Racing legend John Letts honoured with Melbourne Cup Day feature

Ever since he won the first of his two Melbourne Cups on Piping Lane in 1972, John Letts has had a love affair with the race that stops the nation that will stand the test of time.

Ever since he won the first of his two Melbourne Cups on Piping Lane in 1972, John Letts has had a love affair with the race that stops the nation that will stand the test of time.

A second Cup win in 1980 aboard Beldale Ball furthered Letts’ legacy in the race, and a media career post race-riding saw him submerged in the emotion of Cup Day yet again.

When spring racing arrives, it’s an opportunity for Letts to reflect, and this year the two-time Cup winner is being honoured in his home state, with the John Letts Cup, to be run at Morphettville, featured on Melbourne Cup Day for the first time.

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It’s a fitting change in scheduling that has Letts grateful and honoured by a sport that’s given him so much.

“It’s something I never dreamt of, I never worked towards it – I owe racing so much,” Letts, who also won three Adelaide Cups, said.

“When I was approached recently to tell me they were going to change it, I’d never even thought of that.

“I thought how good is that, as a South Australian boy, to be given that honour.”

A field of eight will contest Tuesday’s John Letts Cup over 1800m, with Air Assault a $3 favourite with Sportsbet.

The race will be run at 3:32pm (local time).

“I owe racing everything and to honour me like this has just been, I didn’t expect it”

The John Letts Cup has been moved to Melbourne Cup Day at Morphettville and will be shown on 7 Racing.#JohnLettsCup#MelbourneCup2024#Morphettville#JohnLetts#RacingSApic.twitter.com/qL5vrkv5UU

— Racing SA (@RacingSA) October 28, 2024

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By then, a winner would have been crowned for the Melbourne Cup, and if Letts was riding at the peak of his powers in today’s day and age, there’s one horse he’d want to be swinging on.

“I’d like to be on Buckaroo, I think he’s the one,” Letts said.

“The reason for that is, (Joao) Moreira has had three rides on him, they’ve been good rides, Duke De Sessa that he ran second to in the Caulfield Cup, he was picking ground off it.

“It was a brilliant ride from Harry Coffey (Duke De Sessa), he got down to the rail as they straightened, there was a bias on the day and yet Buckaroo was still making ground on him on the line.”

Letts also thinks Absurde, who finished seventh in last year’s Cup, is a strong chance with three-time Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy on board.

Letts cites previous Cup experience as hugely beneficial, as some gallopers don’t handle the big day as well as others.

“The Melbourne Cup has proved to be a repetitive race, if you go back through the (history), you’ll see Think Big won twice, Makybe Diva three times, Rain Lover twice, Peter Pan twice – it’s a repetitive race.

“There have also been other horses that have finished in the placings three or four times.

“They can handle the day. The atmosphere at a Melbourne Cup is 120,000 people, five stories high and some of these horses get stressed, but the old stager that’s been there before … this is the whole ball game.”

John Letts riding Beldale Ball is led by owner Susan Sangster after winning the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Picture: Racing SA

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The Map will represent South Australia in Tuesday’s Cup, and Letts is quick to point out that South Australians have a history of holding their own in the two-mile handicap.

“Our record in the Cup is not too bad, when you look at the trainers you look at Bart Cummings, Colin Hayes, David Hayes, David Hall and George Hanlon, who was actually born at Wallaroo,” he said.

“It’s steeped in South Australian history, and the jockeys as well, myself, Jim Johnson won it three times, Kerrin (McEvoy) three times, Pat Glennon twice, Bill Pyers twice and Ossie Phillips – they’re all there.”

But for many jockeys, simply participating in the race fulfils a lifelong goal itself.

“Most jockeys just dream of riding in the Melbourne Cup, if you get a ride in the Melbourne Cup, it’s like an excitement machine,” he said.

“It’s something you’ll live with forever. It’s a life changing event.”

Originally published as Racing legend John Letts honoured with Melbourne Cup Day feature