The Melbourne Cup is one of the biggest and most exciting horse races in the world. The 159th running of the race did not disappoint with Vow and Declare winning in a nail-biting race.
Our Melbourne Cup 2019 review will look at how the race panned out, along with a look at some of the highs and lows from the other Melbourne Cup horses 2019.
Build Up to the Race
The race is often a tough one to call, as it includes the best horses from all over the world. Early favourites include that of English horse Finche, Mer De Glace from Japan and Constantinople from Ireland.
The betting markets were particularly volatile, with Finche moving from $9 to $13 and then back again as the race drew nearer.
The eventual winner, Vow and Declare hadn’t been spoken about all that much in the build-up. As we run through our Melbourne Cup 2019 review, it’s easy in hindsight to see why he might have done well, but priced at $11, he was a horse that always had a chance.
It was news away from the course that overshadowed the race and the days racing to some extent. A report had broken about the ill-treatment of horses within the Australian racing industry. This has driven many people to stay away in protest, including lots of high-profile celebrities.
Numbers for the day were down, with an official attendance of 81,408 on the day, the lowest since 2009.
How the Melbourne Cup 2019 Race Unfolded
The Melbourne Cup 2019 review includes one of the tightest races for several years. Vow and Declare was in the box seat in 3rd throughout and looked to have possibly kicked a little too soon some 400m from the line.
In all honesty, within the final 500m, there were a dozen or so horses that were well within striking distance. But it was Vow and Declare who was able to cling on and get his nose over the line in dramatic fashion.
It had looked like he might have just been pipped some 20m from the line, by Prince of Arran. However, a remarkable turn of speed over the last few metres lead to one of the most impressive wins for some time.
The win also meant that this was the first Australian-born Melbourne Cup winner since Shocking in 2009.
Melbourne Cup 2019 Results
Below we have included a full overview of the results from the Melbourne Cup 2019 review including the full Melbourne Cup 2019 results.
| Number | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Weight (kg) | Barrier | Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Vow And Declare | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 52 | 21 | 1 |
| 12 | Prince Of Arran | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | 54 | 8 | 2 |
| 20 | II Paradiso | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 52.5 | 17 | 3 |
| 3 | Master of Reality | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Dettori | 55.5 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | Surprise Baby | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 53.5 | 20 | 5 |
| 2 | Mer De Glace | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 56 | 2 | 6 |
| 11 | Finche | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 54 | 4 | 7 |
| 1 | Cross Counter | Charlie Appleby | William Buick | 57.5 | 5 | 8 |
| 21 | Steel Prince | Anthony Freedman | Brett Prebble | 52.5 | 16 | 9 |
| 15 | Magic Wand | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 53.5 | 24 | 10 |
| 10 | Twilight Payment | Joseph O’Brien | Hugh Bowman | 55 | 19 | 11 |
| 17 | Sound | Michael Moroney | James Winks | 53.5 | 10 | 12 |
| 19 | Constantinople | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Joao Moreira | 52.5 | 7 | 13 |
| 4 | Mirage Dancer | Trent Busuttin & Natalia Young | Ben Melham | 55.5 | 13 | 14 |
| 6 | Hunting Horn | Aidan O’Brien | Seamie Heffernan | 55 | 11 | 15 |
| 13 | Raymond Tusk | Richard Hannon Jr | Jamie Spencer | 54 | 3 | 16 |
| 22 | The Chosen One | Murray Baker | Tim Clark | 52 | 18 | 17 |
| 7 | Latrobe | Joseph O’Brien | James McDonald | 55 | 22 | 18 |
| 5 | Southern France | Ciaron Maher-David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 55.5 | 14 | 19 |
| 24 | Youngstar | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 52 | 9 | 20 |
| 16 | Neufbosc | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 53.5 | 23 | 21 |
| 14 | Downdraft | Joseph O’Brien | John Allen | 53.3 | 15 | 22 |
| 8 | Mustajeer | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver | 55 | 6 | 23 |
| 9 | Rostropovich | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 55 | 12 | 24 |
What’s most incredible when looking through this Melbourne Cup 2019 review is that not only did Vow and Declare have one of the least favourable draws, they also carried the least weight.
Obviously, the weight would hinder Melbourne Cup horses 2019, but given that they were the lightest, meaning that based on pure ability, they were one of the lowest-ranked horses in the field.
Another thing to note from the Melbourne Cup 2019 review is that it was one of the slowest winning times since 2010. It was, in fact, the third slowest since 1995.
Melbourne Cup Prize Money
Despite the low attendance and bad press, the race was the richest in its history. It had an $8million purse, up some $700,000 from the previous year.
Vow and Declare managed to pick up $4.4million for their 2 minutes and 34 seconds run, with second getting $1.1 million, third $550,000, fourth $350,000 and fifth $230. The top 12 horses in the race get paid, with sixth through twelfth getting $160,000 apiece.
Given the tight finish, the Melbourne Cup 2019 results were highly significant, which lead to a complaint to the stewards for some of the lower places. The protest was upheld, moving Prince of Arran from 4th to 2nd, having considerable repercussions in terms of prize money for several Melbourne Cup horses 2019.
