How 'mad' Dermot Weld teamed up with an Australian racing official to change one of the world's biggest races forever

Dermot Weld has said he was seen as "mad" for even attempting to win the Melbourne Cup with Vintage Crop – a plan that required him to team up with an Australian racing official to change government policy just to be able to compete.

Weld was speaking to the Racing Post for a major feature in Sunday's newspaper to mark the 30th anniversary of Vintage Crop's historic triumph, one that opened the floodgates to international success in Australia's biggest race and changed perceptions about European stayers to create a new market that still fuels the Australian staying scene to this day.

No northern-hemisphere horse had won the Melbourne Cup prior to Vintage Crop, largely because of stringent travel and quarantine restrictions, which Weld persuaded government officials on both sides of the world to revisit with the help of Flemington's Victoria Racing Club owners, notably its racing manager Les Benton.

"I was a bit miffed at the time," said Benton. "Some mediocre horses were competing in the Cup. I was jealous of Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore because they all had an international flavour. I thought it was crazy we didn't and I was adamant we couldn't maintain our business-as-usual approach. I felt we had to internationalise the Melbourne Cup and put ourselves on the world scene.

Vintage Crop gallops past Te Akau Nick and creates history by winning the Melbourne CupCredit: Joe Mann

"People said the European stayers were too slow but I knew that was rubbish. A lot of the local trainers and media were also against bringing them to Australia. They said the Melbourne Cup was an Australian race and it should remain in Australia. They didn't want international competition."

In 1993, flight regulations were amended and minimum quarantine times reduced, with a new facility for international horses created.

"Everybody thought my idea was mad," said Weld. "So many people felt Vintage Crop had no chance but I was confident. Having gone to so much trouble over the previous two years and also convinced [owner] Michael Smurfit that it could be done, I wasn't going to fail.

"I knew I had a very special horse who had all the qualities I believed were needed to win. When he did win, I felt a calm, reassured satisfaction that comes from a job well done. While everyone else was screaming and roaring, I was silent. I was pleased for everyone that what we had tried to do had been accomplished.

"Since then, I've always been very well received in Australia. Whenever I get to immigration, the official looks at my passport and says something like: 'You're back again! Will this one win?'"

Read more from Dermot Weld, Les Benton, Willie Mullins and many more in The Big Read, available in Sunday's newspaper or online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

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