In front of a crowd of 90,000, it seemed as if record-breaking Aidan O’Brien’s trained horse had it in the bag until son Joseph’s, the 14-1 shot, Rekindling came on strong in the closing stages to take the win.
Aged just 24 and in his second year of training, Joseph O’Brien becomes the youngest trainer to win the Melbourne Cup, a race his father has so far failed to conquer. “I can’t quite believe it. I’m just so delighted for everyone,” the winning trainer said. “This is unbelievable. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Australian Lloyd Williams, who owns both Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer said “I’m proud of this young man. He’s an absolute star,” “I have been telling anyone who will listen to me that Joseph will be the leading trainer in the world in years to come, his father needs to watch out.You have just seen the start of an amazing career kick off right here in Melbourne. He’s an absolutely extraordinary young man and this is an amazing achievement.”
Max Dynamite rounded out the top 3, with favourite Marmelo coming in 9th and last year’s winner Almandin coming in 12th.
