King Charles III might regret selling Point Of Law after the favourite justified his tag in winning the $10 million Melbourne Cup for master trainer Ciaron Maher at Flemington.
Maher, who saddled a record seven contenders in Australia's greatest race, won it for the second time when Point Of Law mowed down his frontrunner Royal Supremacy in the home straight and surged to victory under Ethan Brown.
Maher became the first trainer in the Cup's 166-year history to snare the trifecta, with Ben Melham's Zahrann finishing second and Sam Clipperton's Juja Kibo third.
Maher had a remarkable six horses in the top 10.
Royal Supremacy, ridden by Ben Allen, led by as much as 20 lengths in the 3200m staying test and finished fifth, with Shockletz sixth under Harry Coffey.
Coffey rode Shockletz despite having surgery to insert a plate in his fractured collarbone just 48 hours before the race, following a scary Victoria Derby day fall.
"I knew I had my best hand going into it and I just had to execute," said Maher, who also won the 2022 Cup with Gold Trip.
"I certainly didn't know that Royal Supremacy would lead by that far, but there's nothing better than a true staying test.
"It's been a whirlwind, really, but I'm very proud of all the team to get three horses in the first three spots."
The Maher camp was successful on the second attempt at buying Point Of Law from King Charles, who owned and bred the son of Frankel, upping their initial offer after he won the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket in July.
It was Point Of Law's second win in only four starts, and his recent Geelong Cup triumph had him installed among the favourites for the race that stops a nation.
Quizzed on the royal links, Maher said the purchase for an undisclosed sum was "a bit like (buying) any other horse" and suggested anything is now possible for the "special" four-year-old.
AFL great Chris Judd was among connections revelling in Point Of Law's win as a "proper minor shareholder" in the stayer.
"(It's) a lot less work but it's exhilarating," Judd quipped when asked how the victory compared to steering West Coast to the AFL premiership in 2006.
"I couldn't track the horse so it wasn't really until 400m or 500m to go that I was like, 'That's where it is.'
"At that point it did take your breath away."
Brown's triumph marked a remarkable fightback after he suffered life-threatening injuries and lost more than five litres of blood in a horror race fall on the same Flemington track three years ago.
The Alice Springs-raised jockey was talked out of turning his hand to training by Maher, who has been one of his greatest supporters.
"He's done nothing but support me and back me in," Brown said.
"I've buggered up plenty of times on his horses and he's had nothing but faith.
"He's one of many people, but he's believed in me ... I'm quite speechless."
Early rain on Tuesday didn't prevent more than 97,112 punters packing Flemington - the biggest crowd since 2016 - and the Cup was run in bright sunshine on a track that was rated a soft 5.
Irish trainer Joseph O'Brien couldn't add to his pair of previous Cup triumphs despite having a record five international runners in the field.
Sons And Lovers (fourth) and James J Braddock (seventh) went closest for the 33-year-old, who will have another shot next year at becoming the youngest trainer to win the Cup three times.
Jamie Melham was unable to defend her crown, missing the chance to become the first female jockey to win back-to-back Cups when outsider Future History finished 20th.
Popular veteran Vauban was last in the 23-horse field for co-trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott on his fourth attempt at Cup glory.
There was early drama when Chris Waller was fined $50,000 by Racing Victoria stewards, who found the leading trainer's runner Asterix mistakenly had a medication administered on race day.
Asterix was subsequently scratched, leaving 2020 Cup-winning jockey Jye McNeil without a ride in this year's race.
