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Vauban trainer Willie Mullins concedes Melbourne Cup is not the track for his horse after second 'disaster'

November 5, 2024 - 7.10am

Coming into the Melbourne Cup, Vauban was fighting it out with Buckaroo for the favourite's tag.

The seven-year-old finished 14th in last year's race but clearly the bookie's thought he was a chance to rectify that disappointment.

The Irish gelding was one of two chances for trainer Willie Mullins with Absurde the other horse.

Coming into the race, eccentric owner Rich Ricci explained the mistakes of the previous year had been addressed.

Vauban was a major disappointment once again despite owner Rich Ricci's comments. Nine

"Yeah, last year was a complete flop, let's call a spade a spade. A disaster," Ricci told Nine's Eddie McGuire.

"We got the pace wrong, the trip wasn't good for us on the way down. So I said to Willie the very day after the race was look 'if we are going go for the Melbourne Cup and he is the horse you think we can win it, let's plan on a Melbourne Cup and work back'.

"So he's run five times this year, last year I think he won three times by the time he was here. So we've run five times, he came on the second shipment, we changed things around a bit, but we worked back and hopefully it pays off."

But it didn't.

Vauban was a major disappointment, finishing 11th and failing to fire a shot in the 23-horse race.

Post-race, Mullins was quoted conceding "it's probably not Vauban's track".