Jockey Mark Zahra has won his second successive Melbourne Cup, riding Without A Fight to victory at Flemington.
Chris Waller trained the second and third-placed finishers with Soulcombe, ridden by Joao Moreira, crossing the line slightly ahead of Beau Mertens on Sheraz.
Meanwhile, the Flemington Racecourse transformed into a sea of bright hats, sunglasses and suits as punters soak up the atmosphere for the Melbourne Cup.
Dubbed the race that stops the nation, 24 hopefuls will line up from 3pm on Tuesday for a chance to claim cup glory and an $8.4 million prize.
Until then, punters are jostling for prime position at Flemington with shaded spots in high demand on a day forecast to top 31C.
Celebrities and fashionistas arrived early at the exclusive Birdcage enclosure, including Prince William’s cousins Ladies Amelia and Eliza Spencer who dazzled in bright red dresses by Melbourne designer Cappellazzo Couture.
Matildas star Cortnee Vine said she was enjoying some downtime as she recovers from a hamstring injury and wouldn’t celebrate too hard in the marquees.
“Not too much dancing, but a lot of cheering,” Vine told reporters.
Delta Goodrem chose a bright yellow dress in a nod to the colour of the cup day rose and said she was excited to sing at the event again as it is close to her heart.
“I have very fond memories of being at school, they would wheel the TV and everybody in the class would talk about what horse they were betting on, and I love tradition,” Goodrem said.
Over near the Mounting Yard, Gold Coast residents Ngarie Mackey and Donna Clarke soaked up the sun and took in the bustling atmosphere.
The pair took a cruise down from Sydney for what they described as once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“We’re here for the champagne and the fashion,” Ms Mackey told AAP with a smile.
“We didn’t even know what horses were running until yesterday.”
Spectators will be treated to an all-star entertainment line up including Goodrem, former Noiseworks lead singer Jon Stevens and Natalie Imbruglia.
Vauban is the favourite to win the world’s richest two-mile horse race and the horse attracted very large bets in the days leading up to the race, according to UK-based bookmaker and Star Sports owner Ben Keith.
“People were having (bets of) hundreds of thousands,” Mr Keith said.
Die hard racing fan Pat Bortaro stationed himself right in front of the screens in the betting ring and said he was not impressed by the fashion or entertainment on offer.
“I hate it, I’m here for the horses,” Mr Bortaro said.
In 2003 the day recorded its highest track attendance when more than 122,000 spectators witnessed Makybe Diva win the first of her three cups.
But 20 years on, crowd sizes are dwindling. In 2022 there were 73,000 racegoers, the lowest since 1980.
Animal welfare concerns are increasingly in the spotlight, with the parallel Nup to the Cup event again taking place near the racecourse.
Two pro-Palestine protesters were pepper sprayed and one arrested after about 100 people staged a protest near the racecourse, Victoria Police said.
The public holiday also coincides with Victoria decriminalising public drunkenness.
Police will still be highly visible but will encourage drunk people to seek support or refer cases to outreach teams instead of arrests.
Outreach teams will help drunk people reconnect with friends or family, provide public transport options and even offer to charge their phone if it runs out of battery.
Police and paramedics can leave a drunk person alone if they refuse help and if it is deemed safe.
Source: AAP
