Etienne De Mestre was more or less the Bart Cummings of the 1800’s.
Between 1861 and 1878, De Mestre trained five Melbourne Cup winners. Even now, that record keeps De Mestre as the joint second-most successful trainer in Cup history along with Lee Freedman.
Take a closer look at the great trainer and how he achieved Melbourne Cup success.
About Etienne De Mestre
Etienne De Mestre was born in Sydney in 1832.
After entering horse racing, he became recognised as one of the masters of his craft rather quickly. De Mestre was known for training and leasing horses. His horse Sailor did a lot to make his name, before Melbourne Cup success followed.
De Mestre became the country’s first top-level trainer and horse racing personality. He enjoyed a career spanning over 30 years.
Melbourne Cup Achievements
Sydney’s De Mestre first sent horses to the Melbourne Cup in 1861. Back then, steamships were used to ship the horses which seems extraordinary now.
Archer won the race for him, and even scored again the following day when winning the Melbourne Town Plate over the same two-mile distance.
1863, Archer was already shipped to go for another Melbourne Cup having won it twice. The Victoria Turf Club however said that the telegraph of acceptance was not received in time. Archer was then scratched, stopping him winning it for a third time.
Etienne De Mestre’s Melbourne Cup Wins
The 1800’s were very different times for horse racing. That is true more specifically of the Melbourne Cup.
While we consider Bart Cummings’ achievement of saddling 12 Cup winners to be the greatest of all in this race, we reckon De Mestre could have beaten that.
De Mestre trained his five winners in just 18 seasons. Had he carried on longer, he may have trained many more.
Even now, he sits joint-second with Lee Freedman on the leaderboard.
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Horse Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | Calamia | 5 | T Brown | Etienne De Mestre | 3:35.75 |
| 1877 | Chester | 3 | P Pigott | Hon. James White | 3:33.50 |
| 1867 | The Whiffler | 5 | John Driscoll | Etienne De Mestre | 3:39.00 |
| 1862 | Archer | 6 | John Cutts | Etienne De Mestre | 3:47.00 |
| 1861 | Archer | 5 | John Cutts | Etienne De Mestre | 3:52.00 |
Not only did De Mestre train five winners, but in Archer he also handled one of few very dual winners. Archer is one of just four horses to have won the Cup twice, while Makybe Diva is the only in history to win it three times.
