The G1 Melbourne Cup mystery endures after the 155th running of Australia's iconic horse race at Flemington on Tuesday, an edition that has made headlines worldwide because a woman jockey, Michelle Payne, won it for the first time.
The G1 Melbourne Cup mystery endures after the 155th running of Australia's iconic horse race at Flemington on Tuesday, an edition that has made headlines worldwide because a woman jockey, Michelle Payne, won it for the first time.
But a two-mile handicap on the Flat? What could be so complicated about that?
The very fact that the winner Prince Of Penzance started 100-1 means that the list of attributes needed to be a winner are far from clear-cut, even to those who have been watching and studying the race for decades.
Going into the Cup, Prince Of Penzance had not won a race for over 12 months. He landed the 2014 G2 Moonee Valley Cup, and almost won the same race, on October 24 this year, establishing a big lead mid-race, only to be cut down very late in the home straight.
He had come back from two serious fetlock injuries and a serious bout of colic.
Max Dynamite, the Irish-trained Cup runner-up, had run only twice on the Flat since Sept 2013, albeit finishing a good second in the highly competitive Northumberland Plate at Newcastle (UK) and winning the G2 Lonsdale Cup at York (UK).
His other seven starts in that period were over hurdles -- and they were decent hurdle races, at that. He finished fourth in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last March and second in the Galway Hurdle in July.
The Cup's third place went to Criterion, who had won the G2 Todman Stakes and finished sixth in the G1 Golden Slipper, over 1200m, as a two-year-old, then won the G1 Australian Derby, over 2400m, at three, and the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at four.
He had also run at Royal Ascot and York (UK) in the summer this year, and returned to Australia to land the G1 Caulfield Stakes and run second in the G1 Cox Plate.
If you are finding a lack of consistency here, I am not surprised. Contrasting backgrounds, totally different approaches to the same target -- they are the intriguing elements that make a Melbourne Cup contender.
The bottom line is there is no set pattern, these days, and because of the international nature of the race, there can never be a magic template to guarantee Melbourne Cup success.
The two Godolphin runners this year were disappointing. Hartnell finished 15th and Sky Hunter 22nd.
But, as trainer Saeed bin Suroor said, Godolphin will keep targeting Australia's feature race. The mystique of the Melbourne Cup is as prevalent as it was a century ago.
