Gold Trip accomplished something in Tuesday’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup that he failed to do in his first five starts in Australia. He finally won. Ridden by Mark Zahra, Gold Trip ($41.50) closed from 14th in a field off 22 to win the $4.96 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington by two lengths over 25-1 Emissary. The victory marked the first win in Australia’s most famous race for the powerhouse training partnership of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who had five runners in the field and also finished third with 30-1 High Emocean. :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing Deauville Express, the 5-2 favorite, finished fourth, beaten five lengths. Gold Trip carried top weight of 126.7 pounds in the Melbourne Cup, a handicap. Gold Trip, who was fourth in the 2020 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris, won for only the second time in 16 career starts in the Melbourne Cup. It was his first start at the two-mile distance of the race. Gold Trip was sent Australia in mid-2021, but did not start for about a year. Gold Trip was third in the Winter Challenge at Rosehill Gardens in July in his first start in Australia. A 6-year-old French-bred by Outstrip, Gold Trip was second by a head in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Caulfield Racecourse on Oct. 15 and a troubled ninth by slightly less than three lengths in the Group 1 Cox Plate at 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Oct. 22. Big Dance Stakes Rustic Steel held off a late threat from 8-1 Cisco Bay to win the $1.27 million Big Dance Stakes at Royal Randwick on Tuesday. The Big Dance Stakes is a new one-mile race restricted to horses that qualified in a year-long series of races at countryside tracks in the state of New South Wales. Ridden by Nash Rawiller and trained by Kris Less, Rustic Steel closed from 11th in a field of 20 to win by a neck over Cisco Bay, who finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of 5-1 Sibaaq, who was third. Hosier, the 7-2 favorite, finished last of 20. Rustic Steel, a 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding by Deep Field, won for the eig,hth time in 17 starts. He paid $25.80 to win. Rustic Steel ended a three-race losing streak, since winning the Scone Cup in May and securing his berth in The Big Dance Stakes. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.