Jamie Melham delivered a master ride on Half Yours to win the Melbourne Cup, here is what the beaten brigade had to say:
Mark Zahra (Al Riffa): “It was OK. I was four-wide and had to find a spot to get in and there was too much to do with that weight.”
Craig Williams (Buckaroo): “It was a shame we didn’t get to see Buckaroo at his best. We know how good a horse he is but in today’s race he was not far away from the eventual winner but he was three-wide on the back and basically put himself out of the race when they went slow.”
Rachel King (Arapaho): “Really brave. He hasn’t had the best set up coming into today, but honest as ever.”
Blake Shinn (Vauban): “He ran super. Big turnaround from the Caulfield Cup. Hit the line well but the winner and the other horse had a bit better turn-of-foot. Very proud of the horse.”
Damian Lane (Chevalier Rose): “Disappointing. Unfortunately didn’t race to his best today.”
Stephane Pasquier (Presage Nocturne): “A bit disappointed because he was favoured in the odds.”
Ethan Brown (Middle Earth): “He ran great. This is obviously his trip, he showed his true colours today, he’s going to be a much better horse next prep, that’ll toughen him up but he couldn’t have run much better.”
James McDonald (Meydaan): “He ran well. Got into a lovely spot, switched off well but probably just found the 3200 a fraction far.”
Kerrin McEvoy (Absurde): “He ran well. The pace wasn’t that strong through the first part, had to give them a start. He picked up into it well, good honest run.”
Thore Hammer-Hansen (Flatten The Curve): “I found myself a lot further back than ideal but he still ran a good race considering. Just probably went too quick early doors.”
Joao Moreira (Land Legend): “No manners, pushed too hard. He did a lot of things wrong in the race.”
Ben Melham (Smokin’ Romans): “He ran well, the old bugger. He’s just had a prep where he’s probably been running on firm ground. He’s got a bit soft ground and he’s just a bit over it. Proud of him anyway.”
Tim Clark (Changingoftheguard): “I thought he ran really well. Just when Land Legend went around we were in a position where we had to cart the field up which probably cost him running a few placings closer up.”
Tommy Berry (More Felons): “It was very muddling run race and it made it sort of hard to move into it early enough from where we were and he’s battled on OK.”
Harry Coffey (Onesmoothoperator): “He had a lovely run but when the pressure came at the six hundred, he failed to quicken, the wheels were spinning on the soft going.”
Michael Dee (Furthur): “He’s very inexperienced still, he was a touch slow out, travelled very, very strong. We were getting knocked about the first time past the post but travelled strong, held up a nice gallop all the way to the line but his first half he’s just raced a little bit ungenerously.”
John Velazquez (Parchment Party): <Declined to comment>
Declan Bates (Athabascan): “Disappointing. We got deleted early and it sort of put us further back earlier than we wanted. He just hasn’t quite finished off as we would have liked.”
Wayne Lordan (Goodie Two Shoes): “Ran a wonderful race, got a nice position from my draw and she’s run a cracker, just one better today but ran great.”
Beau Mertens (River Of Stars): “She was fantastic. Slow tempo didn’t suit her but when Land Legend took off, it really made her relax and in a comfortable position. She travelled in really well, probably didn’t have the sprint like the others but she sustained a good gallop through the line. Very proud of her.”
Robbie Dolan (Royal Supremacy): “The wide barrier wasn’t in his aid today, once I couldn’t get cover on him straight away he just over raced into the first bend, I had to flow with him to get him to relax and it just told late.”
Celine Gaudray (Torranzino): “Couldn’t be more happier with the run that we got. He was a bit on the bridle throughout but he had a really tough finish.”
Jye McNeil (Valiant King): “They found their spots quickly inside me, I wasn’t able to give him every chance today, he had to do it too tough three wide facing the breeze. Initially I had cover from Land Legend but when he went I was stranded.”
