The history of Britain's journey to its first Melbourne Cup victory

Cross Counter's victory in the Melbourne Cup was the first ever for a British-trained horse. Below we list the Irish successes, the near misses and the trials and tribulations of Britain and Ireland's involvement in Australia's most famous race.

1993: Drum Taps is the first Melbourne Cup runner trained in Britain, but finishes ninth as Dermot Weld trains the first winner of the race for Ireland with Vintage Crop.

1999: The Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Central Park nearly creates history but the 50-1 shot is beaten by half a length.