Verry Elleegant, carrying the most weight by a Melbourne Cup winner after only the great Makybe Diva, upset raging favourite Incentivise to claim the 2021 Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday.
Jockey James McDonald and trainer Chris Waller won their first Melbourne Cups as last year’s seventh-placed horse won a 10th Group 1 race – all of them different.
“It’s what dreams are made of, I can’t honestly believe it,” said McDonald, who howled with delight moments after crossing the finish. “I have so much faith in her, I love her to bits. She’s trained by a master and she’s a superstar and I’m so proud of her.”
Verry Elleegant carried 57kg, one less than Makybe Diva when it won the third of three Cups in 2005.
Incentivise, whose price ranged from $2.30 to $3.00 before starting at $2.80, was aiming to become the 12th horse to complete the famous Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double in the same year and was the heaviest backed horse in Australian racing history.
(Pat Scala/Racing Photos via Getty Images)
It was run down with 600m to go to finish second, continuing a poor run for favourites in the race – the last favourite to win the Cup was Fiorente in 2013. Spanish Mission was third.
The race was run in front of 10,000 fully vaccinated racegoers while the pandemic also hit the number of international raiders with just two in the field.
Incentivise was unbeaten in his previous nine starts, a run that started in relative obscurity under part-owner, breeder and former trainer Steve Tregea and continued through to the Caulfield Cup, a victory that thrust Peter Moody’s horse into clear favouritism.
The former trainer of Black Caviar remains without a Melbourne Cup.
Last year’s winner Twilight Payment, trained in Ireland, and the UK stayer Spanish Mission were the only two international horses in a field affected by the pandemic.
The seven-year-old Verry Elleegant – known as ‘Ellie’ to her connections – is the reigning horse of the year and has a Caulfield Cup among her nine group 1 victories before Tuesday.
“I have had so much success on her and she has been good to me, good for her connections and Chris [Waller], and I want to make this her biggest day in the twilight of her career,” McDonald said before the race
McDonald, known as J-Mac, has ridden 10 of Verry Elleegant’s 15 wins but missed the ride on her in last year’s Melbourne Cup, because he couldn’t commit to the entire campaign.
“She got a long way back and was as strong as anything at the end of the Cup last year,” McDonald said. “She is a fighter and she will run the trip out, I have no doubt about that.
“The only negative I can see is the 57kg, but there is a long tail to this field and I can’t see any other horse in this field, apart from the favourite, that could have run third in the Cox Plate.
Waller had waited until Saturday to decide to run Verry Elleegant and said if there was “any negative’ he would not have elected to do so.
Famous for engineering the record-breaking exploits of Winx, Waller claimed his first Melbourne Cup to Winx’s four Cox Plates.
He has rewritten all the record books on his way to the top but a Melbourne Cup triumph ranks as the sweetest moment since confirming his arrival among the best in the business.
Waller has won the past 11 Sydney trainers’ premierships, trained a horse of a lifetime in Winx and is setting standards that only he is likely to match.
“When I went for home, I don’t know, I don’t know what I was thinking. I was thinking, where’s that post?” McDonald said.
“She travelled so sweetly in the run for such a big way.
“She is trained by a master. He gets them right. She is a superstar and I’m so proud of her.”
Incentivise was near the front from the start and took over from Persan with 800m to travel. But just as he hit the front, McDonald drove past Brett Prebble and charged away to win by four lengths.
Spanish Mission loomedg ominously before taking the minor placing. Floating Artist was the best of the Ciaron Maher-David Eustace runners in finishing fourth with the New Zealand-trained The Chosen One finishing fifth.
Verry Elleegant’s stablemate Ocean Billy was last of the 23 runners.
(With AAP)
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! That was some sort of big finish from last ! My favourite big race win was Rebel Raider in the 2008 Victoria Derby . Again, a Leon Macdonald horse with Clare Lindop on board winning at 100-1 ! And had my $5.00 each way to carry ! Was going to be anything this horse. Came back in 2009 winning first two races and then broke down next start. Had 12 months off and came back in 2010 winning first up, and second up broke down again. Sent to stud ! That's racing .
The Barry
Roar Guru
One of my favourite ordinary horses is Woorim He won the Oakleigh Plate in 2012 with the most amazing finishing burst I’ve ever seen. He was so far behind the race caller didn’t mention his name at all in the straight until he crossed the line and had won the race… check out the race on YouTube… it’s amazing He rarely got it right but when he did it was breathtaking…
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! I'm a bit like you in that regard. I have had some favourite horses over the years that just grabbed me. I loved Intergaze, who had no breeding but won 8 x Group 1's in an era when he was up against the likes of Octagonal , Sunline, Might & Power, Tie the Knot & Sky Heights. He was a giant killer . My current favourite "battler" is Dalasan ( I'm a Leon Macdonald fan) who as a 5 y/o is still battling to win a Group 1 , but has accumulated over $3m in prizemoney going close so many times to date !
The Barry
Roar Guru
Obviously the punting side of racing is about objective assessment and return on investment, but from the sports side of it, it was so great watching one of my all time favourites win such a big race… the racing equivalent of your team winning a grand final When the two sides meet is what racing is all about for me. This is my favourite Melbourne Cup as a result…
Rob
Guest
JMac is riding so well at the moment. Best jockey in the country and it's not even close.
Micko
Roar Rookie
This is nonsense Republican. NZ can't really do much without being involved with Australia. If anything Australia dominates NZ sporting culture, and kiwis claim the Melbourne Cup as THEIR own national race too! If you want to see how a genuine NZ trained and raced horse went in this Cup Republican, then look no further than Ocean Billy: bred, trained, raced, and owned in NZ. Won the Auckland Cup (@3200m as well!) earlier this year. Finished 23rd...LAST in the Melbourne Cup!
Albo
Roar Rookie
Spot on Baz ! Incentivise & a bunch of front runners this year ensured it was a fast run Cup. The mare's time was just a second outside Kingston Rule's 1990 track record for the 3200. She had it won at the top of the straight. Incentivise was brave to lead them to 300 m mark and still hang on for 2nd.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Yes I watched her being bought through the field and Jmac never let her lose sight of the leaders. Very clever riding.
max power
Guest
except they dont dominate our sporting culture
Republican
Guest
.......exactly. So again, how does a nation of 5.5 mill dominate this nations sporting culture whether that be the nags or other? Are we that mediocre?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Also, just watched the replay a couple of times and what a ride by JMac! He doesn’t move straight away but then sees his chance and swings her across in the first 200 metres to be a couple off the fence. By the clock tower she’s on the fence, out of trouble and cruising At 1400 he got her off the fence and she had a little surge forward. At 800 he urged her along and started making up ground. 500 I was out of my chair and volume was increasing. By 350 she had it won… voice breaking…
The Barry
Roar Guru
Trained to the second by Chris Waller… This is my favourite Melbourne Cup win and Verry Elleegant is battling it out with Octagonal as my favourite ever horse… Super win… on the turn I was yelling “here she comes” and she just destroyed them all in the straight What a champion !!!!!!!
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yes, but like humans, horses probably need to get used to the different distance races. Usain Bolt could've probably ended up winning the 400m, but likely not at literally his first attempt!
jameswm
Roar Guru
I think of them like humans. If you’re world no.1 over 2.5km you likely are over 3.2km as well.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Agreed, gutsed it out for 2nd.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Australia has been raiding NZ horse stock for around a hundred years. And NZ jockeys and trainers move here (amongst 700,000+: 15% of NZ’s citizens!) because NZ can’t really do much of anything, including having much of a lucrative racing industry! So not really a surprise that an NZ bred horse, trained by a NZer based in Australia, and ridden by a jockey from NZ, now based in Australia, wins a lucrative Australian race. Truth be told Republican, it actually should happen a lot more frequently! :shocked:
Republican
Guest
NZ dominates yet another Australian 'sporting' icon. That said, the racing industry is a mugs game and referring to this as sport is a contradiction in terms - to be sure.
Paul
Roar Guru
Smart move.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Mind you I noticed all top three had the same weight. I didn’t pick Incentivise because of two reasons: the favourites rarely ever win, and it’s never run over 3200m before. Which I assumed meant a few others which’ve had 3200m race experience might have the wood over it when down to the last 500m…which proved to be the case! :happy:
Micko
Roar Rookie
Me too! :thumbup: :happy: Mind you, I pick 5 horses each way every year. So it's pretty rare I don't at least make my money back.