Almandin wins Melbourne Cup0:52
Horse Racing: Almandin has won the 2016 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse.
Lloyd Williams snares fifth Melbourne Cup as Almandin digs in to win a thriller at Flemington
LLOYD Williams became the most successful owner in Melbourne Cup history and gave a once-spurned jockey the sweetest success of all in the 156th running of the race that stops a nation on Tuesday.
Kerrin McEvoy had barrier 17 to contend with, but tucked into a beautiful trailing position midfield in the run and then timed his run to perfection to nail the imported Heartbreak City in the last few strides.
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McEvoy once held the coveted No. 1 position with Sheikh Mohammed in Australia, but was axed in favour of James McDonald when John O’Shea took the head training position in 2014.
It was therefore ironic that O’Shea left Flemington with a hardluck story on Tuesday while McEvoy savoured his second success in the race, having won at his first ride in it 16 years ago on Brew.
“I thank Lloyd for having faith in me and feel privileged to win my second Melbourne Cup,” McEvoy said. “He’s had his troubles along the way, but this is a great little horse. The more I thought about the race, the more I thought I was on the right horse and it’s just the biggest thrill.”
McEvoy is one of the most popular riders in the jockeys’ room and in a remarkable sporting gesture, Heartbreak City’s rider Joao Moreira reached across after the finish line to congratulate him.
Williams isn’t credited as being the trainer of Almandin, but he’s the one that calls the shots and maps out the plan. To that end, he’s the modern-day Bart Cummings, having overseen the preparations of three Cup winners in the past decade.
The five-time Cup winner joked later that if he lives to the age of 98 he might win the necessary seven Cups needed to match Cummings’ haul of 12.
Williams made the bold call to not race Almandin after he won the Bart Cummings Quality on October 1. Vintage Crop is the only horse to win a modern Cup off a longer break.
“I’ve got theories. I believe if I’ve got that sort of Cup horse, I want him ready to win the Cup on Turnbull Stakes day,” Williams said. “So he was ready that day and then we backed off him.
“All we’ve done the last four weeks is tick him over.
“He didn’t need any racing, we wanted him to have that little bit of zip in his step at the end.
“You need a lot of luck to win this race. A lot of things to go right for you. Anyone who thinks they have the answer to doing this, should look up at the almighty (God). It’s not an exact science. Just because you do everything right, doesn’t mean it’s going to turn out right.”
The messy side of the Melbourne Cup 20161:24
People may have come dressed to impress but some didn't leave that way.