THOROUGHBRED

For French trainer Mikel Delzangles it was the perfect get square. "It's an amazing thrill, I can't say much," after a 3 minute delay to decide the DUNADEN - RED CADEAUX head bobber. It was the closest to a dead-heat in the 151 year history of the Melbourne Cup.

Dunaden and fellow French stayer AMERICAIN went into the Melbourne Cup as the first two favourites and should have produced a quinella result. AMERICAIN was desperately unlucky to finish fourth after a less than inspiring ride by Gerald Mosse.

This was a magnificent combination of several participants all doing their job well and combining to lift one of the world's great racing prizes. Delzangles held his nerve when his Geelong Cup winning rider Craig Williams was suspended. The Frenchman had to sit on his hands until late on Monday to know whether Williams, or French jockey Christophe Lemaire, brought in from Japan in case, would ride his horse. "It is all part of racing, you just have to deal with it," said Delzangles.

Lemaire, who had not been to Australia previously, did a magnificent job. "I was aware of not wanting to hit the front too soon, I was told that was suicide in this race, the horse in front of me, Corey Brown I think on LUCAS CRANACH, brought me into the top line at the top of the home straight but I held my horse back. RED CADEAUX got a neck on me, but I was always confident I could beat him." The Frenchman said it was his second-biggest thrill in the saddle. "Probably the only other occasion that matches this is when I won the French Oaks when all my family was there to see it."