing career

Kiwi won the Wellington Cup in January 1983 from the rear of the field in a close finish, with a time of 3 minutes 20.29 seconds.[5]

Despite winning the Wellington Cup earlier in the year, Kiwi was still considered by numerous bookmakers as an outsider for the Melbourne Cup and started with odds of 10/1. Similar to the previous race, Kiwi's jockey Jim Cassidy began the race by settling the horse at the very back of the 24-horse field. At the turn of the Flemington track, with 500 metres remaining, Kiwi was positioned as the second last horse. He was only ahead of a horse called Amarant, who had been injured and was running lame.

Upon approaching the final straight, Kiwi began to advance through the field. At the finish line, Kiwi won the race by just over a length. Many race commentators only mentioned Kiwi's name as he neared the finish line, for example, "and here comes Kiwi out of the blue".[6] Kiwi's victory in 1983 has become one of the most memorable performances in the history of the Melbourne Cup,[7] and illustrated a classic stayer's victory. Since winning the race, Kiwi has become a household sporting hero in New Zealand and formed a key example of the underdog winning a horse race against the odds. It showed that a simple trainer, when equipped with a good horse, could win the greatest prize.[8] Lupton openly admitted that Kiwi was used to "round up the sheep" as part of his conditioning routine.[9]

Kiwi entered the 1984 Melbourne Cup, but was controversially scratched due to a veterinary check. Lupton always maintained that Kiwi was fit for the race and could have won.[10] The event sparked criticism of the scratching as a potential act of bad sportsmanship, due to the rivalry between New Zealand and Australia. Kiwi also ran in the 1985 Melbourne Cup, and placed fifth. In 1986, he was positioned well to repeat his 1983 'come-from-behind' victory, but was injured and pulled up lame close to the finish line. Later that year, he represented New Zealand in the Japan Cup, and placed fifth.

Retirement

Kiwi is the only horse to have won both the Wellington Cup and Melbourne Cup consecutively.[3] This historical feat is highly regarded, especially as the Melbourne Cup is esteemed as the premier staying race in Australia and New Zealand.

After his run in Japan, Kiwi was retired to the Luptons' farm, where he died and was buried in 1995.[11] The headstone simply states: "Kiwi, 1983 Melbourne Cup". A plaque commemorating Kiwi is also located at the Waverley Racecourse.

Honorific eponym

In 2012, Australian rail operator CFCL Australia named locomotive CF4406 "Kiwi" after the horse.[12]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Kiwi (NZ), chestnut gelding 1977[1]
Sire
Blarney Kiss (USA)
1965
Irish Lancer (USA)
1957
Royal Charger Nearc
Sun Princess
Tige O'Myheart Bull Lea
Unerring
Log House (USA)
1956
Cosmic Bomb Pharamond
Banish Fear
Ariel Beauty Ariel
Big Beauty
Dam
Malrayvis (NZ)
1963
Messmate (GB)
1954
Blue Peter Fairway
Fancy Free
Run Honey Hyperion
Fancy Free
Grande Vitesse (NZ)
1952
Beau Repaire Beau Pere
Modiste
Satisfied Siegfried
Satisfy (Family 2-b)[13]

References

  1. "Kiwi pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  2. "Breednet - Breeding News". breednet.com.au.
  3. "Why Kiwi Melbourne Cup winner has been immortalised in bronze". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  4. "Cup fever strikes". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  5. "Wellington Cup Winners". wellingtonracing.co.nz. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  6. "Kiwi wins the 1983 Melbourne Cup - NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.net.nz.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2010-10-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://muir.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/10179/734/1/2whole.pdf (p 287)
  9. http://www.letsgohorseracing.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=310:all-you-need-to-know-for-a-melbourne-cup-carnival-visit&catid=40:september-december&Itemid=65
  10. "Obituary: Snow Lupton". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. December 18, 2004. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  11. "Melbourne Cup winner Kiwi found dead". The Dominion. 3 February 1995. p. 1.
  12. "Australian thoroughbreds take to the rails". Rail Express. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  13. "Squirrel Mare - Family 2-b". Thoroughbred Bloodlinest. Retrieved 2012-12-22.

See also

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