The cup was a slow jog and sprint. The time was close to 30 lengths off the record and one of the slowest Melb. Cups I've ever seen. Eskimo Queen has lost a leg somewhere and was better off back with her last trainer. O'Brien has achieved nothing with her. The times don't mean much by themselves.

There can be all sorts of reasons for horses running fast and slow final 600m. Did one runner have to cover a lot of extra ground due to being stuck 4 or 5 wide? Did another cut across from behind the leaders and slip through a gap right on the fence during the corner etc? The actual distance covered over the final 600m can vary quite significantly from one runner to another depending on their run and which track their racing on.

You would really need to watch the video replays [several times], for the final 600m times to mean anything at all, because by itself a fast [or slow] 600m means very little I'm afraid.

The best way to find meaningful time is to compare the total race time with the track record time for the distance. If it's 2sec. or less you are looking at fast times and the winner and any close up place-getter is well worth noting! If it's a blanket finish [most races nowadays it seems], save yourself the trouble of checking the record time. It will mostly be well outside the 2sec. Inside the 2sec., it's the close up place-getters you want to be on [the winner will have poor odds] next start because they can run time!