HORSHAM racehorse breeder Worrall Dunn wept as his pride She's Archie stormed into second place in yesterday's $4.6-million Melbourne Cup.
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The industry veteran rose to his feet and trembled like a leaf in the members' stand watching his mare making a characteristically audacious tilt at racing immortality.
She fell a length short behind equally bold Makybe Diva but did enough to guarantee status as a Wimmera legend of the track.
"I'll tell you any lies you like now, mate!" Dunn exclaimed to the Mail-Times soon after the exhilarating finish.
"It was unbelievable.
"The race went pretty well according to plan, there were no excuses, the jockey rode well, everything was beautiful."
Dunn and wife Lorraine bred She's Archie at Lower Norton near Horsham and race her in partnership with daughters Melissa, Celeste and Simone.
They were all at Flemington to collect a $730,000 second prize.
Trainer Darren Weir, formerly of Stawell and now of Ballarat, masterminded the run.
People across the Wimmera rode She's Archie home from mid-field during the finishing stages.
She habitually worked her way back in the field before surging during the closing few hundred metres.
Makybe Diva had already streaked to the lead when She's Archie found her break and tore home.
Her jockey Scott Seamer told the Dunns she had plenty left and would have won with another 100 metres.
She's Archie paid a handsome $13.70 on the Supertab for the place and rewarded the faith of legions of followers across the Wimmera and beyond.
Cup gatherings in pubs, halls and homes erupted into cheers for their charge.
"There were a lot of bushies on us, I think," Worrall Dunn said.
"And I think I convinced every taxi driver in Melbourne to back her!"
He said soon after the race he was coping well with the whirlwind emotion.
"I'm taking it pretty good but I'm not too sure about the girls," he said.
"And I might not sleep for a while.
"I can't remember what I said to Darren straight after the race, I think I might have kissed him!"
The Dunn entourage was ready to set the champagne flowing at Melbourne's Rydges Hotel last night after having joined Victoria Racing Club leaders in the hallowed Flemington committee room.
The run highlighted a remarkable return to the track by She's Archie.
She had a 10 per cent chance of surviving a second abdominal operation last year and also overcame leg fractures.
