In the build-up to the race, the gelding was the subject of a major gamble, being backed down from odds of 50/1 to 11/1 shortly before the event.
[5] Despite the support of betters, Black Knight's regular jockey Robert Heffernan rejected him, preferring to ride Martian's Son.
The Sydney-based jockey Peter Cook, who had only ever seen the horse on television, was booked to take the ride on four days before the race.
[6] In the Cup, Black Knight carried 50kg started at odds of 10/1 in a field of nineteen runners.
He was retired from duty in 1995, although he regularly took part in parades of past winners before the running of the Melbourne Cup.