Grab a copy of tomorrow's New Zealand Herald for your Melbourne Cup sweepstake chart
KEY POINTS:
It looked like being a ho-hum Melbourne Cup.
There is no such animal.
As rain threatened and the PC moguls closed the bars on the shutout 120,000 crowd at Flemington before the last race on Saturday, drama befitting any Melbourne Cup unfolded.
Danny Nikolic was accused of giving one of the A$5 million Melbourne Cup favourites Zipping a 'quiet run' in the A$750,000 Mackinnon Stakes, Peter McKenzie cried watching Sculptor force his way into the Melbourne Cup with his A$250,000 victory in the SAAB Handicap and Lisa Cropp was twice in trouble with stewards after the Sculptor ride.
Cropp's ride was pure artistry.
Craig Williams rode a beautiful race on the heavily-backed favourite The Fuzz and looked certain to win when he loomed up to the leaders at the 350m.
The graveyard is full of jockeys who have pressed the button too early on the unforgiving Flemington track, but to be fair to Williams he had no choice.
Cropp had the luxury of being able to wait longer and when she and Williams went to war from the 300m her sense of timing, strength and motivational forces won the day.
This was all or nothing.
Previously the first two home in the SAAB got into the Melbourne Cup, but now only the winner gets that privilege - The Fuzz forced his way in by virtue of the second-prize stakemoney taking him past another couple of horses.
The relief on Peter McKenzie's face told the story.
Someone said, and it was true, that McKenzie rode himself harder in the final 200m than Cropp rode Sculptor. His whip action was superb.
Stewards had no issue with Cropp's ride but she was reprimanded for taking her skull cap off in the birdcage before the weigh-in and for grabbing and twisting Sculptor's ear to try and settle him when the horse played up in the barriers.
McKenzie was mildly upset that that was necessary.
"The horse has always had an issue with overhead starting stalls. He gets claustrophobic, which is a mystery because I put him on my truck every day of his life.
"I contacted the stewards more than a week ago to advise them of it and they promised to have attendants in the gates with him, but somehow there was a lack of communication between the stewards and the starter's assistants."
Scupltor, as he has done previously, reared up in the stalls and tried to turn around, getting his legs over the next stall, containing The Fuzz and Craig Williams. Williams was lucky not to be injured and The Fuzz was backed out and trotted in front of the veterinary staff before being cleared to run.
Without an assistant up at the gates, Lisa Cropp grabbed Sculptor's ear.
A jockey is not permitted to do that in Australia, but to be fair to Cropp she was only trying to avoid further problems.
The Cropp ride attracted plenty of attention.
The Cambridge jockey, beaming and saluting, made the front page of the Herald Sun newspaper.
Television comments icon Richard Freedman, not always a fan of things Kiwi, has often been a Lisa Cropp advocate.
"If there's a stronger woman rider in the world, I'd like to see her," said Freedman on television after the race.
For the first time the SAAB winner can be rehandicapped for the Cup and Sculptor has been given an additional 1kg, taking him to 52kg.
Peter McKenzie has no issues with Sculptor backing up within three days after such a hard race.
As a 3-year-old, he ran a terrific race in the Queensland Derby and 48 hours later finished a luckless third in the 3200m Brisbane Cup.
"He'll be suited to this race because he's got such a high cruising speed," said a much more composed McKenzie at the barrier draw.
Connections of the Cup runners drew their own barrier positions and McKenzie came out with an ideal No 8.
A woman jockey has never featured in a Melbourne Cup and this year is the first time two will compete - Australia's Claire Lindop will ride Dolphin Jo.
Market: 5 Master O'Reilly, 8 Zipping, 10 Mahler, Purple Moon; 12 Princess Coup, Sirmione; 14 Maybe Better; 18 Efficient, Gallic; 26 Blutigeroo, Eskimo Queen; 31 On A Jeune, Sculptor, The Fuzz; 41 Blue Monday, Douro Valley, Tungsten Strike; 51 Dolphin Jo, Lazer Sharp, Tawqeet; 81 Sarrera; 101 Scenic Shot; 151 Black Tom, 201 Railings.
