The 2020 Melbourne Cup has been won and run at Flemington, with Twilight Payment leading all the way to take home the famous race.
Tiger Moth came in second, Prince Of Arran finished in the places for the third year in a row, running third, while The Chosen One came fourth.
Avilius was the final horse to finish the race, but there were two who didn’t pass the post at all. King Of Leogrance was a raceday scratching, and unfortunately the race was marred with tragedy as Anthony Van Dyck pulled up lame with 400m metres to go and had to be euthanised.
Here is the complete finishing order for the 2020 Melbourne Cup.
| Place | Number | Barrier | Horse | Prizemoney | Margin | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 6 | 12 | Twilight Payment (IRE) | $4,400,000 | 3:17.34 | Joseph O’Brien | Jye McNeil |
| 2nd | 21 | 23 | Tiger Moth (IRE) | $1,100,000 | 0.4L | Aidan O’Brien | Kerrin McEvoy |
| 3rd | 12 | 1 | Prince of Arran (GBR) | $550,000 | 0.6L | Charlie Fellowes | Jamie Kah |
| 4th | 17 | 5 | The Chosen One (NZ) | $350,000 | 2.35L | Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman | Daniel Stackhouse |
| 5th | 24 | 20 | Persan | $230,000 | 2.45L | Danny O’Brien | Michael Dee |
| 6th | 5 | 14 | Sir Dragonet (IRE) | $160,000 | 3.45L | Ciaron Maher and David Eustace | Glenn Boss |
| 7th | 7 | 15 | Verry Elleegant (NZ) | $160,000 | 3.85L | Chris Waller | Mark Zahra |
| 8th | 15 | 16 | Russian Camelot (IRE) | $160,000 | 3.95L | Danny O’Brien | Damien Oliver |
| 9th | 11 | 6 | Finche (GBR) | $160,000 | 4.7L | Chris Waller | James McDonald |
| 10th | 18 | 24 | Ashrun (FRA) | $160,000 | 4.8L | Andreas Wohler | Declan Bates |
| 11th | 22 | 17 | Oceanex (NZ) | N/A | 5.55L | Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr. | Dean Yendall |
| 12th | 19 | 8 | Warning | N/A | 6.8L | Anthony and Sam Freedman | Luke Currie |
| 13th | 13 | 7 | Surprise Baby (NZ) | N/A | 8.8L | Paul Preusker | Craig Williams |
| 14th | 23 | 13 | Miami Bound (NZ) | N/A | 10.55L | Ciaron Maher and David Eustace | Daniel Moor |
| 15th | 4 | 11 | Master of Reality (IRE) | N/A | 10.75L | Joseph O’Brien | Ben Melham |
| 16th | 16 | 21 | Streel Prince (IRE) | N/A | 10.95L | Anthony and Sam Freedman | Willie Pike |
| 17th | 20 | 22 | Etah James (NZ) | N/A | 12.7L | Ciaron Maher and David Eustace | Billy Egan |
| 18th | 3 | 4 | Vow And Declare | N/A | 13.95L | Danny O’Brien | Jamie Mott |
| 19th | 8 | 2 | Mustajeer (GBR) | N/A | 14.95L | Kris Lees | Michael Rodd |
| 20th | 9 | 9 | Stratum Albion (GBR) | N/A | 17.95L | Willie Mullins | Jordan Childs |
| 21st | 10 | 19 | Dashing Willoughby (GBR) | N/A | 19.2L | Andrew Balding | Michael Walker |
| 22nd | 2 | 10 | Avilius (GBR) | N/A | 20.95L | James Cummings | John Allen |
| FF | 1 | 3 | Anthony Van Dyck (IRE) | N/A | N/A | Aidan O’Brien | Hugh Bowman |
sheek
Roar Guru
I had my money on Prince Of Arran, & had the race been just two metres longer, POA would have won, so fast did he flash home. I guess if you were a Lloyd Williams fan, you might have had a few bucks on Twilight Payment, because no-one, especially the "experts", rated him. In the Sunday Telegraph, there were 24 "experts" who pronounced their placegetters plus a roughie. That's a total of 96 selections. Not one, not one single vote went to Twilight Payment, even as a roughie. I realised a long time ago that the "experts" have no more idea than anyone else. Occasionally, we will all jag a cup winner. But it might be due more to good luck than good, thoughtful management. The Melbourne Cup is the most difficult race in the world to predict. The last 200 metres usually kills off a lot of horses that looked like they were going to win until then. That fatigue factor sets in. On the other hand, the large field of 23 (in this case) was a reason Prince Of Arran didn't win, because he was caught behind a pack of horses for just long enough to compromise his chance of winning. I still think the Melbourne Cup is the greatest race in the world. It lasts for 3 minutes 20 seconds, which is long enough to enjoy the race, & see whether your horse is going to win or 'also ran'. Compare this to the 1200m Everest or 1200m Golden Slipper, which are both over in about 50 seconds. But I guess if you're a gambler the length of the race is absolutely immaterial. In fact, the shorter the better for them. There are so many variables to the MC, making it such an enticing race. However, it would help if Australasian breeders went back to breeding stayers, & overseas horses were compelled to have at least one start in Australia before the cup. On another note, why are so many thoroughbreds breaking down & being destroyed. Reports say 7 horses have been put down in 7 years, which is a huge worry. Two of them were top weights - Admire Ratke & Anthony Van Dyk. But their weight of 58.5 kgs (9st 3lbs) was not a huge weight compared to the past. The last horse to carry 10 st into the cup was Galilee with 10.1 (64kgs) back in 1968. Gunsynd carried the last highest weight into a place with 60.5 kgs (9.7) in 1972. Today's horses don't carry the weights of yesteryear, & generally race much less. But why then, are they so brittle? What has changed with breeding to make horses less sound today in their legs?