Melbourne Cup 2021

The result was the first Melbourne Cup win for both jockey and horse trainer.

Hot favourite Incentivise led in the straight, but was passed by the Chris Waller-trained horse, ridden by James McDonald, which won the $4.4 million first prize, with Spanish Mission in third.

The win was Verry Elleegant's 10th Group One win, including last year's Caulfield Cup. The mare had come third in last week's Cox Plate.

An emotional McDonald, who won his first Melbourne Cup, praised his mount for her ability.

Incentivise fell just short, finishing in second with Spanish Mission in third and Floating Artist in fourth.

All the pressure was on Incentivise and it looked the winner into the straight before Verry Elleegant finished with a stunning late burst to capture its 10th Group 1 victory and handing Chris Waller a first Cup victory.

It continued James McDonald’s stunning run as the nation’s most in-form jockey.

This year, the race will look a little different once again, with just 10,000 spectators allowed on course due to coronavirus restrictions. That follows last year's race, which was run in front of empty grandstands at Flemington.

Race 7 is the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse and is run over 3200m. A total of 24 horses make up the field. There are 10 races on Melbourne Cup Day.

The busted digital board — albeit untimely a week out from the Cup — is understood to be a world-first malfunction of the part responsible for generating the scanner images.

A cargo flight carrying the American component is due to touch down on Wednesday, with technicians on standby to repair the $1.27m standing CT scanner at U-Vet Equine Centre, Werribee.