Joseph O'Brien bettered his father Aidan as Rekindling outpointed Johannes Vermeer to lead home an Irish clean sweep of the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
The three-year-old, who was last seen when finishing fourth in the St Leger at Doncaster, found an extra gear in the final half-furlong to see off Johannes Vermeer by a long neck and give his 24-year-old trainer the biggest win of his career so far.
The Willie Mullins-trained Max Dynamite was a further two and a half lengths back in third in what was a notable result for the Irish team.
The result caps a memorable year for the O'Brien family with Aidan having surpassed Bobby Frankel's world record when sending out a 26th Group One winner of the year at Doncaster last month.
"I can't quite believe it yet. I'm so delighted for Lloyd and Nick (Williams, owners). They suggested to bring him down and that he would have a good chance in the race," said the winning trainer.
"His prep went really well. Corey gave him an unbelievable ride and I'm just so delighted for everyone - all the lads at home and the lads that have been down here have done an unbelievable job.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet to be honest.
