Point Of Law wins Melbourne Cup as Ciaron Maher trains first three home

Point Of Law wins the 2026 Melbourne Cup

Point Of Law, a three-year-old son of Frankel, won the Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington in the early hours of 3 November 2026, local time, with Ethan Brown in the saddle. The horse beat his stable companions Zahrann and Juja Kibo by over three lengths in the two-mile handicap, with Zahrann second and Juja Kibo third. Sent off as a 6/1 favourite, he had won the Geelong Cup on his first start for trainer Ciaron Maher less than two weeks earlier. The Telegraph put the race's value at A$10.2m (£4.5m), while The Guardian described the prize as $10m.

A one-two-three for Ciaron Maher

Maher ran seven horses in the race and trained the first three home, and his runners also took fifth and sixth. Royal Supremacy set a strong pace and was still clear early in the straight, but it was reeled in and finished fifth. Sons And Lovers, the topweight for Joseph O'Brien, was the first of the Irish trainer's five runners to finish, coming home fourth. O'Brien's Trustyourinstinct, Kizlyar and Goodie Two Shoes finished well back in the field, and Defiantly was withdrawn before the race after a vet inspection. The win was the second Melbourne Cup for Maher, who also trained Gold Trip to victory in 2022.

Maher told Australia's Channel Nine about the result.

“I knew I had my best hand going into it, but it's got to execute.”

A horse with a royal past

Point Of Law was bred and formerly owned by King Charles III and raced in the royal colours for John and Thady Gosden. He won the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket in July and finished fourth in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot, where Maher watched him race and met the King. The horse was later bought privately by Wathnan Racing to continue his career in Australia. The price has not been disclosed. Since arriving in Australia he has been unbeaten in two starts.

Jockey Ethan Brown's return to the big race

Brown, who is originally from Alice Springs, suffered a near-fatal fall at Flemington in 2023 and almost walked away from racing. Maher persuaded him back into the saddle, and the win gave Brown a prominent moment at the track where he had been injured. After the race, Brown said:

“Please don't wake me up. It's an amazing feeling.”

Brown also described the ride, saying the horse had the best turn of foot in the race and that he had to stay patient after being shuffled back.

“He's going to be a superstar horse, he's something special.”