Americain Wins the Melbourne Cup

For all the Horse Racing fans out there - the biggest race in the Southern Hemisphere was run and won yesterday by the first international raider Americain, since Delta Blues won the Melbourne Cup back in 2006 and the fourth true international raider to win the Cup in spectacular fashion. Americain joins the elite list of international trained horses to win the Melbourne cup outside of Oceania. 

• Vintage Crop
• Media Puzzle; and
• Delta Blues

The French trained, American Bred, multi-cultural owned, Americain was a top 5 favourite to win the race after an impressive preparation which saw it take home the Geelong Cup. Despite the impressive lead-up form, all the money was on So You Think to beat all comers as he had done before. However the questions on So You Think and his ability to run the 3200m distance were reaffirmed with So You Think running out of gas with 200m to go to be overrun by the eventual winner and the new kid on the MaLuckyDay. 

From a tactical perspective, the race was run at a stop-start pace which has recently become the norm for the Melbourne Cup. This had ramifications for the favourite So You Think who has traditionally in his previous handful of starts streaked the field with his front running type. One horses trash is another horses treasure, with the method whereby the cup was run beautifully falling into Americain's true staying prowess. 

Source: Mail Online

To further complement Americain and French Jockey Gerald Mousse's brilliant ride, were the softish conditions that were presented at Flemington on a day that had further rain on top of the track that had been battered in the past 72 hours from last Saturday's torrential storms. This further enabled many of the international raiders (6, including Harris Tweed) to finish in the top ten on a track that in the past has been blamed by icons such as Dermott Weld as far too hard. 

Moving forward, the key questions that arised out of yesterday's cup are as follows:

• Can Americain come back and defend his crown next year?
• Clearly yes, the global sensation is still relatively young, and form in other parts of the world prove this horse will be spoken of in races to come.

• What do we make of So You Think, the most hyped horse of recent memory?
• Still a true champion of the sport, however questions must be asked over his ability to get the 3200M, and win under handicapped conditions rather than weight for age. No doubt is capable of having a second crack next year with slight modifications in his preparation likely required

• What do we make of Shocking's attempt to defend his title?
• Punters and experts tipped Shocking to be thereabouts, however carrying an extra 6kg, fighting from a barrier out wide and competing against a much more competitive field this year from last found Shocking wanting

• Who is next years favourite for the Melbourne Cup?
• Surely this is a two horse race for favouritism next year. The defending champion, if fit and healthy, is likely to feature prominently, but the race of the youngster, MaLuckyDay looks sure to be better for next year's race after finishing an exceptional 2nd after bursting onto the scene at the 11th hour of the Spring Carnival

In summary, the biggest race in the Southern Hemisphere proved to be a beauty with so many twists and sub-plots. Let's just hope the quality of the international raiders venture out to Melbourne next year to make the Great Race, another Great One.