Champion jockeys face the music after Melbourne Cup flops

Some of the best known jockeys in this year’s Melbourne Cup failed to fire. Read what they all said after Knight’s Choice’s boilover.

Queensland galloper Knight’s Choice caused a major boilover when winning the $8.56 million Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.

The victory was Knight’s Choice’s sixth from 23 starts and took his earnings to more than $5 million.

Knight’s Choice is a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice, he was ridden by Robbie Dolan and is trained by John Symons and Sheila Laxon.

This is what the riders thought of their mount’s performance in the Melbourne Cup, including some of the sport’s biggest names, as reported by punters.com.au.

It was tough for leading jockeys Joao Moreira (Buckaroo) and William Buick (Vauban) to have to explain why their highly-fancied runners failed to fire a shot.

Buckaroo started the race as outright favourite with some bookmakers, while Vauban for the second consecutive year had a shocker, despite being considered the classiest horse in the field.

1st – KNIGHT’S CHOICE (Robbie Dolan): “Pinch me. I think I’m dreaming. It’s incredible. I just can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to say. I can’t even put it into words. This is the biggest race in the world, and to win it is just incredible. I’ve never ridden this race before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I feel like I’ve ridden it 10 times because I’ve run the race over in my head before I got here.

Race winner Robbie Dolan and fellow jockey Joao Moreira. Photos: Getty Images

“It panned out exactly as I thought it would. I thought I’d be a pair closer, but they went quick. I just rode him for luck because I know he’s got a good turn of foot. What a training performance.

“There wasn’t enough room for me to come outside. So I decided to cut the corner. I heard Kerrin (McEvoy) giving me a call along the inside. I initially would have went for the run that he went for. He was going a little bit better than me. Once my horse spotted the gap and he sort of changed leads and he just sort of picked up on me. Once I pulled the stick through, he found another gear again. He’s only a small little horse, but he gives his all every start and that’s half the battle with him, I think and he’s proved a lot of people wrong.”

2nd – WARP SPEED (Akira Sugawara): “The plan was to go a bit more forward, but obviously he couldn’t. Then we just changed to Plan B, which was what we always had in the mind. We watched many Melbourne Cups of the past, and we could come from the back. We got him into real rhythm, good rhythm and went through the field, and it was a really good run.”

Knights Choice wins a photo finish from Warp Speed.

3rd – OKITA SOUSHI (Jamie Kah): “Fantastic run. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from the horse. Got me a bit excited at the 200 (metre mark). I thought he was going to hang on, but he’s just a genuine one-pace horse, but couldn’t ask for anything more of him.”

4th – ZARDOZI (Andrea Atzeni): “She ran good. We got a good trip from that draw. She travelled strongly. She picked up nicely. She probably didn’t quite get the two miles.”

5th – ABSURDE (Kerrin McEvoy): “He ran fantastic. He got in a nice rhythm. He relaxed well. I just sort of cut the corner and switched a couple of times up the running, but he was finishing really well the last bit.”

6th – CIRCLE OF FIRE (Mark Zahra): “He ran well. Good, tough effort.”

7th – FANCY MAN (Ron Stewart): “Got a fantastic run from the awkward alley. Followed Jamie Kah (Okita Soushi) throughout. From the half-mile she got on her bike and that suited my horse who ran a really good race.”

8th – LAND LEGEND (Zac Purton): “He was much more manageable than at Caulfield, but still wanting to go 10 per cent too fast the whole way. Really good effort.”

9th – BUCKAROO (Joao Moreira): “Didn’t have the best of the runs because he was actually too wide. It was hard to get in. He had to travel a little bit wide. He still had cover, but the distance probably just stretched him too much, and the last little bit, he started getting tired. So I’d say he couldn’t really run the distance.”

Andrea Atzeni, seen here riding Zardozi last month. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

10th – KOVALICA (Damian Lane): “He ran well. Unfortunately, just didn’t quite have the turn-of-foot to go. Between the 600 and the 400. I had to wait. After that he hit the line well. Just lacked a turn-of-foot with that speed but he ran honest.”

11th – VAUBAN (William Buick): “I was a bit further back than ideal. He travelled well the first half of the race, and I had to hold my position. He came off the bridle far earlier than I expected from him.”

12th – ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (Craig Williams): “I was happy the way his prelim was, but once we placed him under pressure in the race today, he just wasn’t quite at his best. Interesting to see how he comes through the run.”

13th – VALIANT KING (Craig Newitt): “I thought he ran really well, just got caught a little bit wide early. Got into a nice midfield position, travelled really well. I think if the track had a bit more give in it, he’d finish right in the money.”

14th – SEA KING (Hollie Doyle): “He’s run all right. He probably overraced throughout, really. The distance probably tested his stamina.”

Sea King during trackwork at Werribee Racing Club on Monday. (Photo by William West/AFP)

15th – INTERPRETATION (Teo Nugent): “A lovely first half of the race. He travelled really well for me and settled midfield. First (part) of the race was ideal, just at the business end of things, from the 400 on, he lacked a turn of foot.”

16th – SHARP ‘N’ SMART (Michael Dee): “Had a lovely run today, but just didn’t quicken when asked.”

17th – TRUST IN YOU (Mark Du Plessis): “Got a lovely spot and he relaxed really well. He was just probably a year away from really finishing off properly.”

18th – MOSTLY CLOUDY (Karis Teetan): “Had a perfect position from the start, but just (lacking) the class.”

19th – MANZOICE (Declan Bates): “Just didn’t stay. Travelled into the race really well got tired late.”

20th – POSITIVITY (Winona Costin): “Probably just come up a year too soon. Next year in the race, she’s going to be a lot better. Just wanting to overdo it a few times. Overall, I was happy, but next year she’ll be a big improver.”

21st – THE MAP (Rachel King): “Tough run from the gate but she was as game as ever.”

22nd – SAINT GEORGE (Tyler Schiller): He had the right run. He followed the winner (but) just didn’t see the trip out and probably couldn’t get comfortable either with a bit of a stop-start tempo.”

Last – JUST FINE (Jye McNeil): “He acquitted himself well today. Just struggled at the two miles.”

This article originally appeared in punters.com.au and was reproduced with permission