Vow And Declare foiled a strong Irish challenge to win the Lexus Melbourne Cup.
The Australian stayer won the 159th running of the Melbourne Cup by a neck at Flemington racecourse today, holding firm in a thrilling sprint to the line.
The Danny O'Brien-trained gelding worked hard to win the gruelling 3,200-metre handicap, dubbed "the race that stops the nation", and gave jockey Craig Williams his first Melbourne Cup triumph.
Master of Reality, ridden by Frankie Dettori and trained by Joseph O'Brien, looked to have it won at the 100-metre mark but Vow and Declare made a last desperate kick to seal the A$8 million (€5m) race with Charlie Fellowes' Prince of Arran third in a photo finish.
Stewards later found that Master of Reality had impeded Il Paradiso, the entrant prepared by the Irish trainer's father Aidan. Prince of Arran was promoted to second and Il Paradiso lifted to third.
Dettori's mount drifted across the track in the final half-furlong, impeding the run of Wayne Lordan and Il Paradiso, who was trying to challenge between Master Of Reality and Vow And Declare.
Aidan O'Brien also saddled Magic Wand (10th) and Hunting Horn (15th) while Twilight Payment (11th), Latrobe (18th) and Downdraft (22nd) all finished down the field for Joseph O'Brien.
What a horse race. 💪
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) November 5, 2019
Vow And Declare holds off Master Of Reality to win the @Lexus #MelbourneCup.
📹 @Racing pic.twitter.com/8VNfR2HWAM
"It's an amazing win, a special thing to happen," said Danny O'Brien. "I really can't believe it, I just feel incredibly blessed to have a horse good enough to be in it.
"The last 100 (metres) he just wouldn't give in."
It was a first Melbourne Cup win for Williams, who missed out on victory with Dunaden in 2011 due to suspension.
He said: "Of my riding career, it's absolutely the biggest moment. I was born into a racing family and I know I keep thanking all my team, but my success is because of my team, it's because of my upbringing with my parents, my two brothers and the people I have around me.
"I said to my wife (in 2011) that we've won the Melbourne Cup, but unfortunately I was suspended and I couldn't ride Dunaden.
"When Danny O'Brien confirmed me (for the Melbourne Cup) on Vow And Declare, I said to my wife again that we were going to win the Melbourne Cup, I was that confident after the Caulfield Cup."
Joseph O'Brien won the 2017 Melbourne Cup with Rekindling and he was disappointed Master Of Reality could not give Dettori his first win in the race, with the Italian having twice finished second in 1999 and 2015.
He told www.theage.com.au: "I'm more gutted for Frankie than I am for myself. I'll be back.
"I don't know if Frankie is ever going to win this race."
Dettori has enjoyed a stellar year with 19 Group One winners to his name, including three wins for supermare Enable and another Stayers' Million prize with Stradivarius.
However, he has endured a luckless run at Flemington, with his 17th ride on Master Of Reality resulting in a suspension that began immediately on Tuesday and ends on 13 November, after pleading guilty to a charge of careless riding.
It is not the first time Dettori has fallen foul of the stewards in the Melbourne Cup, with the rider suspended for a month and fined A$20,000 for causing interference on runner-up Max Dynamite four years ago. He was also suspended for a month for careless riding on Mamool in 2004.
Returning to the weighing room, Dettori said: "I want to cry."
Owner Nick Williams added: "I'm shattered for him, nothing would have been better for Master Of Reality to have won the race for him."
Dettori is scheduled to start a four-week riding stint in Japan from next weekend.
