Rain Lover
Rain Lover was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for his back-to-back wins in the 1968 and 1969 VRC Melbourne Cup.
Background
Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover . His dam Rain Spot was by Valognes. He was owned and bred by Clifford A. Reid, who won the 1945 Melbourne Cup with Rainbird. Trainer Mick L. Robins, a former coal miner from Broken Hill, [New South Wales] had obtained his trainer's licence just three months before he took over Rain Lover's conditioning.Racing career
In his first Melbourne Cup triumph, under jockey Jim Johnson, Rain Lover won by a record eight-length margin and in a record time of 3:19.1.Controversy surrounded his second win as the hot favourite and heavily backed Big Philou trained by Bart Cummings was the victim of a doping scandal and was withdrawn from the race 39 minutes before the start. Burdened with 9 st. 7 lbs. Rain Lover still went on to win the race in game fashion by a neck from Alsop and created history as the first back-to-back winner since Archer in 1861 and 1862.
Amongst his other major wins were the South Australian [Jockey Club|SAJC] Adelaide Cup, VATC St [George Stakes] and the AJC Chipping Norton Stakes.