RUSSIAN EARNS BREAK AFTER GALLANT CUP RUN

Australian racing's poster boy Russian Camelot is likely to focus on middle-distance, weight-for-age races in the New Year after running a brave eighth in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.

Champion jockey Damien Oliver reported that the northern hemisphere-bred three-year-old just didn't see out the 3200-metre trip after looming at the top of the Flemington straight.

Trainer Danny O'Brien said the dual group 1-winning colt deserved a break after a busy spring – which included victory in the group 1 Underwood Stakes – at the elite level.

"We thought he was super. He gave us 110 per cent today, probably just didn't quite stay the journey," O'Brien said.

"He went up to win there at the 300 [metre mark] and looked the winner for the stride but then he probably just found the distance too far."

O'Brien said he believed the son of Camelot, yet to turn four, still had improvement in him.

"I absolutely think 2000 to 2400 [metres] is about his distance," he said.

"We'd love to come back for that [the Cox Plate], but we'll give him a break now and see where he's at in the autumn. He's only a young horse so we think he'll still improve on what he did this spring."

It was a spring of "so close yet so far" for Australian racing's boom horse, who ran second in the Makybe Diva Stakes, won the Underwood, finished runner-up in the Turnbull and then ran third to Sir Dragonet in last month's Cox Plate.

On each four of those occasions he was well respected in the market by punters, and even in the lead-up to Tuesday's Cup he was considered among the leading hopes.

That was until a strange drift – all the way out to 100-1 – on Betfair in the early hours of Friday morning and whispers that Russian Camelot was not going to run in Tuesday's Cup left a cloud in punters' minds over whether the horse was fully fit.

Trainer Danny O'Brien downplayed any suggestions of an injury on Friday afternoon, and Racing Victoria chief steward Robert Cram told The Age that the horse has passed veterinary exams on Thursday and was approved to run.

He jumped a $13 chance and ran to his best, but "the two miles was just a bit far for him," according to Oliver.

O'Brien said the horse had not let him down this campaign.

"Obviously there's been large expectations, people would have liked to see him maybe win more often, but I don't think anyone who's backed him or followed him would be disappointed in any of the effort that he's given every time he's gone to the races," he said.

The race was again dominated by the internationals, with Bart Cummings Stakes winner Persan the best of the locals in fifth.

Caulfield Cup winner Verry Elleegant crossed the line in seventh, with Derby winner Warning (12th), Horsham-trained Surprise Baby (13th) – who was backed into favouritism late – Oaks winner Miami Bound (14th) and last year's Cup winner Vow And Declare (18th) finishing out of the money.

"Miami Bound tracked into it nice, probably found the ground too firm. It was pretty firm ground by the time they ran the Cup, she just didn't quite quicken up like she does on the soft," O'Brien said.

"Vow And Declare had a good run but I think stepping out as the winner with 57 kilograms, he was just found wanting."

By  Damien Ractliffe for The Age Sport