Counting down to the 150th Adelaide Cup, we look back at Lord Reims three consecutive Adelaide Cups
This year is the 150th running of the Adelaide Cup and The Advertiser is taking a look its most memorable moments, starting with Lord Reims’ three consecutive wins and the time he and his trainer shared a pint with punters after one of the victories.
Racing
Don't miss out on the headlines from Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
This year is the 150th running of the Adelaide Cup.
The Advertiser is taking a look at five of the most memorable moments of the two-mile feature, starting with the legendary Lord Reims.
Lord Reims made Morphettville his own in the late 80s, winning three consecutive Adelaide Cups.
Watch over 50 sports LIVE on Kayo! Stream to your TV, mobile, tablet or computer. Just $25/month, cancel anytime. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
But it was the aftermath of his 1989 victory that holds the horse in Australian racing folklore when he, and his New Zealander trainer Cliff Fenwick celebrated with a pint among punters in the front bar of Morphett Arms later that night.
The Kiwi’s affinity with Adelaide was second to unsurpassed.
He was unbeaten in five starts at Morphettville during a 47 start career that netted 13 wins and seven placings for $1,035,258 in stakemoney while also included the 1987 Caulfield Cup.
He boasted a aggregate Adelaide Cup winning margin of a staggering 12 lengths.
“Lord Reims was a very good horse,’’ champion jockey John Letts remembered.
“Much like Makybe Diva, he just had a habit of peaking at the perfect time of the year time and time again.
“He was able to come back to Australia each year and keep doing it and he was the same when it came here for the Adelaide Cup.
“He’s was such a durable horse too. He travelled everywhere and took it in all in his stride and when it came to two-miles at Morphettville he was something else.”
His first cup win was a landmark for Kiwi jockey Maree Lyndon, rated the best female rider in the world at the time by legendary jockey Scobie Breasley.
A pioneer for female riders, Lyndon defied pre-race plans before the pair won the cup by three lengths and she said “he’s that strong and tough he probably could have gone around another lap.’’
Lyndon went on to become the first woman to ride in a Melbourne Cup.
Much like Clare Lindop years later, Lyndon was determined to forge her own path and made the move from New Zealand to Sydney where she enjoyed huge success.
“I was just treated like one of the boys,’’ Lyndon said at the time.
“When I arrived in Australia I had already won 200 races which was more than most of the blokes,’’ she said.
In her 10 years in the saddle, Lydon recorded 543 wins including the Auckland, Brisbane and Adelaide Cups and for two years was a leading jockey on the Asian circuit riding in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Brent Thomson was aboard Lord Reims for his second Cup success before Grant Cooksley was in the saddle for his third straight triumph.
That almost didn’t happen after the horse pulled up sore after winning the West End Stakes (renamed the Lord Reims Stakes in 2010) in the lead-up, a win that many believe stamp Lord Reims as the greatest Adelaide Cup winner.