Verry Elleegant triumphs

Sports

MELBOURNE: Raging Melbourne Cup favourite Incentivise has been upstaged with reigning Australian horse of the year Verry Elleegant taking out the 2021 Melbourne Cup in a thrilling upset victory.
Incentivise — the shortest-priced favourite since Phar Lap — fell just short at Flemington on Tuesday, finishing in second with import Spanish Mission in third and Floating Artist in fourth.

James McDonald, riding Verry Elleegant, thrilled as he reaches the finish line ahead of other contenders for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse yesterday. – Getty Images

All the pressure was on Incentivise and it looked the winner into the straight before reining Australian Horse of the Year Verry Elleegant finished with a stunning late burst to capture its 10th Group One victory and hand Chris Waller a first Cup victory.
It continued James McDonald’s stunning run as the nation’s most in-form jockey. While nobody was doubt Verry Elleegant’s credentials some, including two-time champion jokcey Corey Brown, felt it was the “forgotten” contender of the Cup. It paid A$18 (about K46) for the victory.
The victory incredibly also broke a 160-year curse — Verry Elleegant was the first horse ever to win from barrier 18 in the history of the race.
“I never thought I’d ever win one, I always dreamed of it,” McDonald said post-race.
“I can’t believe it. This is what dreams are made of.” – Fox Sports


Outclassed Cup-favourite Incentivise to go for checkup

MELBOURNE: Beaten Melbourne Cup favourite Incentivise will be examined by a vet in the coming days after the Peter Moody camp reported the stayer had swelling in a foreleg after the race.
Incentivise was far from disgraced when second to brilliant mare Verry Elleegant in a Melbourne Cup run in hot conditions.
Moody advised Racing Victoria Incentivise had a small amount of swelling in his left foreleg upon cooling down after the race.
Moody’s stable vet has examined Incentivise and will reassess the gelding’s recovery from the Melbourne Cup later in the week.
Meanwhile, University of Melbourne vets are treating the Symon Wilde-trained Tralee Rose for a wound suffered early in the Melbourne Cup. Wilde said Tralee Rose was galloped on early in the race before the mare finished ninth, more than 16 lengths from the winner Verry Elleegant.
Racing Victoria vets attended Tralee Rose at Flemington before she was transported to the University of Melbourne veterinary clinic at Werribee.
Wilde told News Corp that Tralee Rose had been sedated ahead of what he hoped would be ‘just a stitch-up job’.
Both Wilde and the University of Melbourne vets later advised Racing Victoria that the mare had not suffered any tendon damage.
The mare will stay at the Werribee clinic overnight and go back to Wilde’s Warrnambool stable on Thursday. – Fox Sports


Bookies win millions as favourite fails

James McDonald, riding Verry Elleegant, thrilled as he reaches the finish line ahead of other contenders for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse yesterday. – Getty Images

MELBOURNE: Punters just couldn’t stop piling into Incentivise but the bookies took home millions as the weight of Melbourne Cup history proved too big a mountain to climb for Peter Moody’s gallant superstar on Tuesday.
The gun son of Shamus Award was unsurprisingly all the rage across betting markets following his amazing Caulfield Cup win but came up just short in a historic Melbourne Cup bid.
A sensational staying performance from the Chris Waller-trained Verry Elleegant ensured bookies had a day to remember as Incentivise’s colours were lowered at Flemington, finishing a gallant second.
Ladbrokes chief executive Dean Shannon describe the upset win as “at least a A$10 million (about K26 million) swing for us”.
“It‘s not often that we are cheering home the J-Mac and (Chris) Waller combination, but we certainly were today,” Shannon said.
“The money on Incentivise was like nothing we have witnessed before in a Melbourne Cup and it was at least a A$10 million (K26 million) swing for us on the book when Verry Elleegant strode clear.”
Incentivise, which jumped as a A$2.90 (K7) favourite, claimed the crown as the most popular fixed odds commodity in Totalisator Agency Board’s (TAB) history, attracting more money than any other galloper ever has in one race.
He held an astonishing 24 per cent of the market with TAB with no shortage of big bets. With a tad over A$8.3 million (K21 million) in the win pool, TAB will boast a multimillion dollar windfall with the surprise defeat.
One punter had a whopping A$65,000 (K168,000) on Incentivise at S$2.80 (K7) while bets of A$20,000 (K52,000) and A$10,000 (K26,000) were taken at the same price. – Racenet