An England-based horse has never won the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most prestigious horse race. The 147th consecutive running of the Melbourne Cup took place at Flemington Race Course on Tuesday. With 100 metres to run in the 3,200-metre race, Purple Moon, an English horse trained by Luca Cumani, had the lead and seemed well on his way to giving England its first win in Australia’s premier race. From what looked like a beaten brigade, a grey emerged. It was Efficient, the winner of the Victoria Derby in 2006 with jockey Michael Rodd. As Damien Oliver, Purple Moon’s jockey, was looking for the winning post to come to his rescue, Efficient was devouring ground in a hurry. As the line approached, it was anybody’s guess. The momentum lay with the fast-moving Efficient and Purple Moon could not contain the grey.

It was a beautiful day. The temperature was in the low 80s. The sun was out. A crowd of 120,000 had gathered at Flemington. There were three scratches. The turf course was called ‘dead’ and upgraded to ‘good.’

Twenty one horses answered the starter’s call. Tungsten Strike made the running and Mahler, the Aidan O’Brien runner, was second. Purple Moon was sixth and seventh. Jockey Michael Rodd was content to keep Efficient several lengths away from the top. Turning for home, Mahler surged to the front as Tungsten Strike called it a day. As Mahler was being hailed, Purple Moon joined issue. Moments later, Purple Moon had seen Mahler off. The race was not over yet. Efficient was seen on the outside and he was making a spirited run. Michael Rodd had timed his move to perfection. Mahler ran on bravely to get third.

That was only the second lifetime win for Efficient. His last win had also come at Flemington in the Victoria Derby in November 2006. Efficient is by Zabeel, a New Zealand-bred. The dam is Refused The Dance (USA) by Defensive Play.

Michael Rodd exclaimed moments after passing the post, “I have just won the Melbourne Cup. I cannot believe it.”

At the presentation ceremony, jockey Rodd thanked the connections. “I am grateful to Mr Williams (winning owner) for putting me on this horse for the Derby last year and for having enough confidence in me. Coming back to win the Cup--it is absolutely great.. I was where I wanted to be. I was pushed wide. I thought I could win in the final bend. When I asked for more, my horse gave it to me.”

Trainer Graeme Rogerson was delirious. “This is the greatest thrill. It was always my dream to win the Melbourne Cup. In fact, I had a dream last night that I had won the Cup. This horse trained well. We trained him over fences. The blinkers were off. He can stay.”

On Monday in England, both Jamie Spencer and Seb Sanders drew blanks. Spencer keeps the three-win lead going into Tuesday.

Mark Zahra was scheduled to have a mount in the Melbourne Cup, but he had a fall in the earlier races, and was taken to hospital for treatment. So he could not ride.