On his third attempt to win the Cup, the Jim Cummings’ trained five-year-old bay horse, the top-weighted Comic Court, ridden by Pat Glennon, won by three lengths, to win at odds of 25 to 1, ahead of Chicquita and Morse Code.
More than 80,000 spectators at Flemington witnessed the 1950 Melbourne Cup win, worth £12,500 plus a £300 trophy.
Comic Court, carrying 9 st 5 lb (59.5 kg) won easily, having led from the last six furlongs, to secure him the Australasian two-mile record time of 3 min 19.5 seconds.
Owners – Messrs AJ, R, JD and AJ (Jnr) Lee, of Adelaide – said, after the race, ‘Without a doubt, this is the greatest day of our lives!’
The horse’s strapper was the trainer’s son, the late Bart Cummings.
Comic Court’s feat was remembered in a photographic exhibition held at the Normanville Hotel during History Month in May 2018. To commemorate the great horse and its life, and the beginning of Bart’s career as a trainer, a booklet was produced Remembering Comic Court, available from Freestyle Publications’ website: www.freestylepublications.com.au.