An early great of the Melbourne Cup training ranks was Victoria man Richard Bradfield.
Claiming four Cup victories, Bradfield along with John Tait and Walter Hickenbotham has only Lee Freedman, Etienne De Mestre and Bart Cummings ahead of him in the list of trainers to have won the most Melbourne Cups.
We’re looking into Bradfield and all of his Cup successes.
About Richard Bradfield
Richard Bradfield was probably the first star Melbourne Cup trainer from the area. Born in Bendigo in 1863, he began training horses in 1882. In his day, he was among the most well-known and respected trainers in Australia.
Famously, he was never called in by the stewards to answer an inquiry.
As well as winning four Melbourne Cups, Bradfield had great success in other major races. He trained the first three home in the 1918 Caulfield Cup.
Now a confirmed trend, Bradfield was among the first to master the training of imported horses. Some of his better animals including Backwood, Lucknow and King Offa were all from overseas.
As well as being a patient teacher of his horses, Bradfield also guided his human apprentices well. Subsequent turf greats such as Arthur Dewhurst and Harold Badger were proteges of Bradfield. As such, he was unsurprisingly inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.
Melbourne Cup Achievements
Richard Bradfield’s training career lasted some 58 years. His first Melbourne Cup win took him 12 years. He won the 1894 renewal before enjoying relatively regular success in the race.
His second winner came in 1902, though he had to wait another 16 years for his third win. Six years later, he won a fourth with the excellent Backwood and though that would prove to be his last Melbourne Cup win, he went on to train until 1940 with great success.
Richard Bradfield’s Melbourne Cup Wins
Though it took Bradfield a little longer than the likes of Walter Hickenbotham and John Tait, he did rack up four Melbourne Cup victories either side of the turn of the 20th century.
Here are all four of Bradfield’s Cup winners:
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Horse Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Backwood | 6 | Bunty Brown | Clark & Baillieu | 3:26.50 |
| 1918 | Night Watch | 5 | Bill Duncan | CL Macdonald | 3:25.75 |
| 1902 | The Victory | 4 | Bobbie Lewis | Clark & Robinson | 3:29.00 |
| 1894 | Patron | 4 | Henry Dawes | FW Purches | 3:31.00 |
Night Watch’s owner, Charles Leslie Macdonald, was a prominent owner/breeder. He owned two Melbourne Cup winners in fact. As well as with Night Watch in 1918, he won the race with Revenue in 1901, trained by Hugh Munro.
