Doriemus and the Cup that sparked a car park party

Doriemus, the Kiwi-bred stayer by Norman Pentaquad, became one of the few horses to claim the coveted Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double. Trained by Lee Freedman and ridden by a then 23-year-old Damien Oliver, he surged down the wet and muddy Flemington straight to defeat Nothin’ Leica Dane and Vintage Crop in one of the most memorable editions of the race. 

But the story behind the scenes is also worth telling. 

Doriemus was purchased from New Zealand breeder Jim Gibbs, a man known for being “as tough as nails to deal with,” according to part-owner Terry Henderson of OTI Racing. Gibbs gave an honest glimpse into the simple reality of the sale: “I had a big property at the beach with a mortgage,” he recalled. “And I thought, well, if I can sell him on, I can reduce the mortgage.” 

The deal was done, Gibbs stayed in the horse, and a lifelong friendship was born. 

“When we bought Doriemus, frankly, we didn’t have the money to pay for him outright,” Henderson admitted. “Lee Freedman put the marriage together. The deal was that I was allowed to manage the horse through Pacers Australia.” 

The Melbourne Cup triumph meant a maiden win in the great race for Oliver and Henderson alike.

“It was unbelievable to win my first Cup at that age,” Oliver said.

“I’d run second in the race the year before, so to go one better was amazing.” 

The post-race celebrations were, in Henderson’s words, “indescribable.” 

“In those days, Flemington didn’t lock the gates at 7pm,” he laughed. “So the party that went on in the car park was still legendary. I’d actually paid a guard to look after the Cup. I said, ‘There’s $500 in it for you, just watch the Cup.’ I didn’t want to worry about it, because it was floating around among all these drunks in the car park! Needless to say, the next day wasn’t flash.” 

Doriemus returned the following year and finished sixth to Saintly, another legend of the turf. In 1997, he finished a narrow second to the legendary Might And Power in both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup. In the latter, jockey Greg Hall famously thought he had won, as the race ended in a photo finish. 

At the age of 24, after spending his retirement at Living Legends, Doriemus was euthanised following a paddock accident that resulted in a hoof injury. 

Lee Freedman fondly recalled the horse that gave him his second of five Melbourne Cups in 2006, saying, “Doriemus certainly didn't look much when he arrived from New Zealand. I thought he was a polo pony! But we knew we had something special when we galloped him at Eagle Farm as a 3YO. It was a long-range plan to win the 1995 Melbourne Cup, and to also win the Caulfield Cup was a bonus. He was an outstanding world-class stayer, right up there in the top three stayers I have trained. If it wasn’t for Might And Power, he would have won the Cups double again in 1997.”