Why is this win so significant?

Cross Counter not only clinched the Melbourne Cup in emphatic fashion, he also dispelled several myths about the 3,200-metre race, regarded by many as a mystery and the world’s toughest.

The odds were also stacked against the relatively inexperienced three-year-old.

1 Cross Counter had never previously run further than 2,400 metres.

2 He had an unfavourable draw in Gate 19, which meant he was on the far side to the more preferred rail.

3 Only two horses at No. 23 in the field of 24, had previously ever won the Cup.

4 He had travelled over 10,500 miles from his home in Newmarket, England to Melbourne only weeks earlier.