On a frozen day in Melbourne, Gold Trip, the Frenchman from France, became the first top weight to win the Melbourne Cup since Makybe Diva in 2005:

Originally tweeted by 10 Sport

If you think about it, were it not for Durston sticking his neck out on the post on October 15, Gold Trip could’ve/would’ve completed the first Cups double in 21 years.

So that’s two years in a row the Melbourne Cup winner has something in common with Makybe Diva’s third Melbourne Cup:

– Verry Elleegant was the first mare to win the race since The Diva

– And Gold Trip is the first top weight to win the race since The Diva 17 years earlier, and coincidentally both those wins came on November 1.

So Ciaron Maher/David Eustace, who have been the best trainers of stayers in this country for the last 4 years (And have the record to back it up), now have a Melbourne Cup to show for their efforts, and Mark Zahra, after a career filled with many highs (The 2020 Caulfield Cup for one), and lows, like getting embroiled in the Smoking Aces race fixing saga of 2011 (Which he was cleared of), and being suspended for attending the Mornington Airbnb party of 2021 that rubbed him out of the Spring Carnival and cost him the Verry Elleegant ride, has come back to life and joined the great list of Melbourne Cup winning jockeys.

A gremlin from Glen Forrest, all the way to the summit of Australian racing.

So moving on from that, the entire day was carnage without end, as the Early Quaddie at Flemington Paid $154,759.30, the Cup First 4 paid the usual six figures, The Big Dance at Randwick went to a double-figure winner, and even the Burgess Queen Stakes at Ascot went to double figure runner Laced Up Heels, who managed to become the horse to end Amelia’s Jewel’s unbeaten record.

HOWEVER, there was positive news from the day, over on our Crazy little end of life…

ONE OF THE CRAZIES DID FIND A WINNER TODAY, CRAZY COLIN LANDING A CATCH WITH WHITE MARLIN, WHICH MEANS I CAN SOUND THE VICTORY MUSIC!

The things you can catch on a morning fishing trip, like the only bloody favourite to win at Flemington.

Crazy Craig’s Picks

Pick of the Day: Circularity in Race 6 at Eagle Farm = 2nd ($1.32p)

Nosed out with 20 bloody metres to go…. I believe Crazy Craig would describe Circularity as having a HEART AS BIG AS A PEA.

It turned out that Richard & Will Freedman would train a winner on Melbourne Cup Day, although it was a good 4 hours before Circularity went around at Eagle Farm, because the Freedman father/son combination trained Love Tap to win the annual Subzero greys race at Flemington.

I suppose it is fitting that a former member of the FBI (Freedman Brothers Incorporated) would train the winner of the Subzero Handicap, because Subbie was a deadset hero of the Freedman yard in the early 1990s, capped off by the 1992 Melbourne Cup win.

Value Pick: Field of Flutes in Race 5 at Flemington = Scratched, substitute Alpha Flight did stuff all

Well, what a way to wake up on Tuesday morning.

I look at the field for Race 5 and Field of Flutes has been scratched, and I look over at my emails and Crazy Craig had already sent me a message saying he wants a substitute, which would’ve made next to no difference, because the refund for the scratching on Field of Flutes would’ve been the biggest collect of most people’s day.

In fact, “Did stuff all” is a good way to describe 99% of horses that started under $10 at Flemington today.

Crazy Colin

Pick of the Day: White Marlin in Race 2 at Flemington = WINNER ($2.35w/$1.32p)

Crazy Colin said he was going for a fish on Tuesday morning, and he landed a White Marlin going at $2.35 for a 5-length win.

$2.35 for a horse that’ll probably slot straight into next year’s Cup field is he stays healthy, in fact he could’ve run in this year’s Cup and been better than half the field was today.

But once again, $2.35 to watch something piss it in by a furlong, all I can say is Hahahahahaahahahahaha, thank you very much!

I wonder how many people were spared horrible days thanks to that performance from White Marlin, because he was the only winner at Flemington that wasn’t over $7.

That’s how much of a massacre it was at Headquarters.

Anyway, solid find Colin, welcome back, now you can both pay for a few more scratchies with those winnings.

Value Pick: Casino Kid in The Big Dance at Randwick = 12th

Didn’t get to see the race, has Casino Kid found his way out of traffic yet?

Random Rupert Holmes Pick: Rockin’ Rupert in Race 7 at Ascot = 2nd ($1.55p)

What a heartbreaker.

Rockin’ Rupert was second-last on the fence down the side after jumping from the wide gate:

AND LOOK AT WHERE HE FINISHED.

A bloody head away.

Would’ve been an all-time ending to Cup Day if that had’ve landed.

There were no Pina Coladas for Rockin’ Rupert.

Instead, we were caught in the imaginary rain.