THERE was a huge shock in the Melbourne Cup overnight as Verry Elleegant shocked red hot favourite Incentivise.
The New Zealand mare bolted up the straight to win at 16-1 in front of a huge Flemington crowd in Australia.
The winner – ridden by James McDonald and trained by Chris Waller – won by four lengths.
It came after bookies had already paid out more than £3.3m for Incentivise to win, with them convinced it was a foregone conclusion.
Very Elleegant bagged her owners around £4.25m for winning the 1m 7f group one battle.
McDonald told Channel 10 after the race: “I love her to bits. She’s been so good to me.
“They can safely say she’s a champion now.
“I never thought I would ever win one, you know. I always dreamed of winning one, but, it’s so hard to win.”
Brit Andrew Balding’s Spanish Mission also ran a stormer to come in third at 7-1.
Last year’s winner, Twilight Payment, trained by Joseph O’Brien, finished 11th after leading the weights.
Bookmakers were bracing themselves for a mega £27.5m hit on the race if the heavy favourite had won.
It would have cost them around £100,000 a SECOND, but thankfully for them, their fears were allayed.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
It is understood all 23 runners finished the race unscathed.
Around 10,000 fully vaccinated spectators flocked to Flemington to watch the race.
It would usually attract around 100,000 for the spectacle, but strict Covid-19 restrictions in Australia prevented that.
