1978 Melbourne Cup
The 1978 Melbourne Cup was a handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 7 November 1978 over 3200m, at Flemington Racecourse.
The race was won by the New Zealand bred gelding Arwon, trained by George Hanlon and ridden by Harry White. The runner up was Dandaleith, trained by A P Pringle, and third place went to Karu trained by J Holme. The winning margin was a short neck with a further neck to third place. Dandaleith was ridden by the 16 year old Toby Autridge.
Background
Arwon started his career in New Zealand where he was raced under the name Flash Guy. After one win there he was purchased for $18,000 by the Doon Brothers Syndicate and moved to the Canberra stable of John Morrissey. The name Arwon was a reversal of the New [South Wales] town Nowra. He was only transferred to George Hanlon four months before the Melbourne Cup and was placed 2nd behind Ming Dynasty in the Metropolitan Handicap. Arwon also won the 1978 Herbert Power Handicap and the 1980 Sandown Cup.This win was the second Melbourne Cup victory for George Hanlon, his previous success was the outsider Piping Lane in the 1972 Melbourne Cup.
It was the third of four Melbourne Cup wins for Harry White, he also won on Think Big and subsequently Hyperno for Bart Cummings. Arwon's regular jockey Gary Willetts was unfortunate to miss the ride due to a suspension.
Field
The following are the placegetters in the 1978 Melbourne Cup.| Place | Horse | Weight | Odds | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1st | Arwon | 50.5 | 5-1 | George Hanlon | Harry White |
| 2nd | Dandaleith | 50.5 | 20-1 | A P Pringle | Toby Autridge |
| 3rd | Karu | 48 | 40-1 | J Holme | Warwick Robinson |
| 4th | Boldness | 50 | 20-1 | A G Clarke | |
| 5th | So Called | 54.5 | 9-2 | B Thompson | |
| 6th | Jury | 52 | 25-1 | A Treveno | |
| 7th | Big Skipper | 51 | 12-1 | John Stocker | |
| 8th | Valadero | 51.5 | 33-1 | G Palmer | |
| 9th | Our Big Gamble | 53.5 | 12-1 | B Compton | |
| 10th | Panamint | 56 | 9-1 | Roy Higgins | |
| 11th | Vive Velours | 48 | 10-1 | Johnny Letts | |
| 12th | Lefroy | 54.5 | 40-1 | B Andrews | |
| 13th | Belmura Lad | 52.5 | 25-1 | P Trotter | |
| 14th | Rain Circle | 50 | 25-1 | M Doningo | |
| 15th | Becidium | 49 | 50-1 | R Quinton | |
| 16th | Taksan | 55.5 | 10-1 | J Duggan | |
| 17th | Rang Again | 49 | 33-1 | L Masters | |
| 18th | Bilgola Boy | 48 | 400-1 | D Green | |
| 19th | Drumshambo | 49 | 125-1 | K Mitchell | |
| 20th | Stormy Rex | 55 | 40-1 | K Langby | |
| 21st | Decelea | 49 | 250-1 | M Broadfoot | |
| 22nd | Massuk | 48.5 | 66-1 | G Murphy | |
| Scratched | Lady Athenaia | n/a | |||
| Scratched | Mainspring | n/a |