His dual with Big Philou was overshadowed by the infamous 1969 Cup doping scandal, but he won two Cups

Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover (GB) (a son of the unbeaten Ribot). His dam Rain Spot was by Valognes (GB). He was owned and bred by Clifford A. Reid, who won the 1945 Melbourne Cup with Rainbird. Trainer Mick L. Robins, a former coalminer from Broken Hill, New South Wales had obtained his trainer's licence just three months before he took over Rain Lover's conditioning. Rain Lover took a while to get going as a race horse, but in a race against some fairly unremarkable competitors he emerged victorious in a mile event at Adelaide's Morphettville racecourse when he was a 2yo. During the early stages of his racing career, he achieved notable triumphs in South Australia. As a three-year-old, he emerged victorious in the prestigious SA St. Leger and the 1968 Adelaide Cup, demonstrating his exceptional talent and potential.

When he was stretched a bit and tried out over more ground at the distance of 2000m, he took out the Gr.1 LKS, Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington on the first day of the VRC Spring Carnival, and supplied the bookend on the last day of the carnival when he ran first in the C.B. Fisher Plate, which in those pre-metric days was a mile and a half, and these days is known as the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over 2600 metres.

In his first Melbourne Cup triumph, under jockey Jim Johnson, Rain Lover won by a record eight-length margin and in a record time of 3:19.1. Rain Lover was meticulously prepared for his 1968 Melbourne Cup endeavour, owing to the diligent efforts of Mick Roberts, a seasoned professional with a background in coal mining, who assumed responsibility for the horse's care and training only three months after relinquishing his previous occupation. Hall of Fame jockey Johnson was well prepared when the pair went up against 25 of the country’s best stayers. Rain Lover was rather fortunate in being given only 51.5 kg, but unfortunate from the regard of drawing barrier number 24. The starting position did not appear to hinder Rain Lover's brilliant performance, as he achieved a record-tying eight-length winning advantage over Fileur and third-place Fans. Notably, a record time remained unbroken for 22 years. The eight-length margin was equivalent to that of Archer in 1862, and this connection would be further reinforced the following year when Rain Lover became the first since Archer to win the Cup in consecutive years.

In his run up to the Melbourne Cup in 1969, he was seen at the head of the field in the Chipping Norton Stakes, the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Craiglee Stakes, Underwood and St. Georges Stakes. Now racing as a five-year-old, Rain Lover was matched against 22 others, including the horse he beaten the previous year, Fileur. Rain Lover was given 60.5 kg for this attempt, but this time he drew barrier five. Jim Johnson was again aboard. Controversy surrounded his second win as the hot favourite and heavily backed, Big Philou trained by Bart Cummings was the victim of a doping scandal and was withdrawn from the race 39 minutes before the start. The story of that years Cup, and the focal point was the incident that caused the pre-race favourite and trainer Bart Cummings horse to be scratched, after someone apparently slipped into Big Philou’s stall and administered a heavy dose of the powerful laxative Danthron. Burdened with 9 st. 7 lbs, Rain Lover still went on to win the race in game fashion by a neck from Alsop and created history as the first back-to-back winner since Archer in 1861 and 1862.

For the sake of comparison, it is necessary to know that Rain Lover and Big Philou did compete against each other twice. Big Philou won the first meeting by half a head in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which unexpectedly turned into a match race when none of the other horses made it to the post. The two met again at Randwick in the Autumn Stakes of 1970. This time, it was Rain Lover that came out on top, leaving the debate over which was the better horse forever unsettled. However, Rain Lover was a remarkable champion in his own right and wrote himself into the history books as one of the greatest Australasian stayers of all time. The brilliant galloper was only out of the money 8 times from 46 race starts.

RACE RECORD - 46:17-10-11

EARNINGS - A$188,100

Adelaide Cup (1968)

Mackinnon Stakes (1968)

C.B.Fisher Plate (1968)

Melbourne Cup (1968, 1969)

Chipping Norton Stakes (1969)

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1969)

Craiglee Stakes (1969)

Underwood Stakes (1969)

St George Stakes (1969, 1970)

VRC Queens Plate (1970)

AJC Autumn Stakes (1970)