Gold Trip won the 2022 Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup has always been a massive national racing day, with the mighty Melbourne Cup as the centerpiece and focus. Gold Trip and Mark Zahra are this year’s Melbourne Cup winners.

The 2022 Melbourne Cup was the 162nd running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 meters, was held on 1 November 2022 at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse. The final field for the race was declared on 29 October 2022. the Melbourne Cup is worth A$8m (£4.5m).

Gold Trip, the horse, ruled out of the Melbourne spring carnival last year after failing vet checks, claimed the ultimate prize in Australian racing with just the second victory in his career. Gold Trip’s only success before the Melbourne Cup came in a group 2 event in June 2020.

There was a lot that was good about this year’s Melbourne Cup, some bad, and one big ugly moment that marred the first Tuesday in November. | ANALYSIS#MelbourneCup https://t.co/fWZ6AI2cya

— The Age (@theage) November 2, 2022

Mark Zahra’s Reaction

It was also the first victory for Australian jockey Mark Zahra and trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace. Zahra was unable to compete last year because of suspension. She described the win as “a miracle.”

Zahra said, ” This time last year I was in Byron Bay and I was getting told off for drinking too much. I felt terrible and I was drinking my way out of it. [My wife] was saying, ‘Don’t drink too much’. I said, ‘What do you want me to do? My horse just won the Melbourne Cup.”

“It could have been my ride. Redemption day today. For today to come, it is just unbelievable”, he continued, “Mum used to give me the day off as a kid to watch this race so it’s absolutely surreal to win it.”

After winning Zahra expressed his happiness and said, “I can’t [put this into words]. I’ll start crying,” Zahra said. “It’s unbelievable. What a day.

“I got to the front a bit soon but he’s a horse that when you want to go for it, you want to go for it. I don’t give him a chance to think about it.

“That last 100 [metres], I was thinking, ‘Just piss off and no one come near me.’ Elation, just elation, across the line.”

On reacting over Zahra’s win joint trainer Eustace said, “I can’t believe it and I’m a bit overcome. It’s a dream come true and the pinnacle of our sport to win this race”.