RacingBetter News
	Monday 18th November 2019

Unlucky for Aiden O’Brien in Australia

It was unlucky again for Aiden O’Brian as his horse Il Paradiso could only finish in third behind Vow and Declare, only being beaten a neck. This was despite a very unlucky passage throughout the race. The Melbourne Cup betting prior to the race had the horse at a general 14/1, but he was well supported as he looked an ideal type for the unique test.

He was one of three horses in the race for his record breaking trainer, alongside Hunting Horn and Magic Wand. The latter could only finish in 10th but has since won his first Group 1, when landing the Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington. Hunting Horn on the other hand ran a distant 15th in the Cup.

Il Paradiso entered the race following a 52 day break and had previously ran fifth in the St Leger at Doncaster, beaten 5 ¼ lengths by the hugely impressive Logician. Prior to this he was only beaten 1 ¼ lengths by Stradivarius, which was the first big indication he could be a key player for the Cup.

Il Paradiso was held up right at the rear from the off, following breaking poorly from the stalls under jockey, Wayne Lordan. For much of the race it was a question of waiting before he was ridden to make headway from around the two furlong mark. The horse made up a huge amount of ground, in which he had to manoeuvre his way through a tight packed field, being checked on multiple occasions. He continued to make relentless headway into the final furlong and went to challenge between two horses, before being squeezed out late one. The horse ultimately finished 4th but was placed 3rd due to Master of Reality being demoted to 4th. Local horse Vow and Declare picked up the victory, which led to some incredible scenes at the track.

VOW AND DECLARE HAS WON THE @LEXUS #MELBOURNECUP pic.twitter.com/XPpklu0n6T

— World Horse Racing (@WHR) November 5, 2019

It appeared at the time that Il Paradiso was clearly coming to win the race and had he not been stopped at the line, he would have been the winner of the race. This is due to the fact that the horse had to virtually stop and was still only beaten a head and a nose. It will have been a tough result to take for connections and since then the horse has now moved to Chris Waller in Australia, following his career best performance. Could he be a contender next season for the 2020 running of the Melbourne Cup?