Favourite Point of Law has won the 2026 Melbourne Cup at Flemington, giving trainer Ciaron Maher a historic trifecta in the race that stops a nation, according to results published on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Point of Law, ridden by Ethan Brown, surged home to beat stablemate Zahrann by 3.75 lengths, with another Maher runner, Juja Kibo, in third and Sons and Lovers fourth. Maher became the first trainer in the 166-year history of the race to train the first three place-getters, while Brown claimed his first Melbourne Cup triumph. The field went down to 23 runners after Asterix was scratched on race morning, and the track was rated Soft 5 after 7.4mm of rain in the previous 24 hours.
Brown times his run to perfection
Outsider Royal Supremacy tore away early and took a huge lead running into the straight, but the bold front-running gamble could not last. Point of Law, settled back in the field, produced a sustained run to overpower the leaders and hit the front when it mattered, holding off Zahrann, ridden by Ben Melham, and Juja Kibo, ridden by Sam Clipperton, in the closing stages. For Brown, the win capped a remarkable comeback story. The 27-year-old jockey had suffered a near-fatal fall at the same racecourse in 2023, according to race-day coverage, making his first Cup victory at Flemington all the more resonant. Point of Law also completed the Geelong–Melbourne Cup double, underlining the strength of the form behind the win.
A training feat for the record books
Maher’s dominance went beyond the trifecta. His other runners finished fifth (Royal Supremacy), sixth (Shockletz), tenth (Middle Earth) and seventeenth (Mr Monaco), meaning five of his horses filled the top six places in Australia’s most famous race. No trainer had ever swept the Melbourne Cup podium before, and doing it with the favourite only adds to the scale of the achievement. The Cup carried a total prize pool of $10 million, including $9.09 million in cash prize money and more than $1.11 million in trophies, with the winner collecting $4.5 million and every runner guaranteed a minimum return of $100,000, according to Sporting News’ prize breakdown. Vauban finished last of the 23 runners.
What the result means for Australian racing
A trifecta from one stable in a 23-horse handicap is the kind of result that will be talked about for years, and it raises the bar for every rival stable heading into the spring carnival’s remaining features. For Maher, the win cements his place among the great modern trainers; for Brown, it is the defining ride of a career rebuilt after a terrible fall. The race that stops a nation stopped it again — this time for a piece of history no trainer had managed in 166 runnings.
