From Comedy King to Manighar

ONE hundred years ago, legendary bookmaker Sol Green’s horse, Comedy King, strode to victory to become the first foreign-bred horse to win Australia’s greatest horse race.

This week, his great-grand-daughter Toni Joel watched her horse, Manighar, run seventh in the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup.

Manighar’s trainer Luca Cunami and jockey Damien Oliver said the horse just wasn’t good enough to win the great race.

“Damien was following Americain [the winner] and then Americain took off and left us behind,” Cumani said.

“He [Manighar] kept chasing to the line, but he wasn’t good enough on the day. It’s disappointing but this is a very hard race to win as I’m discovering.”

Oliver said watch out next year.

“The horse ran really well. I think next year he will be a stronger, more mature horse and better suited. The winner is a very good horse,” Oliver said.

Joel is hoping Manighar will return so she can replicate her great-grandfather’s success.

Green was born in England but immigrated to Australia in 1885 and soon after began working as a bookmaker at Flemington.

He became so famous that people from around Australia would send letters to “Sol Green, Melbourne” and the mail would be delivered to him.
By 1906, he was one of the leading bookmakers in Australia. He travelled to England that year to hold a book on the Ascot races and, while he was there, he bought a horse from King Edward.

He returned to Australia with the mare in foal and four  years later, that foal, Comedy King, won the Melbourne Cup.

Sue Silver, Sol’s granddaughter, attended the Melbourne Cup this week as a member of the Victoria Racing Club. “I used to be into horseracing and I was invited with my brother, Robert, so after we went to Derby Day in terrible weather, it was nice to go in comfort,” she said.

“I remember my grandfather very well, and whenever we went down to his house on a Sunday the Melbourne Cup was filled with fresh flowers, although he didn’t talk a lot about the win.

“The 50th Melbourne Cup was the only silver cup ever made and he proudly had it until he passed away.”

The trophy now sits in the National Sports Museum.

JOSHUA LEVI