Australian jockey Ethan Brown has ridden Point of Law, a horse previously owned by King Charles, to victory in this year’s Melbourne Cup, the country’s most prestigious race.
Point of Law, which was bought from the King earlier this year for an undisclosed sum, was considered an early favourite.
Brown pushed Point of Law from the middle of the pack to take the lead with just a few hundred metres to go.
The Melbourne Cup has run in Australia since 1861 and is often referred to as the “race that stops a nation”. With a prize of A$10.2m ($7.04m; £5.3m), it is the country’s third richest race, but is considered the most prestigious.
“Don’t wake me up, this is every jockey’s dream,” Brown said in a post-race interview.
Brown said he was telling himself “just stay cool, stay patient” as Royal Supremacy raced more than a dozen lengths ahead, before pushing Point of Law from the middle of the pack to overtake on the home stretch.
The King sold Point of Law to a group of investors including former AFL player Chris Judd and his wife Bec.
Trained by Ciaron Maher, the three-year-old thoroughbred won the Geelong Cup last month.
“He’s going to be a superstar horse. He’s something special,” said Brown. “He’s in the best of hands with Ciaran Maher.”
Maher had a record seven horses in this year’s cup, including the second and first place runners, Zahrann and Juja Kibo.
Brown, who grew up in Alice Springs, said he never dreamed as a kid that he would be riding the Melbourne Cup, but he had been given “a lot of great support” in his career.
Brown said he was “inches from losing my life” after a fall from his horse in a 2023 race sent him to hospital and kept him out of racing for six months.
Tens of thousands of people enjoyed sunny weather at Flemington on Tuesday, where they were also entertained by Robbie Williams. Organisers said the UK pop star’s appearance, which included a 10-piece band, backup dancers and pyrotechnics, was the biggest pre-cup performance ever staged at Flemington.
The day was not without controversy. One horse, Asterix, was scratched from the race earlier on Tuesday, after it was discovered a stable worker had administered it the medication penetrene earlier that morning.
The medication is used to treat inflammation and muscle soreness, but no treatments of any kind are permitted on race day. Race stewards said the medication was applied in error but still constituted a “serious breach”, the Age reported. Trainer Chris Waller was reportedly fined $50,000 for what he described as a simple mistake by a staff member under pressure.
Outside Flemington, crowds from the Australia-wide “Nup to the Cup” movement also gathered to protest against horse racing on the industry’s most high profile day. Some held signs with slogans including “horse racing kills”, “don’t bet on cruelty” and “no more whips”.
Interest in the race among Australians has been declining, according to a Guardian Essential poll, which this year found just 9% of people said they had high interest in the race, and 23% had moderate interest. However more than 60% said it was a unique part of Australia’s national identity.
Last year the Melbourne Cup drew a record $382.5 million in bets.
