Vow And Declare (far inside) wins a photo finish ahead of Master Of Reality (middle) and Prince Of Arran (outside) in the 2019 Melbourne Cup. What you can’t see in this photo is Il Paradiso wedged in between Vow And Declare and Master Of Reality, making it a four-way finish.
Australian-trained horse Vow And Declare took on the world as a number of top international stayers travelled Down Under to tackle the Cup. The local favourite took the rails run and hit the lead up the straight, only to be run down by the three other horses. It looked like Vow And Declare had faded badly, but it managed to lift in the final 50m and hit the post first.
“Prince Of Arran is lifting late with Il Paradiso, Master Of Reality just in front, Vow And Declare kicks, Vow And Declare’s won it, for Australia, there on top of the world!” caller Matt Hill proclaimed.
The finish was so frantic that stewards upheld a protest against Master Of Reality, which forced it from second-place back to fourth, as Prince Of Arran took second and Il Paradiso went to third.
