Melbourne Cup 2020 final finishing order: Every horse’s race analysed

It was somewhat lost amid the chaos of the finish and the sad aftermath, but the Melbourne Cup was won well before the post.

Jye McNeil produced one of the greatest rides we’ve seen to help Twilight Payment finish ahead of Tiger Moth and Prince of Arran in the 2020 Melbourne Cup.

The final finishing order of the 3200m race at Flemington on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, reveals much of each jockey’s tactics, but lost amid the chaos at the end – and the sad aftermath as Anthony Van Dyck pulled up lame and was euthanised after claiming last place – was McNeil’s perfectly calculated run.

2020 MELBOURNE CUP FINAL FINISHING ORDER

Winner: Twilight Payment

McNeil’s ability to execute a plan to a tee, under the pressure of riding in Australia’s most famous race for the first time, was rated by horse racing aficionado Andrew Hawkins as “one of the greatest rides the Melbourne Cup has seen”.

The plan set out by Irish trainer Joseph O‘Brien was to go forward and get rolling before the turn to ensure it was a genuine staying test.

The pace had been solid throughout but it was from the 800m-600m and 600m-400m, when he went sub-12 seconds for both sectionals, that he broke the hearts of some of his rivals.

It was where he won the race.

It's been lost a bit but, for mine, @JyeMcNeil produced one of the greatest rides the Melbourne Cup has seen on Twilight Payment. Look at the splits this year vs last year, when the horse also led. Brilliant front-running sectionals in 2020, too moderate in 2019 pic.twitter.com/TRHmCg55UU

— Andrew Hawkins (@AndrewNJHawkins) November 3, 2020

As McNeil said after the famous win, what Twilight Payment possesses is the ability to stay the two miles.

“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,” McNeil said.

“That was always the plan that Joseph expressed to me and I’m glad it worked.”

“We were able to get across into a nice spot. We dropped in and got a nice lead and he travelled really well. The winner kept running, I just had to pick up to get into the race, which he did, but the winner was just a bit strong today. It was a great run for a young horse having only his fifth start in a race. He’s run really well.”

2. Tiger Moth

Three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy went forward to overcome barrier 23. He landed in a good trailing position and had his chance to run down the winner. “We were able to get across into a nice spot,” McEvoy said. “We dropped in and got a nice lead and he travelled really well. The winner kept running, I just had to pick up to get into the race, which he did, but the winner was just a bit strong today. It was a great run for a young horse having only his fifth start in a race. He’s run really well.” McEvoy copped a hefty fine however for a breach of the whip rule.

3. Prince Of Arran

Settled midfield on the fence. The danger of the inside draw was the possibility of being cluttered away on the fence and Kah attempted to move away from the rail at the 600m. After being held-up on the turn, Prince of Arran flew home for third with the fastest 400m-200m sectional and 200m to finish. It’s always easy in hindsight, but had Kah remained on the fence a run would’ve appeared as Finche began to tire in the straight. It was the run Glen Boss ended up taking on Sir Dragonet. “He was super unlucky. He really deserves it. He just had no luck on the turn,” Kah said.

4. The Chosen One

Finished 2.35 lengths back in an impressive showing. “I couldn’t be happier with the horse,” jockey Daniel Stackhouse said. “He gave a good kick and tried really hard, but he just found the end just a little bit tough. He did well.”

5th – Persan

Jockey Michael Dee says keep an eye on Persan in 2021. “If he’s going as good next year he’s going to be right in it,” Dee said. “It was a massive effort. We wanted to go forward but in the end we didn’t have the speed, so I just had to tuck back and find cover where I could, ride the fence. He got a lovely run through and hit the line strong. To run so well, it was a huge thrill and it’s a credit to Ciaron (Maher) and Dave (Eustace) to keep the horse going for so long.”

6th – Sir Dragonet

It would’ve been regarded as one of the great Cup rides if he pulled it off, but in the end Glen Boss had to settle for sixth aboard the Cox Plate winner. The son of Camelot missed the jump by a length and with that Boss was quick to snag him down to the rails. “Ideally I would have liked to have been two or three pairs closer,” he said. He stayed on the rails turning for home and got the run through in the straight, but Sir Dragonet wasn’t quite able to finish it off. Boss however doesn’t believe the finish proved he can’t run a strong two miles. “There’ll be people that will say that he didn’t run the trip but unfortunately, at the 1200m, when I’m 12 lengths away, I had to do a lot of work just to get myself into a winning position. Even if I just came through on the fence, I’m still using carrots up to get to that point. But he ran very well.”

7th – Verry Elleegant

Verry Elleegant was a bit stiff not to have finished closer. Drawn out in barrier 15, she ended up a long way back in the run with only a handful of horses behind her. Mark Zahra got moving approaching the 600m and looked to get inconvenienced slightly by Steel Prince when looking to hook to the outside. Zahra was then able to get a run to the inside of Steel Prince and the outside of Surprise Baby at the top of the straight. She had too much to do, but did record the fastest final 600m. “Ran really well. Just ended up too far back,” Zahra said.

8th – Russian Camelot

Russian Camelot loomed large at the 400m but didn’t have the finish. “He ran well,” jockey Damien Oliver said. “The two miles was just a bit far for him but he ran very brave.”

9th – Finche

“He’s gone super. He’s stayed on really well.” James McDonald

10th – Ashrun

“He’s run really well. He was a bit slow to muster from the wide gate so I just came back. It probably took a while for him to warm up into it, but the further I went the better he was going, but I was probably too far back. He didn’t have the gears to get there. He’s run well.” Declan Bates

11th – Oceanex

“She went super. I rode her to run the top twelve. I got her into a lovely position, had cover, it was always going to be tricky from the barrier 17. I knew the speed was drawn outside of me but I still had the task of getting across and finding the right spot, which she did. She switched off lovely and I rode her to get the journey and also to help the owner get some prizemoney.” Dean Yendall

12th – Warning

“He couldn’t quicken as well as some of those better ones.” Luke Currie

13th – Surprise Baby

There was big support late for the Paul Preusker galloper, jumping as the $6 favourite with some bookmakers. He got back as expected and Craig Williams got him into the clear at the top of the straight out wide, but the six-year-old offered little in the run to the line. “He looked like he was a little bit stressed when he was unsaddled,” Williams said. “It’ll be really interesting to see how he pulls up. His performance was well below par for him and it will be interesting to see how he comes through the run physically.”

14th – Miami Bound

“We had a perfect run in transit but it seems she needs wet ground to find her best.” Daniel Moor

15th – Master Of Reality

“He felt the ground.” Ben Melham

16th – Steel Prince

“He ran well.” William Pike

17th – Etah James

“She gave me a lovely ride.” Billy Egan

18th – Vow And Declare

“He had a beautiful run. He felt quite strong with the blinkers but he just didn’t have anything to offer today once they quickened. Hopefully he can come back and get into his good form.” Jamie Mott

19th – Mustajeer

“There might be an issue with him.” Michael Rodd

20th – Stratum Albion

“He ran OK. We got up on a nice spot, travelled good. They were just a bit slick for him when the pace quickened.” Jordan Childs

21st – Dashing Willoughby

“He’s not right, the horse. He’s not right. Action-wise he’s not right.” Michael Walker

22nd – Avilius

“Probably didn’t run the trip in the end.” John Allen

Last place (failed to finish) – Anthony Van Dyck

Racing Victoria confirmed Anthony Van Dyck’s death in a statement after the race. “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,” Jamie Stier said. “The horse received immediate veterinary care, however he was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained. Jockey Hugh Bowman didn’t comment.

Scratched – King of Leogrance

King of Leogrance was scratched on the morning of the race after pulling up lame in his front leg.

This article was originally published by punters.com.au and reproduced with permission