1872 Melbourne Cup
The 1872 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race that took place on Thursday, 7 November 1872.
This year was the twelfth running of the Melbourne Cup. It was the fourth Melbourne Cup win for owner and trainer John Tait.
The Quack was a half-brother to 1870 Melbourne Cup winner, Nimblefoot.
There would be 22 runners in the race following the withdrawals of the heavily-backed Pyrrhus, as well as Kingfisher, Hamlet and Lady Athole. Dagworth had been supported by many following its win in The Metropolitan in the autumn at Randwick, but the horse had not impressed local judges since arriving in Melbourne. Following its win in the Melbourne Stakes the previous weekend, Contessa started as favourite for the Melbourne Cup looking to be the first mare to win the race.
In warm and dusty conditions whipped up by a hot northerly wind, Valentine, Irish King, and Benjiroo held the early lead, while King of the Ring was well behind the field at the first post. Benjiroo would lead the race down the back straight, but faded before the final turn for the winning post. In its place The Quack took up the running and lead comfortably down the Flemington straight to win by two lengths. The Ace finished second closely followed by Dagworth who had come hard at the finish.
Tasmanian-bred, The Quack had finished second in The Metropolitan behind Dagworth in the autumn, repeating the performance of the previous year's winner The Pearl. To the dismay of the local contingent, the first five runners were all bred outside of Victoria.
Full results
This is the list of placegetters for the 1872 Melbourne Cup.| Place | Horse | Age Gender | Jockey | Weight | Trainer | Owner | Odds | Margin |
| 1 | The Quack | 6y h | William Enderson | John Tait | John Tait | 5/1 | 2 lengths | |
| 2 | The Ace | 4y h | Tom Hales | Harry Tothill | Thomas Joseph Ryan | 5/1 | Neck | |
| 3 | Dagworth | 4y h | George Donnelly | Etienne de Mestre | Mr. R. Bloomfield | 13/2 | - | |
| 4 | Barbelle | Aged m | Joe Kean | Edward Lee | 20/1 | - | ||
| 5 | Misty Morn | 6y h | C. Hough | Robert Standish Sevior | Austin Saqui | 33/1 | - | |
| 6 | Benjiroo | 4y h | Chalker | Mr C.S. King | 50/1 | - | ||
| 7 | King of the Ring | 3y c | William Wilson | James Wilson | Joe Thompson | 13/2 | - | |
| 8 | Early Morn | 5y h | James Wilson Jr | James Wilson | John Coldham | 10/1 | - | |
| 9 | Patriarch | 3y c | Sam Cracknell | Edward Lee | 12/1 | - | ||
| 10 | Dolphin | 4y m | H. Grubb | William Filgate | 10/1 | - | ||
| 11 | The Count | 5y h | H. Lewis | John Tait | John Tait | 20/1 | - | |
| The Baron | Aged g | McClelland | Andrew Chirnside | 100/1 | - | |||
| Valentine | Aged g | Sullivan | Patrick Keighran | 16/1 | - | |||
| Irish King | 4y h | Swales | Mr Cassidy | James J. Miller | 16/1 | - | ||
| Emblem | 5y h | Corrigan | Mr E. Moran | 16/1 | - | |||
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