The coveted Melbourne Cup is heading to England for the first time after Cross Counter, the four-year-old bay trained at Newmarket by Charlie Appleby, stormed down the home straight to win Australia’s biggest race.
Cross Counter’s victory was the first time a British-trained horse has won the race at Flemington, this year valued at $7.3m. The win also represented another first: the breaking of Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s 30-year drought at the race.
Appleby credited Sheikh Mohammed and his powerful global stable for the win, saying “they were all family”.
“This is everybody’s dream. It’s sinking in now,” Appleby said afterwards. “This is all down to Sheik Mohammed. He’s the one that’s given us the encouragement to take the chances in what we do.
“Internationally we have campaigned over here the last three years now and have been competitive but we have always learnt each trip what horse we felt was going to be needed on the big day.”
Cross Counter started at a $9 chance and initially settled in the second half of the field, but came through for victory, overtaking Marmelo, another British horse, in the last seconds of the race.
Conditions were favourable for northern hemisphere entrants after Melbourne saw heavy rainfall on Tuesday which saturated the track, creating conditions that favour lighter horses used to softer ground.
“I am just so delighted. I can’t tell you how good it feels,” said Appleby. “He is a wonderful young horse. Coming in to today, this horse ticked a lot of boxes. I’m just delighted.”
Appleby, who is based in Dubai and England, had his first Royal Ascot winner in 2015, when Space Age won the King George V Stakes. The winning jockey, Australian Kerrin McEvoy now has three Melbourne Cups to his name after winning the race on Brew as an apprentice in 2000 and Almandin in 2016.
“Well done, Charlie. Great effort and it’s third my Melbourne Cup,” McEvoy said. “It’s a huge thrill to win this race, as I said in the press yesterday, to repay a bit of faith that he showed in me.”
The race was marred by the death of one of the entries, The Cliffsofmoher, who pulled up within the first 600m with a fractured right shoulder. The horse could not be saved and was euthanised.
