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Massive outsider, Prince of Penzance, scores historic Melbourne Cup win

Xinhua, November 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian jockey Michelle Payne has become the first female to steer a runner to victory in Australias greatest race, the Melbourne Cup, aboard massive underdog, Prince of Penzance.

   Prince of Penzance, trained by Australian Darren Weir, caused one of the biggest boilovers in the cups 155-year history before a 101,015-strong crowd at Flemington Racecourse, shaking off huge odds - fetching as much as $101 with one Australian betting agency pre-race - to win by a length over Max Dynamite (second) and Criterion (third).

   The six-year-old Australian-trained stayer, who was breed in New Zealand, joins only four past champions of 3200-meter handicap to overcome triple-figure odds, a feat that has not been replicated since Old Rowley in 1940.

   Since the races inception in 1861, only nine champions have shunned the outsider tag ($41 or more) to score an unlikely triumph.

   The owners of Prince of Penzance - a syndicate who each payed around 3,500 U.S. dollars (USD) for a six-way stake in the horse - will share in 2.6 million USD, out of the 4.5 million USD total prize pool.

   Payne, who comes from a prestigious racing family, was overjoyed and overwhelmed in the aftermath of the shocking turn-up.

   "I cant believe it," Payne said in the post-race interview. "It panned out exactly how I thought it would. I seriously just cant believe its come true ... it was like it was meant to be."

   "He just burst to the front and Ive never yelled so loud at a horse in all my life - this is everybodys dream as a jockey in Australia."

   Payne, who before the momentous win was already one of only five females in Australian history to have won a Group 1 race, used the win to scorn sexist criticism often encountered by professional female jockeys in the male-dominated industry.

   "Its such a chauvinistic sport and I know some of the owners (of other runners) were keen to keep me off," Payne said. 

   "I cant say how thankful I am to them."

   Weir heaped praise on record-breaking jockey for lifting Prince of Penzance out of the chaos unfolding behind in the packed, 24-horse field.

   "I couldnt thank her enough. What a beautiful ride and what a great family," Darren Weir, who has now amassed 11 Group 1 scalps in his career, told reporters following the win.

   Finishing Order: 

   1. PRINCE OF PENZANCE

   2. Max Dyanmite

   3. Criterion

   4. Trip To Paris

   5. Big Orange

   6. Gust Of Wind

   7. Excess Knowledge

   8. The Offer

   9. Quest For More

   10. Our Ivanhowe

   11. Who Shot Thebarman

   12. Sertorius

   13. Fame Game

   14. The United States

   15. Hartnell

   16. Bondi Beach

   17. Hokko Brave

   18. Almoonqith

   19. Kingfisher

   20. Preferment

   21. Grand Marshal

   22. Sky Hunter

   23. Snow Sky

   24. Red Cadeaux

Endi