In the early hours of this morning the Group One Melbourne Cup took place and it gave one of the best spectacles the race has seen since its existence.
24 runners headed to post for a very wealthy purse and the race as ever got lit up in the final two furlongs with four horses in with a chance of landing the spoils.
However, this years the Melbourne Cup will stay in Australia as Vow And Declare trained by Danny O'Brien looked beat with 100 yards to go but used the rail to get back up on the line to secure the victory for the home nation.
Coming up to the finish line there was almost four horses in a row with Master Of Reality for Joseph O'Brien, Prince Of Arran for Charlie Fellowes and II Paradiso for Aidan O'Brien all in with a chance.
However, although the final result of the race stood with Vow and Declare landing the contest there was drama when it came to who go the top placings.
Master Of Reality crossed the line in second with Frankie Dettori on board but was ultimately demoted to fourth after a stewards enquiry deemed the four year old to have drifted across the track.
This allowed for Prince Of Arran and II Paradiso to finish second and third with Dettori handed a nine day ban and is suspended from riding until November 14th.
It was a another great renewal of the contest and we are already looking forward to other big races across the pond in Hong Kong and Japan during the British off season.
The Cup stays in Australia! Vow And Declare wins the Melbourne Cup, with the Europeans finishing 2-3-4 in a pulsating finish to the race that stops a nation… @FlemingtonVRC pic.twitter.com/eI8IKj17Hg
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 5, 2019