# Archive: The Man Who Invented the Melbourne Cup - Sports Bizarre

An episode of [Bizarre with Mick Molloy and Titus O’Reily](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1633189616), 4 Nov 2025, 47 min.

Audio: https://enrichment.soundstack.com/4vjqq8/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/820f09cf-2ace-4180-a92d-aa4c0008f5fb/d8e4a4bd-bd8a-42d8-90f0-afbf0032233d/c8c3c37b-9b8f-4ea6-8974-b38b009435d8/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=03c66757-f8e7-49e1-8954-afbf0032234f

Frederick Charles Standish left England in 1852 under a false name and fleeing moneylenders. Landing in Melbourne, he was forced to live on the goldfields and run a sly grog business. Yet, just six years later, he would be the colony's Chief Commissioner of police, be a pallbearer at Robert O’Hara Burke's funeral, invent the Melbourne Cup, become a key player in the formation of the VRC and lead, very unsuccessfully, the hunt for Ned Kelly. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the life of one of Australia's strangest characters, a man who paused the hunt for Ned Kelly while the weights of the Melbourne Cup were declared. If you’d like more Sports Bizarre, become a member of Bizarre Plus. Click here to join today As a member, you’ll get: • A weekly bonus podcast • Access to all past episodes • Exclusive behind-the-scenes access • Access to the members-only chatroom • Ability to vote on future episodes • Early access to any live show tickets See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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