The 150th Melbourne Cup is over, raided by the French who won with Americain spoiling the Bart Cummings and So You Think party to storm home and become the fourth northern hemisphere winner of Australia’s greatest race.
As jockey Gerald Mosse returned to the mounting yard and battled through the throng on Tuesday, he stopped and waved to a familiar shout of “Allez Gerald” from an unfamiliar voice in the crowd.
Mosse had just given Americain the perfect ride in the wet, following raging favourite So You Think as Cummings’ black stallion surged to the lead and looked poised to give the master trainer his 13th Melbourne Cup.
But with around 120 metres to go, the crowd’s throaty roar for So You Think became muted as Americain swept past him, with Maluckyday following in his wake, leaving the shortest priced Cup favourite in 40 years to finish third.
“I pressed the button at the right time,” Mosse said.
“When I saw So You Think going clear on the outside, I followed him, I didn’t want to let him go by himself.
“I knew 200m out he (Americain) was going to answer, he was going to catch him.”
A downpour just before the start gave the already wet track a good final soaking which suited the six-year-old stallion, although didn’t do much for the crowd of 110,223.
A gracious Cummings will have to wait another year to claim his 13th Melbourne Cup.
“The best horse won on the day and he (So You Think) gave it a good try,” he said.
The TAB collected a record $98.1 million from punters in Victoria and NSW compared to $96 million last year.
TAB Sportsbet took another $9.3 million, up from $6 million in 2009, to take the total amount bet to $107.5 million.
In a first for TAB Sportsbet, customers could bet live on the run on the Melbourne Cup.
Favourite So You Think, which started $3.00, was $2.40 when the market closed as the field turned for home.
And surprisingly winner Americain was still $12, the same price it started, as they entered the straight.
Brisbane-based UniTab, which caters for punters in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, took a total of more than $23 million for the Cup with $13.6 million in the win pool and $9.5 million in the place pool.
How they finished:
1. Americain
2. Maluckyday
3. So You Think
4. Zipping
5. Harris Tweed
6. Holberg
7. Manighar
8. Precedence
9. Illustrious Blue
10. Mr Medici
11. Once Were Wild
12. Tokai Trick
13. Shoot Out
14. Monaco Consul
15. Master O’Reilly
16. Campanologist
17. Profound Beauty
18. Shocking
19. Red Ruler
20. Buccellati
21. Linton
22. Zavite
Descarado failed to finish.
– AAP
