A Horse Called Mighty

In April 1995, a plain brown colt was passed in at the famous Easter Yearling Sales in Sydney, virtually unnoticed. He would grow up to become an icon of the Australian turf, a national treasure. Might and Power was a giant in a golden era of exceptional thoroughbreds: 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 Australian racing'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 Australasian turf, and one of the best horses in the world.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his stunning Caulfield and Melbourne Cups conquests, Helen Thomas revisits the extraordinary story of this horse called Mighty.