Point Of Law won the 2026 Melbourne Cup by 3.75 lengths for Ethan Brown, and Ciaron Maher became the first trainer to fill the first three placings in the race's history.
Ciaron Maher has done something no trainer has managed in 166 runnings of the Melbourne Cup. Point Of Law won Tuesday's race by 3.75 lengths for jockey Ethan Brown, and Maher's stablemates Zahrann and Juja Kibo ran second and third. That makes Maher the first trainer to fill all three placings in the race.
How the race was run
Maher-trained outsider Royal Supremacy jumped to the front and opened up a big lead on the rain-affected Flemington track, still clear well inside the final 600m. Brown kept Point Of Law in the chasing group from barrier 9, then let him go in the straight. The Frankel colt ran down the leader about 150m out and kept going away.
Royal Supremacy hung on for fifth, and Shockletz ran sixth, so Maher had five of the first six home from his seven runners.
The first six
- 1st Point Of Law (Ethan Brown)
- 2nd Zahrann (Ben Melham), 3.75 lengths
- 3rd Juja Kibo (Sam Clipperton)
- 4th Sons And Lovers (Dylan Browne McMonagle), for Joseph O'Brien
- 5th Royal Supremacy (Ben Allen)
- 6th Shockletz (Harry Coffey)
From the King's stable to the Cup
Point Of Law raced in England for King Charles III before Maher's team bought him mid-year, after his win in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket. He came to Flemington off a win in the Geelong Cup and started the Cup as favourite. He is only the fourth horse to complete the Geelong Cup and Melbourne Cup double, after Media Puzzle, Americain and Dunaden.
It is Maher's second Melbourne Cup after Gold Trip in 2022. For Brown, who grew up in Alice Springs and came back from a serious race fall at Flemington in 2023, it is the biggest win of his career.
Earlier in the day, stewards scratched the Chris Waller-trained Asterix after finding a medicated liniment had been applied to his legs on race morning, which cut the field to 23.
The punting angle
The Geelong Cup has now produced the Melbourne Cup winner again, and Point Of Law did it carrying a penalty. When next year's Cup trail starts, a lightly raced Northern Hemisphere stayer that wins at Geelong deserves close attention. It is also worth remembering how Maher's runners dominated a rain-affected track. Stable depth like that matters when you are sorting through a big field.
See the full list of past winners on our Melbourne Cup results page.