 Gerald Mosse celebrates winning the Melbourne Cup on Americain
The French-trained Americain won the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup as favourite So You Think finished third. Gerald Mosse guided the five-year-old, trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, to France's first victory in the famous Australian race 'which stops a nation'. Maluckyday was second while So You Think ran creditably but failed to justify being the hottest favourite for 39 years in the two-mile contest. A crowd of 100,000 packed into Flemington racecourse for the big race. "It's a special feeling to win. The job is so easy when you are in the best race and have the best horse," said Mosse after guiding home the third European-trained winner in Melbourne Cup history. The winning trainer added: "Before it looked difficult to come from France and be competitive, but I was confident today." Irishman Dermot Weld, who triumphed with Vintage Crop (1993) and Media Puzzle (2002), is the only previous European trainer to have won the race which boasts a £2m first prize.  | This is what you dream of ever since you were a kid Gerry Ryan, joint owner of Americain |
Dual Cox Plate winner So You Think had captured the hearts of many Australians with five victories in a row for 12-time Melbourne Cup winner Bart Cummings, 82, but was running over the stamina-sapping trip for the first time. Cummings had been in hospital with pneumonia in the build-up to the race but was at the course to see his stable star race keenly in behind as Once Were Wild set a steady pace up front in the early stages with Americain buried in the pack. Turning into the straight, Once Were Wild was still in front with Descarado primed to challenge along with Maluckyday, who came storming up the inside. However, Mosse produced his mount with perfect timing and 12-1 chance Americain accelerated away to supplement last month's Geelong Cup victory with a stylish two-and three-quarter lengths victory. Maluckyday (8-1) edged out 2-1 favourite So You Think for second place in the final strides, while veteran Zipping (25-1) took fourth place for the third time. | 606: COMMENT |
Of the other European runners, Frankie Dettori fared best in sixth on Holberg, with Luca Cumani's Manigher seventh and Illustrious Blue ninth, but Britain's search for an elusive first Melbourne Cup victory goes on. Holberg's Godolphin stablemate Campanologist was 16th while Weld's Profound Beauty finished 17th. Americain may be bred in the United States and trained in France but owners Gerry Ryan and Kevin Bamford are from Australia. "It's been our dream, Kevin and I. About five years ago we planned this and here we are," said Ryan. "It is a truly international event, an American-bred horse, a French trainer, a Hong Kong-based jockey and Australian owners."  Winning jockey Mosse kisses the Melbourne Cup |
Jockey Steven Arnold said So You Think ran well in defeat. "I thought he ran super. It was a bit of a stop-start pace which maybe got him out of his rhythm," he said. "He kicked on in the straight but peaked at the furlong pole. The winner was too strong." Heavy rain lashed the Flemington course in the countdown to the Group One handicap. Dettori felt quicker ground would have yielded a better result for his mount Holberg. "He stayed on well but the ground was just a bit soft. If it was good, he might have been in the first three." Luca Cumani's second challenger Bauer, who was runner-up in 2008, was withdrawn on the eve of the race after failing to pass a veterinary exam, leaving a field of 23.
EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP 2m, Flemington, soft
1 Americain (Alain de Royer-Dupre) Gerald Mosse 12-1
2 Maluckyday 8-1
3 So You Think 2-1f
4 Zipping 25-1 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 PU Descarado
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