Cup winner Vow And Declare a rare beast

Less than 24 hours after running 3200 metres in three minutes and 24.78 seconds in front of 81,408 people at Flemington, four-year-old chestnut Vow And Declare stood still outside his box at Danny O'Brien's stables.

The wind flirting with his tail was all that disturbed his statuesque demeanour as the cameras clicked and O'Brien held the cup in one hand and the lead rope attached to the horse's halter in the other.

After about five minutes spent posing, Vow And Declare shuffled back and slightly raised his left hoof as a sprinter might rest their foot on the starting blocks. He could have remained in that position for another five minutes but his staying power was more than the trainer's or his assistant, Ben Gleeson and the media call was brought to a halt.

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Article written by Peter Ryan