RACING: Glen Boss, almost paralysed for life after a heavy fall last year, rode Makybe Diva to victory in the 143rd Melbourne Cup before a record 122,736 crowd at Flemington yesterday.
Boss broke his neck after falling in a race in Macau but escaped certain paralysis by lying absolutely still until he had received treatment and resumed racing after only four months.
On a brilliantly clear and hot afternoon, with the nation at a standstill for Australia's most celebrated race, Makybe Diva sprinted clear of the field in the final 200 metres to beat She's Archie by a length and a quarter. English raider Jardines Lookout finished third in a photo finish.
Makybe Diva sat midfield for most of the race before bursting through the pack to kick clear and give Boss and trainer David Hall their first wins in the €2.8 million race.
"Once we got to the 1,000 (metres) and some of them were starting to make their moves, my smile just got bigger and bigger," said Boss.
The big flop was English-trained favourite Mamool, sporting the blue Godolphin colours of Sheikh Mohammed. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Mamool started well but faded to finish last of the 23-strong field, behind stablemate Millstreet. The Willie Mullins-trained Holy Orders was a well beaten 17th.
Makybe Diva was bred in England but brought to Australia and raced by South Australian, Croatian-born tuna fisherman Tony Santic, who admitted that he had struggled at time to make his way in Australia.
"Back in 1990, I didn't know if the bank was going to kick me and the five kids out of the house. At one stage I was fishing in a leaky boat off Tasmania. After a few years the insurance company condemned it!" added Santic, now one of the top tuna fishermen in Port Lincoln.
