Bauer's devastating late kick brought him within a nostril of Melbourne Cup glory but despite bearing down on the leader Viewed with ominous intent his efforts were not enough to secure a first success in the race for trainer Luca Cumani. The grey son of Halling forced a photograph with the result showing that he had lost out by the smallest margin imaginable.
While a win for Bauer would have been an hitsoric first for an English-based trainer, the end result had extra special resonance as Viewed's triumph brought up not only the twelfth win in the Melbourne Cup for Bart Cummings but also the 250th Group One victory for the legendary 80-year-old trainer.
Bauer's victory in the G3 Geelong Cup ten days ago had ensured his place in the line-up at Flemington and he went agonisingly close to emulating the achievement of Refuse To Bend's half-brother Media Puzzle, who took the Geelong Cup en route to his Melbourne Cup victory in 2002.
