The 2021 Melbourne Cup may prove to be one of the greatest ever run.
That is the view of Victoria Racing Club Executive General Manager Racing, Leigh Jordon, after Verry Elleegant posted a world class performance to win Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
Verry Elleegant provided Chris Waller and James McDonald with their first Melbourne Cup victories when she raced to a four-length win in a time of 3 min 17.43 secs, the third fastest in the past 22 runnings of the great race.
The three placegetters, Incentivise (second) and European visitor Spanish Mission (third), all carried 57kg and Verry Elleegant became the first mare to win the race since Makybe Diva in 2005.
“When you look back at this Cup you could say that it could be one of the greatest Cups been run,” Jordon said.
“Verry Elleegant is now a 10-time Group 1 winner that beats Incentivise, a three-time Group 1 winner, that wins the Caulfield Cup by three-and-a-half lengths and Spanish Mission from Europe that ran Stradivarius to a lip in the Lonsdale Cup.
“Stradivarius is probably one of the best stayers in Europe going around.
“So, if you line up those three and look back it will look like one of the best Melbourne Cups and strongest Melbourne Cups we’ve had for a long time.”
There were fears that the depth of this year’s Cup was lacking with some saying there was a long tail.
Jordon is hopeful that a review into the protocols that resulted in stringent testing for all runners, but especially international contenders, may be relaxed a for future Cups.
He said the Cup still needs international runners to make it a world class race.
“Maybe when we sit down and review the protocols, maybe there will be some tweaks that can be made,” Jordon said.
“We obviously need the international competition for the standard of the race, for our wagering, for putting the race on the world stage, our bloodstock, so we’ve just got to find the right balance.”
