Americain lands Melbourne Cup

Americain landed a famous success for France as he claimed the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington.

Trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, the five-year-old was ridden with supreme confidence by Gerald Mosse to come home a clear-cut winner.

Maluckyday kept on for second while favourite So You Think could finish only third after pulling hard early on.

Once Were Wild set a steady pace up front in the early stages with So You Think racing keenly in behind while Americain was buried in the pack.

Turning into the straight, Once Were Wild was still in front but Descarado was primed to challenge along with Maluckyday who came storming up the inside. However, Mosse produced his mount with perfect timing and Americain accelerated away to supplement last month's Geelong Cup victory in style.

Godolphin's Holberg was prominent early on but faded out of the finish under Frankie Dettori while fellow British contenders Campanologist, Illustrious Blue and Manighar failed to make an impact. Dermot Weld's Irish raider Profound Beauty was another among the also-rans.

"The job is so easy when you have the best race and the best horse," said Mosse. "He's a very strong horse. I knew from about the 250-metre mark that I was going to catch him, so I took my time to make sure I got the result.

"I've won some big races around the world but I want to thank everyone here for being so fantastic, especially the owner for having confidence in a French jockey."

Americain may be trained in France but owners Gerry Ryan and Kevin Bamford are from Australia.

"It's been our dream, Kevin and I. About five years ago we planned this and here we are," said Ryan. "I thought after the Geelong Cup (that he could win) but the trainer was very confident after his win in France (in the Prix Kergorlay)."