In April 1995, a plain brown horse was passed in at the famous Easter Yearling Sales in Sydney, virtually unnoticed. He would go on to become the favourite of racegoers all over Australia. Might and Power was a giant in a golden era of exceptional racehorses: the horse of a lifetime for owner Nick Moraitis, the horse of hope for trainer Jack Denham, and the horse of redemption for jockey Jim Cassidy.
Despite his awkward galloping style, few thoroughbreds could match Might and Power’s sustained speed and stamina, and racing fans loved his freewheeling leader’s style. In 1997, after winning the Caulfield Cup by a staggering seven and a half lengths, he again led all the way to capture the Australian turf’s greatest prize, the Melbourne Cup – holding at bay the valiant stayer Doriemus to triumph in one of the race’s closest finishes. No one expects to see another horse do this again. Not like Mighty.
When he followed his astonishing Cups double with victory in the W.S. Cox Plate in 1998, Might and Power was the undisputed champion of the Australian turf, and one of the best horses in the world.
Since retiring from the racetrack, he has become a much-loved ambassador for the sport of kings, truly a People’s Horse. Now, 20 years after his astonishing Caulfield and Melbourne Cup conquests, Helen Thomas revisits the extraordinary story of this horse called Mighty.
Helen Thomas has worked as a journalist for more than thirty years in both radio and print. She is the manager of ABC NewsRadio as well as being a thoroughbred breeder and racehorse owner. She is the author of The Horse That Bart Built, Past the Post, 42 Days at the Races and Moods: The Peter Moody Saga.
