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Melbourne Cup Trainers 2026
Ciaron Maher has seven darts and Joseph O'Brien five — between them they train half the field. Here's every stable with a runner and where their best chance lies.
Stable by stable
Ciaron Maher 7 runners
Middle Earth, Royal Supremacy, Juja Kibo, Zahrann, Point Of Law, Mr Monaco, Shockletz
The 2022 Cup winner (Gold Trip) holds an extraordinary hand — nearly a third of the field, including the favourite.
Joseph O'Brien 5 runners
Sons And Lovers, Trustyourinstinct, Goodie Two Shoes, James J Braddock, Kizlyar
A two-time Cup winner (Rekindling 2017, Twilight Payment 2020). Lost leading fancy Defiantly to a Derby-morning vet fail.
Chris Waller 2 runners
Asterix, Soul Of Spain
Trained Verry Elleegant to the 2021 Cup. Both his runners drew single-figure gates.
Symons & Laxon 1 runner
Knight's Choice
The small Queensland stable that produced the $91 boilover in 2024 — back with the same horse and rider.
Waterhouse & Bott 1 runner
Vauban
Gai Waterhouse won the 2013 Cup with Fiorente; Vauban was sixth in the race last year.
The international raiders 5 runners
Enfjaar (R. Varian), Wine Dark Sea (H. Charlton), Hopewell Rock (G. Boughey), Onesmoothoperator (T. Fitzsimmons), plus O'Brien's Irish five above
European and US stables have dominated the modern Cup — seven of eight winners between 2014 and 2021 were northern-hemisphere bred.
The other locals 4 runners
So You Are (B. Baker), Future History (G. Hickman), Strictly Business (T. Carberry), Zakouma (G. Begg)
Hickman has last year's winning rider Jamie Melham; Begg has William Pike booked on Zakouma.
The training records that matter
Bart Cummings' 12 Cups remain the Everest of training records — no modern conditioner comes close. Among active trainers, the O'Brien family (Joseph two, Aidan famously none despite a decade of trying) and the Australian super-stables of Maher and Waller define the current era.
Maher's seven-runner hand mirrors his usual spring strategy: flood the staying features, find the right horse on the day. His 2022 winner Gold Trip came with a similar spread of chances. For punters, the stable's market signals on Cup morning — which of the seven the money comes for — are worth watching closely on our odds page.
More 2026 Melbourne Cup coverage
Frequently asked questions
Has Ciaron Maher won the Melbourne Cup?›
Yes — Gold Trip in 2022, trained in partnership with David Eustace. In 2026 he saddles seven runners, the most of any trainer.
Has Joseph O'Brien won the Melbourne Cup?›
Twice — Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020). Remarkably, his father Aidan O'Brien has never won it.
Who trained the 2025 Melbourne Cup winner?›
Tony and Calvin McEvoy trained Half Yours, who completed the Caulfield Cup–Melbourne Cup double. Half Yours is not in the 2026 field.