This was a Melbourne Cup finish that no one could have scripted.
The greatest jockey in the country, James McDonald, was sitting on the sidelines; the best horse in the land, Via Sistina, had bypassed the race; the biggest trainers in the country, Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher, were not fighting out the finish; and, yet, a little-known hoop on a horse that no one gave a chance delivered one of the greatest rides in the history of our greatest race.
Warp Speed is pipped at the post by Knight’s Choice.Credit: AP
Robbie Dolan must have felt like a modern-day Moses. He was seven lengths from the lead as the field turned from home, and facing an impossible task. Then a sea of horses parted in front of him.
“I’ve never ridden this race before, so I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.
“I just thought my best chance is if I get him to stay the trip and, hopefully, he can rattle home.”
Had Dolan hesitated once, had he copped a slight check in those hectic final moments, he would not have won. This is how he did it.
First 200m: ‘He just knew what to do’
Co-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon knew something many others doubted – Knight’s Choice would run out the trip.
When they drew gate six, it must have brought a smile to their faces. They could not do any more, the rest was up to Dolan.
Knight’s Choice jumped cleanly from the barriers, but could not match the speed of Trust In You and Zardozi on his inside.
Crucially, though, he landed in front of Japanese runner Warp Speed from gate three – ultimately, this would prove the winning break.
Dolan was caught three wide – outside Zardozi and Trust In You – for the first 200m, but held his nerve and as Andrea Atzeni squirted forward on Zardozi, Knight’s Choice was able to settle one off the fence. At this stage, he was seven lengths off early leader Just Fine.
“We didn’t give him instructions, he just knew what to do,” Laxon said of Dolan’s ride.
To the naked eye, it was too early to spot the winner. Jamie Kah had positioned Okita Soushi behind leader Just Fine, Zardozi was behind her, while the three favourites – Buckaroo, Onesmoothoperator and Vauban – were caught back and wide. It was not what punters wanted to see.
From the 800m: Sleeping like a baby
As the field pushed past the finishing post for the first time Dolan, who once appeared on The Voice, must have been belting out a lullaby because he had practically put Knight’s Choice to sleep.
The five-year-old gelding was conserving his energy in the back third of the field. This would allow him to unleash a long, sustained burst at the back end of the race.
By now, Land Legend and Circle Of Fire had pushed up on leader Just Fine and injected speed into what many thought was going to be a slowly run race.
“I thought I’d be a pair closer, but they went quick,” Dolan said. “I just rode him for luck because I know he’s got a good turn of foot.”
This early pace would take the sting out of the sit-sprinters such as Kovalica, who finished ninth, and Buckaroo, 10th.
As the horses turned into the first bend, two of the pre-race fancies, Absurde and Sea King, were the last two horses in the race. It was game over for them.
Final 900m: It pays to cut corners
The field had been strung out by leader Just Fine at the 900 metre-mark, and the back markers waited until the 700 before starting to fan and make their moves.
At this stage, Zardozi and Okita Soushi were emerging as the dangers. Kah had cleverly manoeuvred Okita Soushi three off the fence, while Atzeni on Zardozi was making valuable ground along the rail.
All eyes then fanned wide because Buckaroo and Vauban were making their runs.
No one was looking for Knight’s Choice or Warp Speed. Why would you? They were caught back in the wash – still seven lengths off the lead.
When Warp Speed swung around the outside of Knight’s Choice, Dolan knew his moment had come. Together they started to pick their way through the field.
“There wasn’t enough room for me to come outside. So I decided to cut the corner,” Dolan said.
“Once my horse spotted the gap, he sort of changed legs and he just sort of picked up on me.”
By the 400m mark, Knight’s Choice and Warp Speed had made up four lengths, while Buckaroo and Vauban were dying on their runs.
“What a great ride by Robbie. You know he stayed in, he took the risk, went through the pack,” Symons said. “I was worried he got further back than we talked about, but what a great ride.”
Last 200m: ‘He found another gear’
Inside the final 200m, a fairytale looked to be unfolding. But it wasn’t the singing jockey on the 80-1 longshot that fans were cheering home.
It was Kah and James Cummings. Kah, hoping to become the second woman to win the Cup, had hit the front on Okita Soushi. Coming hard on her inside was Zardozi, trained by Cummings, grandson of the legendary Bart, who was chasing his first Cup.
Kah later admitted she became “excited at the 200”, but she was unaware of two freight trains closing from behind. “I thought he was going to hang on,” she said.
The runs kept opening for Knight’s Choice and Warp Speed as they closed at a growing rate of knots.
“Once I pulled the stick through, he found another gear again,” Dolan said. “He’s only a small little horse, but he gives his all every start.”
Dolan and Knight’s Choice hit the front and won in a photo finish from Warp Speed. They had defied the pre-race narratives and written their own script. Maybe they will turn it into a musical.
