Lexus Melbourne Cup (Group 1)

TWILIGHT Payment put on a masterclass in the A$7.75 million Lexus Melbourne Cup to become the first horse since Might And Power in 1997 to lead all the way in the 3,200-metre Group 1 handicap.

In doing so, he secured a second victory in the race for Joseph O’Brien. From barriers 12 and 11 the O’Brien pair of Twilight Payment and Master Of Reality did what Lloyd Williams had forecast on the eve of the race, they would set a “nice strong, even tempo” preventing other jockeys making the race a stop-start affair.

Jye McNeil, 25, in his first Melbourne Cup ride, executed the plan to perfection.

With the track rated a ‘good 3’ in the 30 degree heat, Twilight Payment found the lead at the watchtower the first time and was able to switch across to the rail and get into his rhythm.

“We had a good chat with Jye (McNeil) and he had a clear plan in his head what he wanted to do and we felt that we had to make the field come and get him and they might struggle to catch him and that’s how it worked out, he’s an incredibly tough horse. What a ride,” said Joseph O’Brien on video link after the race. “He controlled the race and he got his fractions absolutely spot on.”

Slipstream

Stringing the field out, Twilight Payment had Finche in his slipstream at the 800 metre mark, with a four-length gap to Tiger Moth. Urged along through the bend, the seven-year-old dug in for the long run-in to maintain his rhythm and stop the clock at 3:17.34, a half-length clear of Tiger Moth and the fast closing Prince Of Arran whose had to contend with some untimely traffic in his run from the back of the field.

“I’ve got goosebumps,” said McNeil who with his wife Jess Payne, also a jockey, became parents for the first time earlier in the year. “I am overwhelmed with emotion at the moment. It’s a miracle.

“I encouraged him to go forward, because that was the plan. Then he just found such a lovely tempo at the top. It was just a matter of amping the rhythm up at just the right stage.

“That’s exactly what Joseph wanted, to be at the head of the field and really get them chasing because what he lacked in class he makes up for in his staying ability. That was always the plan that Joseph expressed to me and I’m glad it worked.”

Joseph O’Brien’s other runner Master Of Reality finished 15th with jockey Ben Melham remarking that; “He felt the ground.”

TWILIGHT Payment, considered an eight-year-old by Australian standards was bred by Jim Bolger and becomes the second Cup winner for Kildangan Stud’s Teofilo, his other being Godolphin’s Cross Counter in 2018.

Asked if he had the edge over his father, Rekindling defeated Johannes Vermeer in 2017 by a half-length, Joseph deflected the implication. “When the horses are around the track and they’re all doing their best, Dad is delighted for me to have a winner as I’m delighted for him when he wins a race.

“It’s very special to be able to compete in these bigger races. This year in particular,” added O’Brien, making special mention of his team.

“The first thing you need is a good horse and we’ve been very lucky Lloyd and Nick Williams have had some very good horses over the past few years,” said O’Brien.

“It’s also the team, we have a fantastic bunch of staff up here in Ireland, but also the guys that have travelled down there, Mark Power, Sean Corby and my team of lads that have been down in Melbourne for the last number of weeks have done an incredible job.

“Not only him but all the horses there and having them in fantastic condition. All credit has to go to them. It was great to just be able to take part this year and to win is incredible.”

Williams lives the dream

LLOYD Williams celebrated his seventh Melbourne Cup win from his property on the Mornington Peninsula in south-east Victoria.

“I’m down here avoiding Covid,” he said. Now 80, Williams described the Melbourne Cup as “my life” having had his first win as an owner in 1981 with Just A Dash.

“I’ve been living this dream since I was a young boy. I have to pinch myself. I suppose we’ve had some success through planning. Life is about trying to win the Melbourne Cup. I’ve had horses for 60 years. I might need a psychiatrist.”

In a more serious tone Williams was devastated for Anthony Van Dyck. “I am completely saddened by what happened to Anthony Van Dyck. Those boys, the Magniers, Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore operation, are great sportspeople. I’ve been very close to Aidan for two decades. I feel very, very sad about it.”

Reflecting that back in 1981 he started planning six months out from the Melbourne Cup with Tommy Smith, Williams has since pushed that time line out. “Now, we plan 12 months out and sometimes the plan works.”

With Twilight Payment, that timeline is more like 16 months, from when the Lloyd Williams syndicate bought into the horse alongside the Bolgers and his subsequent transfer to Joseph’s yard and an 11th placing in last year’s Cup.

“Joseph is only a young man, but he’s done a great job with this horse,” said Williams. “It really is quite remarkable what he has achieved. “If you look at his form this year, he hasn’t put in a bad run.”

THE 2019 Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck had to be euthanised after breaking down in the near the 300-metre mark of the Melbourne Cup.

“It is with sadness that we confirm that Anthony Van Dyck had to be humanely euthanised after sustaining a fractured fetlock during the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington,” said Racing Victoria’s Jamie Stier. “The horse received immediate veterinary care, however he was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained.”

The Galileo top-weight who had 58.5kgs, is the sixth horse to perish in the past eight years contesting the Melbourne Cup, five of whom were internationally trained.

The 2000 Guineas runner-up Wichita also had to be euthanised after succumbing to complications from surgery due to an injury in October.

McEvoy hit with massive fine

KERRIN McEvoy copped a record A$50,000 fine and a 13-day suspension for over use of the whip on Tiger Moth in the closing stages for the Melbourne Cup. McEvoy pleaded guilty to using the whip 21 times, 13 of which were before the 100 metre mark, eight more than allowed.

His suspension will cost him rides on today’s final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival.