Jezabeel Wins Melbourne Cup
November 4, 1998 - 0:0
MELBOURNE New Zealand mare Jezabeel won the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday after a massive betting plunge on her in Australia's richest horse race. Ridden by Chris Munce, Jezabeel stormed home in the final furlong to win the 3,200-meter race by a neck from another New Zealand mare, Champagne, leading a foreign invasion of the A$2.8 million ($1.7m) race. English raider Persian Punch fought on gamely to finish third as overseas horses filled the first five places.
It's a dream for every jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Munce said. This is only my second ride and to win it on this mare, it's just unbelievable. The success of the overseas runners was a triumph for the race organizers who are attempting to promote the 138-year-old handicap as a major international event. But Tuesday's race was tinged by sadness when one of the two Singaporean entrants, three crowns, broke his leg and was destroyed.
Taufan's Melody and Yorkshire, both English, finished fourth and fifth while Faithful Son, yet another English entrant, was seventh. The only Australian horse to figure in the first seven was Tie the Knot, which crossed the line in sixth place. Jezabeel, a six-year-old mare trained by Brian Perkins, was at the center of a massive betting plunge. The Auckland Cup winner was quoted at odds of 12-1 at the start of the day but started the handicap as 6-1 favorite after a series of heavy wagers.
Munce settled Jezabeel midfield for most of the race then drove his mount to the front as the 24-runner field rounded the final turn, around 600 meters from the finishing post. Champagne (7-1), whose jockey Glen Boss flew in from Hong Kong especially to ride the four-year-old, stormed home down the center of the track and took the lead with 200 meters to go.
But Jezabeel, racing two off the rail, fought back in the final few strides to win by a neck with Persian Punch (12-1) rattling home for third, a further half length back. It was a nice ride, but I'll give myself a rap, it was probably nearly a 10 out of 10 ride, Munce said. I knew that my mare was the best two-mile runner but I thought the way it dashed so quick that I was going to get beaten.
The Melbourne Cup, which dates back to 1861, is one of Australia's most revered sporting occasions. A crowd in excess of 100,000 attended Tuesday's race at Flemington in suburban Melbourne while millions more around the country watched the race on television. Interest in this year's race was heightened because of a row over the participation of a record number of overseas gallopers, including five from Britain. Local trainers accused race organizers of allowing the imported thoroughbreds to compete at the expense of better credentialed local runners.
The row erupted three weeks ago when Taufan's Melody was allowed to race in the Caulfield Cup, the main lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, even though he had not met the qualifying standards. Taufan's Melody went on to win the race despite protests from the connections of both Jezabeel and Champagne who claimed their runners were interfered with in the run home.
Victorian Racing Club (VRC) stewards allowed Taufan's Melody to keep the race although they suspended the horse's Irish jockey Ray Cochrane for a month. The row escalated on Saturday when Yorkshire, trained by Paul Cole, was promoted to the Melbourne Cup field. The English stayer was 25th on the order of merit but was given a start when VRC stewards employed their rarely used discretionary powers to kick out a local runner.
Faithful Son, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was heavily backed in the lead-up to the race but drifted out from 4-1 to 13-2 on race day. If the English want to come down here and win this race, they'll have to bring first-rate horses, not second, third and fourth rate, said Jezabeel's New Zealand trainer Brian Jenkins said. (Reuter)
It's a dream for every jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Munce said. This is only my second ride and to win it on this mare, it's just unbelievable. The success of the overseas runners was a triumph for the race organizers who are attempting to promote the 138-year-old handicap as a major international event. But Tuesday's race was tinged by sadness when one of the two Singaporean entrants, three crowns, broke his leg and was destroyed.
Taufan's Melody and Yorkshire, both English, finished fourth and fifth while Faithful Son, yet another English entrant, was seventh. The only Australian horse to figure in the first seven was Tie the Knot, which crossed the line in sixth place. Jezabeel, a six-year-old mare trained by Brian Perkins, was at the center of a massive betting plunge. The Auckland Cup winner was quoted at odds of 12-1 at the start of the day but started the handicap as 6-1 favorite after a series of heavy wagers.
Munce settled Jezabeel midfield for most of the race then drove his mount to the front as the 24-runner field rounded the final turn, around 600 meters from the finishing post. Champagne (7-1), whose jockey Glen Boss flew in from Hong Kong especially to ride the four-year-old, stormed home down the center of the track and took the lead with 200 meters to go.
But Jezabeel, racing two off the rail, fought back in the final few strides to win by a neck with Persian Punch (12-1) rattling home for third, a further half length back. It was a nice ride, but I'll give myself a rap, it was probably nearly a 10 out of 10 ride, Munce said. I knew that my mare was the best two-mile runner but I thought the way it dashed so quick that I was going to get beaten.
The Melbourne Cup, which dates back to 1861, is one of Australia's most revered sporting occasions. A crowd in excess of 100,000 attended Tuesday's race at Flemington in suburban Melbourne while millions more around the country watched the race on television. Interest in this year's race was heightened because of a row over the participation of a record number of overseas gallopers, including five from Britain. Local trainers accused race organizers of allowing the imported thoroughbreds to compete at the expense of better credentialed local runners.
The row erupted three weeks ago when Taufan's Melody was allowed to race in the Caulfield Cup, the main lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, even though he had not met the qualifying standards. Taufan's Melody went on to win the race despite protests from the connections of both Jezabeel and Champagne who claimed their runners were interfered with in the run home.
Victorian Racing Club (VRC) stewards allowed Taufan's Melody to keep the race although they suspended the horse's Irish jockey Ray Cochrane for a month. The row escalated on Saturday when Yorkshire, trained by Paul Cole, was promoted to the Melbourne Cup field. The English stayer was 25th on the order of merit but was given a start when VRC stewards employed their rarely used discretionary powers to kick out a local runner.
Faithful Son, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was heavily backed in the lead-up to the race but drifted out from 4-1 to 13-2 on race day. If the English want to come down here and win this race, they'll have to bring first-rate horses, not second, third and fourth rate, said Jezabeel's New Zealand trainer Brian Jenkins said. (Reuter)