It was a case of what might have been for Ireland as Australian horse 'Vow and Declare' won the Melbourne Cup at Flemington this morning.

Trained by Danny O'Brien and ridden by Craig Williams, 'Vow and Declare' stayed on strongly to win at a price of 10 to 1.

The Joseph O'Brien trained 'Master of Reality', with Frankie Dettori riding, narrowly failed to take the prize, before the horse was demoted to fourth for interference in the straight.

It meant 'Prince of Aran' placed second with the Aidan O'Brien trained 'Il Paradiso' third.

It’s the AUSSIE!!! Vow And Declare has won the #MelbourneCup.

What a moment, what a race… pic.twitter.com/DvAoinx0cp

— Racing.com (@Racing) November 5, 2019

Dettori has never won the Melbourne Cup, and his tough day took a turn for the worse as he was suspended until November 14th for careless riding.

Joseph O'Brien trained the winner of the race two years ago when 'Rekindling' came home in front and he told Racing.com in Australia that this renewal was bittersweet:

"The horse ran a fantastic race. Frankie gave him a perfect ride. That's horse racing; some days you win, some days you lose. Obviously, we're gutted, but we're looking forward to next year.

The horse ran a blinder. I am gutted for Frankie as well. I am delighted that the horse ran so well. Mixed emotions, but that's racing."