Melbourne Cup 2026: King Charles’ former horse Point of Law storms home to win
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EN: In news headlines, the Simple Present tense (here: 'Wins') is often used to describe recent past events to make them feel immediate and exciting.
Local team wins the championship.
EN: The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most prestigious annual horse race, famously known as 'the race that stops a nation'. The British Royal Family has a long tradition of breeding and racing thoroughbred horses.
EN: Use the simple past tense 'won' (the past form of 'win') to describe a completed action or victory that happened in the past.
Our team won the championship last year.
EN: The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most prestigious annual horse race, famously dubbed 'the race that stops a nation'. It is held every year at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
EN: Use 'be worth + amount of money' to describe how much something costs, is valued at, or how much prize money it offers.
This painting is worth two million dollars.
EN: The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most prestigious annual horse race, famously nicknamed 'the race that stops a nation' because people all across Australia pause their activities to watch it on the first Tuesday of November.
EN: Use 'but' to connect two past actions that show a contrast or change in situation.
She bought a bicycle, but she sold it last week.
EN: The British Royal Family has a long-standing tradition of breeding and racing thoroughbred horses, a passion notably shared by the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III.
EN: When a collective noun phrase like 'a group of [plural nouns]' is the subject, it is treated as a single singular unit, so we use the singular verb 'has' instead of 'have'.
A group of students has a new project.
EN: In thoroughbred horse racing, top racehorses are very expensive to buy and maintain, so they are frequently owned by a syndicate—a group of multiple co-owners who share the costs and prize money.
EN: Use 'at one point' to describe something that happened or was true during a particular moment in time in the past.
At one point, it started to rain heavily during our walk.
EN: In horse racing, 'length' is a standard unit of measurement roughly equal to the length of a horse (about 2.4 meters or 8 feet). A lead of twenty lengths is considered extraordinarily large.
EN: Use ', so' to connect a cause/reason to its result. The first part explains the situation, and the second part shows what happens because of it.
It started to rain, so we went inside.
EN: In horse racing, 'length' is a standard informal unit of measurement used to describe the distance between horses during or at the end of a race, roughly equivalent to about 2.4 meters (8 feet).
EN: We can connect two actions done by the same subject using 'and'. Both verbs should be in the same tense (here, both 'ran' and 'won' are in the past tense).
He jumped over the fence and ran away.
EN: In horse racing commentary, dramatic comebacks 'at the end' of a long-distance race like the Melbourne Cup (3,200 meters) are thrilling highlights, often showcasing stamina and strategic timing by the jockey.
EN: We can use 'or' between commas to give an explanation or simpler definition of a word.
A pilot, or the person flying the plane, must be very careful.
EN: In horse racing, a 'jockey' is a professional rider. Ethan Brown is a well-known Australian jockey who made an inspiring comeback after a life-threatening fall in 2023.
EN: Use 'almost + past tense verb' to talk about something dangerous, lucky, or surprising that was very close to happening, but did not actually happen.
She almost missed her train this morning.
EN: Horse racing is an extremely dangerous sport for jockeys. Falls during high-speed races can cause life-threatening injuries, making a jockey's recovery and comeback to win a prestigious race like the Melbourne Cup an inspiring achievement.
EN: Use 'Please don't + base verb' to make a polite negative request, asking someone not to do something.
Please don't close the door.
EN: The phrase "Don't wake me up" is a common English idiom used when something feels so wonderful and unbelievable that the speaker feels as though they are dreaming. In Ethan Brown's case, after suffering a life-threatening fall three years prior, winning the Melbourne Cup truly felt like a dream.
EN: Use the conjunction 'and' to connect two complete sentences into a compound sentence. Here, the first part states a general routine/job (present tense: 'prepares'), while the second part describes a specific past event (past tense: 'had').
She teaches English at a school, and she had many students last year.
EN: In horse racing, a trainer manages a horse's daily routine, diet, and race readiness. Having multiple horses from the same trainer in a prestigious race like the Melbourne Cup is impressive, as each horse requires separate qualification and top-tier training.
EN: We use the verb 'come' followed by ordinal numbers (like 'first', 'second', 'third') to talk about finishing positions in a race or competition. The past tense of 'come' is 'came'.
She came first in the running race.
EN: In major horse racing events like the Melbourne Cup, having horses from the same trainer finish in both second and third place (called 'running place') is considered an extraordinary achievement.
EN: Use 'No + noun' at the start of a sentence to make the whole sentence negative, meaning 'not any'. The verb stays in the positive form (e.g., 'did', not 'didn't').
No student knew the answer.
EN: The Melbourne Cup is known in Australia as 'the race that stops a nation'. Winning first place is already a huge achievement, but having horses also place second and third from the same trainer is extraordinarily rare.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
the sport in which horses and their riders take part in races
to stop sleeping, or to cause someone to stop sleeping
to finish a competition or race in the second position
at a particular time in the past during an event