Martini Henry has a special place in Melbourne Cup history, for two reasons.

He was the first New Zealand-bred horse to win the race and made an extraordinary start to his race career.

The 1883 Melbourne Cup was only his second start and came just three days after he had made a winning debut,  in the Victoria (VRC) Derby. He also won again on the third day of the Flemington meeting.

Martini Henry was the third horse to complete the VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup double in the same year but, unsurprisingly, no other horse has achieved the double at their first two starts. It would be equally safe to say that it will not happen in the future.

Martini Henry won the VRC St Leger first-up the following autumn but was beaten at his four other starts and was retired to stud after breaking down in the 1884 Caulfield Cup.

The Musket colt was owned by Australian Jockey Club chairman James White, a wealthy farmer, who had a relatively short but extremely successful career as an owner.

Between 1877 and 1890, White’s list of feature race wins included two Melbourne Cups, six Victorian Derbys, three VRC Oaks, six VRC St Legers,  three Caulfield Guineas, four Australian Cups, five AJC Derbys, three AJC Metropolitans, five AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes and four AJC Champagne Stakes.

Martini Henry, who was from Musket’s first New Zealand crop, was from the VRC Oaks winner Sylvia and bred at Glen Orchard Stud by the Auckland Stud Company. The company later established Sylvia Park Stud, named after Martini Henry’s dam.

Sylvia, who began her stud career in Australia, had 10 named foals but only three colts. None of the fillies won a stakes race but her colts were all classic winners.

White paid 1250 guineas for Martini Henry as a weanling – a huge price for a young horse at the time - after visiting Glen Orchard and seeing the youngster.

Martini Henry went to stud in Australia and had a sound record as a sire, with his stock including an AJC Derby winner and four Oaks winners.