'It's been a long time coming': $85 roughie Garachico wins Melbourne Cup day race
A rank outsider has taken out one of the undercard races on Lexus Melbourne Cup day, saluting at a massive price for the punters and connections.
In the Australian Heritage Cup over 2800m at Flemington, it was the Dominic Sutton-trained Garachico who hit the line first in a tight finish.
The gelding had won just one race from 24 attempts prior to Tuesday, but beat home a stack of runners in the tough staying event.
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Garachico paid $85 on the tote with TAB and was $61 on fixed odds.
"That suits him," jockey Billy Egan told Nine post-race.
Garachico salutes in the Australian Heritage Cup. Getty
"He has a really building gallop and you have to get him to his top and then his ability and his heart gets him the rest of the way."
It was jubilation for Sutton, who brought the horse into this same race 12 months ago and always had his eye on finding success on Cup day.
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"It's been a long time coming," the trainer said.
"He's been a promising stayer throughout his time here and we've just been waiting to get him out to these extended trips.
"He ran third in this race last year and it was nice to go two better today. We've always had this race circled … there are limited options for them.
"He loves a big galloping track like Flemington, so it was always the plan."