The 2024 Melbourne Cup produced a fairytale end as Queensland raider Knight’s Choice stormed house to say victory in an exhilarating photograph end.
Robbie Dolan successful the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup on roughie hope Knight’s Alternative. Picture: Final Racing Images.
Ridden by a jubilant Robbie Dolan, the 90/1 outsider defied the chances to pip Japanese challenger Warp Velocity on the submit. This marks Dolan’s first-ever Melbourne Cup journey and a very historic second for the jockey.
“I can’t imagine it,” an emotional Dolan advised Racing.com after scoring one of many greatest Melbourne Cup upsets in historical past in his first ever journey within the occasion.
“That is the largest race on this planet and to win it (is superb).
“He (Knight’s Alternative) simply proved all people improper.”
Co-trainer Sheila Laxon etched her identify in Melbourne Cup historical past as soon as once more. Knight’s Alternative delivered her a second Cup victory, 23 years after her 2001 triumph with the good Kiwi mare Ethereal. This win makes Laxon the primary feminine coach to win the Cup twice.
After a affected person journey from Dolan, Excessive Alternative five-year-old Knight’s Alternative launched a strong late surge down the centre of the well-known Flemington monitor.
“We wouldn’t be right here if we didn’t suppose we may (have gained),” Laxon stated.
“What a journey by Robbie. What a thrill, what a thrill.
“What an incredible journey by Robbie. We didn’t give him directions. He simply knew what to do.
“The Australian horse has executed it. I’m thrilled to win the Cup. It’s the individuals’s Cup and it’s what it’s all about!”
For a second, it appeared Jamie Kah on the Ciaron Maher-trained Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner Okita Soushi may declare victory, however the Aussie horse had different plans.
Even the James Cummings-trained mare Zardozi within the Godolphin Royal Blue threatened on the within late with Okita Soushi, earlier than the 2 backmarkers stole the present.
The win is a large second for Queensland racing. Knight’s Alternative, skilled by the Sunshine Coast-based duo of Laxon and John Symons, silenced the doubters and delivered a dream outcome for his or her connections.
The pre-race favorite, Buckaroo, skilled by Chris Waller, couldn’t ship the products and completed a disappointing ninth. His stablemates Land Legend and Kovalica additionally failed to seek out the rostrum.
Warp Velocity’s sturdy exhibiting provided some redemption after his disappointing Caulfield Cup run. Willie Mullins‘ Absurde was one of the best of the European raiders, ending fifth, two higher than his seventh in final yr’s race.
The 2024 Melbourne Cup might be remembered for Knight’s Alternative’s unimaginable upset victory, a testomony to the unpredictable and thrilling nature of this iconic race!
2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Outcomes
| End | No. | Horse | Coach | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Beginning Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | KNIGHT’S CHOICE | John Symons & Sheila Laxon | Robbie Dolan | 5 | 51.5kg | $91 | |||
| 2 | 4 | WARP SPEED (JPN) | Noboru Takagi | Akira Sugawara | 0.1L | 2 | 54.5kg | $26 | ||
| 3 | 12 | OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) | Ciaron Maher | Ms Jamie Kah | 0.85L | 9 | 51kg | 1.0kg | $19 | |
| 4 | 14 | ZARDOZI | James Cummings | Andrea Atzeni | 1.31L | 3 | 51kg | $14 | ||
| 5 | 9 | ABSURDE (FR) | Willie Mullins | Kerrin McEvoy | 1.71L | 6 | 52.5kg | $10 | ||
| 6 | 3 | CIRCLE OF FIRE (GB) | Ciaron Maher | Mark Zahra | 2.71L | 23 | 54.5kg | $21 | ||
| 7 | 17 | FANCY MAN (IRE) | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Ron Stewart | 2.86L | 18 | 50kg | $81 | ||
| 8 | 8 | LAND LEGEND (FR) | Chris Waller | Zac Purton | 3.32L | 17 | 53kg | 1.0kg | $15 | |
| 9 | 2 | BUCKAROO (GB) | Chris Waller | Joao Moreira | 3.52L | 20 | 54.5kg | $6F | ||
| 10 | 5 | KOVALICA (NZ) | Chris Waller | Damian Lane | 4.27L | 16 | 53.5kg | $26 | ||
| 11 | 1 | VAUBAN (FR) | Willie Mullins | William Buick | 5.02L | 10 | 55.5kg | $8 | ||
| 12 | 13 | ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (USA) | Brian Ellison | Craig Williams | 5.42L | 11 | 51kg | 1.0kg | $7 | |
| 13 | 16 | VALIANT KING (GB) | Chris Waller | Craig Newitt | 5.52L | 21 | 50.5kg (cd 51kg) | $91 | ||
| 14 | 15 | SEA KING (GB) | Harry Eustace | Ms Hollie Doyle | 6.02L | 1 | 50.5kg | 0.5kg | $12 | |
| 15 | 18 | INTERPRETATION (IRE) | Ciaron Maher | Teo Nugent | 7.77L | 13 | 50kg | $21 | ||
| 16 | 6 | SHARP ’N’ SMART (NZ) | Graeme & Deborah Rogerson | Michael Dee | 9.52L | 14 | 53.5kg | $51 | ||
| 17 | 24 | TRUST IN YOU (NZ) | Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley | Mark Du Plessis | 9.98L | 4 | 50kg | $71 | ||
| 18 | 20 | MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Younger | Karis Teetan | 10.98L | 15 | 50kg | $91 | ||
| 19 | 19 | MANZOICE | Chris Waller | Declan Bates | 13.23L | 7 | 50kg (cd 51kg) | $101 | ||
| 20 | 21 | POSITIVITY (NZ) | Andrew Forsman | Ms Winona Costin | 13.63L | 19 | 50kg | $101 | ||
| 21 | 23 | THE MAP | Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray | Ms Rachel King | 14.09L | 22 | 50kg | $71 | ||
| 22 | 22 | SAINT GEORGE (GB) | Ciaron Maher | Tyler Schiller | 15.34L | 8 | 50kg | $26 | ||
| 23 | 7 | JUST FINE (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Jye McNeil | 25.34L | 12 | 53kg | 0.5kg | $31 | |
Desk Credit score: Racing Australia.
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