Horse Racing-Protectionist wins Melbourne Cup, favourite dies (Reuters)
* First German winner of Australia’s biggest race * Japanese favourite dies after finishing last * Injured Araldo euthanised after freak accident (Updates after Araldo put down) MELBOURNE, Nov 4 (Reuters) – German raider Protectionist timed his finishing burst to perfection to win the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, but the race was overshadowed by the death of two horses including favourite Admire Rakti, who collapsed and died after finishing last. Araldo, who finished seventh in the A$6.2 million ($5.38 million) race, was later euthanised after injuring its hind leg in a freak accident after the race. With another bumper crowd packed into Flemington Racecourse, Protectionist was boxed in for much of the gruelling 3,200 metre handicap but stormed down the final straight to win by four lengths, giving Germany its first winner in 154 runnings of the Cup. “He’s very easy,” English jockey Ryan Moore said of the 7-1 shot in a trackside interview.