" ... Makybe Diva, a seven-year-old English-born mare, became the first horse to win Australia's richest and most famous race, three times in a row ... in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Carrying a record 58kg for a mare, Makybe Diva, owned by South Australian tuna fisherman Tony Santic, was the favourite in the A$5.1m (US$3.8m) race over 3 200m. Santic said it would be Makybe Diva's last race and that she would retire ... ... Makybe Diva was ridden by Glen Boss, who was aboard the horse on both previous Cup wins and also rode her to victory 10 days ago in the Cox Plate, a major pre-Melbourne Cup race ... "
" ... Phar Lap was a legendary Australian horse which won 36 of his 50 starts in four years of racing in the late 1920s and early 1930. He died as a six-year-old in 1932 under questionable circumstances ... "
BTW - Aussies still blame the Yanks for that :~)))
excerpted from : New 24 . com
so not only "let's hear it for the sheilas!" - but "let's hear it for the ones with a bit of extra weight too!!!!!!" LOL!