A horse formerly owned by His Majesty The King has provided its new connections with a reason for significant celebration at Flemington.
“I’ve been off the drink for eight years, but I’m back on it tonight.”
This was the triumphant declaration from part-owner John O’Neill after Point Of Law, a galloper whose ownership group includes Rupert Legh and ex-AFL champion Chris Judd, clinched victory in the 2026 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.
The win marks O’Neill’s second Melbourne Cup success; his first was with Verry Elleegant during the COVID-restricted 2021 race. He also boasts three second-place finishes in the iconic event.
One of those runner-up performances came in 2018 with Marmelo, a race where Cross Counter ultimately overhauled the European-trained horse.
O’Neill experienced a strong sense of familiarity watching Point Of Law on Tuesday, noting jockey Ethan Brown’s ride was highly reminiscent of that past race.
“I could see him weaving through on the fence,” O’Neill recounted.
“A number of years ago, Hugh Bowman rode a horse for us called Marmelo and it did exactly the same thing.
“We were up the top screaming our heads off because we thought we were home, until Cross Counter came down the outside and beat us.
“This time I didn’t do any yelling until about 10 metres from the line.”
Point Of Law, a Northern Hemisphere-bred three-year-old colt, was purchased from the UK by Ciaron Maher’s Head Of Bloodstock, Will Bourne.
The colt was initially raced by His Majesty The King before Bourne successfully negotiated a deal for his purchase.
“Will Bourne travels all around the world trying to buy these horses and Ciaron spent a lot of time over in Europe and had his Mum with him and built a relationship with The King,” O’Neill stated.
“We thought The King was going to race this horse with us, but I don’t think legally he was able to do that.
“While he has missed out, I’m sure he will be very happy, and at the end of the day, we have a great relationship with Ciaron.”
O’Neill expressed his delight for Bourne, who invests considerable time and effort into sourcing international staying prospects.
“He works so hard trying to buy these horses and it’s not easy,” O’Neill commented.
“From a Melbourne Cup perspective, there are so many rules and regulations, vetting procedures that you have to go through, and you have to be buying horses that are almost perfect.
“We lost Saint George last week because of the CT scans, but it’s great for the race, it’s a safe race and it provides a wonderful spectacle.
“We feel very privileged to race with Ciaron and I’m really excited for Ethan Brown.
“He’s a great supporter of ours personally, rides all of our horses when he can.
“He had a really bad injury and for him to come back and win the Cup is incredible.”
With a long history in racing, O’Neill has developed a strong sense of trust in his trainer.
When asked if Point Of Law’s Melbourne Cup campaign was impacted by the colt running off the track at Werribee, O’Neill indicated that Maher was not overly stressed by the incident.
“The horse seems to have this enormous aerobic capacity,” O’Neill remarked.
“We’ve been lucky to have been here a lot. It’s hard to win this race, and we’re going to celebrate like we never have before.
“I’ve been off the drink for eight years, but I’m back on it tonight.”
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