When French jockey Christophe Lemaire arrived in Australia on Monday, he was not sure he would even have a Melbourne Cup ride.
A little over 24 hours later he prevailed in a thrilling photo finish to win the A$6 million race aboard the French-trained stayer Dunaden, roared on by a huge crowd of more than 100,000.
Lemaire's triumph was tinged with regret for the rider he replaced, Craig Williams, whose dream of a historic Australian racing treble was dashed when a tribunal turned down his bid to appeal against a 10-race ban on Monday.
Williams, who won local marquee races the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate in the lead-up, would have been 'devastated' to miss out, said Lemaire, who first saw the track on Monday and did not know he was racing until after his plane touched down that morning.
'I didn't know if I could ride or not ... I was waiting for the judgment,' Lemaire said. 'But thanks to the owners I could come, even if I was not sure I could ride. For me it was a pleasure to come for the Melbourne Cup, even if I was just a spectator. Today is very special, as I had heard of the Melbourne Cup before, but you really have to see it to believe it. Today, because of the crowd, because of the atmosphere and the passion you can feel ... winning a race like this is really something special.'
The 32-year-old rider said he felt for Williams, who had partnered Dunaden to his impressive Geelong Cup win.
