Melbourne Cup won by Tim Whiffler

The Melbourne Cup presented in 1867 was made in England by Thomas Smily of London firm WR Smily & Company.

Victorian jewellers complained to the Victorian Racing Club (VRC) that the trophy should have been made locally; believing the work of Melburnian William Edwards to be superior in both design and workmanship to the English-made trophy.

Perhaps because of the controversy, no trophy was awarded to the Melbourne Cup winner for the next eight years, when an Australian-made trophy was awarded for the first time.

The 1867 race featured two horses by the name of Tim Whiffler, the 5-2 favourite and eventual winner from New South Wales, and a local horse owned by Walter Craig, a well-known Ballarat hotelier. To avoid confusion, the bookmakers referred to them as ‘Sydney Tim’ and ‘Melbourne Tim’.