Without A Fight has won the 2023 Melbourne Cup at Flemington, beating out Soulcombe and Sheraz on Tuesday afternoon, giving jockey Mark Zahra a second straight victory in the great race.
Trained by father-and-son team Anthony and Sam Freedman, Without A Fight pulled clear about 300m from the finish before going on to win by three lengths as Soulcombe finished up the inside to claim second. The duo joins brother/uncle, Lee, as winning trainers of the race that stops the nation.
"It's very special, we've had a rich family history [in the race] ... I was here in 2005 when Makybe Diva won her third and it feels pretty special to be up here," Sam Freedman told Channel 10. "The team at home have done a terrific job with this horse, he's really been thriving, so a big team effort from everyone."
Zahra, meanwhile, had earlier in the year made the decision to switch from last year's winner Gold Trip, who backed up again to defend his title on Tuesday, the jockey also completing the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double after Without A Fight triumphed in the key lead-up race last month.
Freedman said that while the conditions were against Without A Fight in the same race last year, it all came together this time around before a peach of a ride from Zahra.
"I'm glad Mark stuck, he gave it a freak of a ride today," Freedman said of Zahra. "The horse is pretty extraordinary, and I will say last year when he ran the ground wasn't to suit and he was up on the speed.
"And we were given this horse in terrific order and we were just able to point him in the right direction. Mark's built a really good rapport with him, I think he'll probably stick with him for his future preparations, hopefully we won't probably have much conversation about that.
"It's just hugely exciting and I'm just proud of the whole team."
Without A Fight is the first horse to win the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double since Ethereal in 2001.
"My main worry was him pulling so hard, when people asked me who the biggest opposition [was] I said 'it's actually himself by being too keen', [he] comes out of the barriers cold and he's a horse that settles much better on the fence with all the horses tucked away around him," Zahra explained.
"So I got him to the fence and he went to sleep straight away. And I was following three great jockeys, actually; I was following Damien Oliver, James MacDonald and Ryan Moore, and even if their horse doesn't take you as far as what you think, they'll get you where you need to go in a race.
"And I knew they would, and the inside just kept chugging up, and in the Melbourne Cup you start to see them drop off from the 1000 [metres from home] and they start to fall, so it's all about plotting the right path.
"So I got to where I wanted to be, I got right up behind Gold Trip and Vauban, and when I knew I could get up beside Gold Trip to get clear air I thought [we're home]; last year I got a scare at the 200, at the 400 [today] I thought I'm just home here."
Pre-race favourite Vauban did not figure in the finish after the leaders had set a cracking pace out in front through 2000 metres. Ashrun completed the minor placings in fourth.