Master trainer Bart Cummings has trumped the foreign invasion by the slimmest of margins to claim his 12th Melbourne Cup, with Viewed holding on to win by a nose over the fast-finishing Bauer (2nd) and New Zealand stayer C'est La Guerre (3rd).
Bauer's stablemate Mad Rush was pre-race favourite in one of the strongest foreign fields to assemble for Australia's premier race, but it was the "Cups King" Cummings who produced an unlikely winner with Viewed paying a staggering $46.50 for the win and $14 for the place. Bauer paid $6.90 for the place and C'est La Guerre finished off a meaty trifecta at $8.10 for the place.
The long odds among the first three made for some wild celebrations within the 100,000-plus crowd at Flemington, with game punters who backed the quinella enjoying a yield of $500.10 and a trifecta that paid $21,080.
The foreign invasion promised so much, but it was only the English-trained Bauer that really produced for the international field. The six-year-old from the Luca Cumani stable came home strong with Corey Brown on board, but Viewed and 21-year-old jockey Blake Shinn withstood the challenge and held on for a narrow photo finish.
"I'm just speechless," Shinn said. "The tempo of the race helped him because it helped him settle."
It was another unlucky outcome for the Cumani stable, who looked to have won in the dying stages of the 2007 Cup with Purple Moon, only to be denied by the fast-finishing Efficient. But there should be little shame among Bauer's connections as it took the master class of Cummings to trump them.
Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien's trio - Septimus, Honolulu and Alexandra Volta - tried to break the hearts of their rivals by setting a ferocious pace. However, their challenge was over as the field entered the straight.
"I thought it was all over until the last 50 yards ... then I wasn't sure," Cummings said in a humorous post-race press conference where he sat alongside Malaysian owner Dato Tan Chin Nam, who Cummings has had an association with that stretches back to the legendary Think Big that won back-to-back Melbourne Cups in 1974 and 1975, and in more recent tmes with Saintly in 1996.
Reflecting on their long successful partnership, Cummings described how he first came into contact with Dato Tan Chin Nam.
"He was having a drink in my bar in Adelaide many years ago … and we were playing two-up and he won (seven times) in a row and I thought I better stick with this bloke, he is lucky."
Victory in the 2008 Melbourne Cup breaks a relatively long drought for the legendary 80-year-old trainer - which extends back to the 1999 Melbourne Cup when he won with Rogan Josh - and the 2008 triumph also marks his 250th Group One victory.
"After four or five (Melbourne Cup victories) I thought it couldn't get any better than this, but I think it might be," Cummings added.
"I’ve been very lucky to pick the horses and train them … my whole career has been a joy to be involved with. My dad was a top trainer and it has been a joy to take that on further."
2008 - Viewed1999 - Rogan Josh1996 - Saintly1991 - Let's Elope1990 - Kingston Rule1979 - Hyperno1977 - Gold and Black1975 - Think Big1974 - Think Big1967 - Red Handed1966 - Galilee1965 - Light Fingers
Bart Cummings wins his 12th Melbourne Cup with Viewed ridden by Blake Shin.  Bauer, ridden by C W Brown, was second after the photo finish, with C’est La Guerre ridden by B Prebble coming third. Honolulu was the last placed horse.

Cummings began training in 1953. His first Cup win was with Light Fingers in 1965. This win is his 250th group one win.   

Today's 148th Melbourne Cup field of 24 was reduced after the scratchings of Yellowstone and Zarita, withdrawn by its trainer Pat Hyland on Monday due to a respiratory infection. The English horse Yellowstone was scratched later in the day by a veterinarian after failing to recover from a hip injury sustained last week.

The race began with Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien's 3 horses Septimus (an early race favourite and $7 chance), Honolulu, and Alessandro Volta setting a cracking pace for a large part of the race before fading badly at the turn into the straight to occupy 3 of the last 5 places. From there Viewed stormed clear before Bauer pulled it back in the last 50 yards to go down by a nose, in one of the closest finishes to a Melbourne Cup in the race's history.

The race was watch by an estimated 105,000 at Flemington Racecourse with many more across the country stopping to watch the race on television.