Jockey hopes Cup win can ease Admire Rakti pain (Reuters)

By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Riding last year’s favorite in the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious thoroughbred race, should have been a thrill for local jockey Zac Purton but ended up a nightmare when Admire Rakti died minutes after the finish. The Japanese-trained horse was the clear favorite at 5/1 for the grueling 3,200 meters handicap at Flemington Racecourse but it wasn’t long into the race that Purton felt something was amiss. Weeks before, he had enjoyed a great ride on Admire Rakti, the bay stallion storming home to win the leadup Caulfield Cup over 2,400 meters.