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

Point of Law won the 166th Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday 3 November. It was jockey Ethan Brown's first Cup and trainer Ciaron Maher's second. This report draws on BBC Sport, The Guardian and ABC News. ## The race Maher's Royal Supremacy led by about 20 lengths at one stage, The Guardian reports, before Point of Law ran past to win by 3.75 lengths, ABC reports. Zahrann was second and Juja Kibo third, both trained by Maher, The Guardian and ABC report; the BBC says he had a record seven runners. ABC says no trainer had had the first three home in 166 editions. Sons and Lovers was fourth, The Guardian reports, and Royal Supremacy fifth, ABC reports. Point of Law was owned by King Charles until an Australian syndicate bought the horse in August, The Guardian reports. ## Reaction "Don't wake me up, this is every jockey's dream," Brown said, the BBC reports. Brown nearly died in a race fall in 2023, The Guardian reports. "I knew I had my best hand going into it, but we just had to execute," Maher said, The Guardian reports. ## Asterix scratched Only 23 of the 24 expected runners started. The Chris Waller-trained Asterix was scratched on race morning after a stable worker applied Penetrene, the BBC reports; The Guardian also reports the scratching. The Guardian says Waller was fined $50,000.