30 years on Shane Dye doubles down on Cup ride: ‘I never went too wide'

Thirty years on from one of the most controversial rides in Australian turf history, an unrepentant Shane Dye has maintained he made the right decision in taking Veandercross to the extreme outside during a dramatic running of the 1992 Caulfield Cup.

But after three decades of what ifs and criticism over the ride, Dye has conceded he went "too early" on the gutsy New Zealand stayer, but steadfastly refuses to believe he went too wide.

Dye stoked Veandercross wide during the running and swept even deeper around the field on the turn, seeking better ground down the middle of the wet track.

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After sustaining a tough run out wide, the 5-2 favourite hit the front early before being run down on the line by Mannerism, who was able to save ground on the inside.

Legendary racing writer Jack Elliott called it "the Cup Shane Dye lost", but the ex-jockey insisted Veandercross wouldn't have run a place if he hadn't charted a course out wide.

Shane Dye returns to scale on Veandercross after the heart-stopping finish to the 1992 Caulfield Cup.

"Anyone who knows the bias of tracks knows I was on the best part of it," Dye told News Corp this week.

"The mistake I made that day was that I went too soon because I didn't know the horse. I hadn't ridden him before that day.

"What happened was that (I thought) he was gone at the 1000m. I pulled him right to the outside and gave him a dig, not realising he would go so quickly. He just went too quickly when I did.

"Then I was on the best part of the track and the rest were on the worst part of the track. I made up an awful lot of ground quickly.

"Going out that wide was not the problem. I just went too soon.

"If I had stayed on the inside down the side, we probably wouldn't have run anywhere because the track was a lot worse there."

Veandercross' trainer John Wheeler initially thought his horse had narrowly held on in a duel to the finish line with Mannerism – ridden by Damien Oliver in the first of his four Caulfield Cup wins.

But the short half-head margin swiftly brought Wheeler back to earth.

As much as he was "gutted", Wheeler refused to publicly criticise Dye on the day, despite the brickbats and boos coming across the mounting yard fence from the Caulfield crowd.

Still, he has always believed his horse should have won the race.

"It was the one that got away," Wheeler told News Corp this week from his New Zealand base.

"He (Veandercross) was a great horse. He should have won that Caulfield Cup."

Veandercross (far left) under Shane Dye couldn't hold off Mannerism ridden by Damien Oliver (2nd left) in the 1992 Caulfield Cup. Picture: Graham/Crouch

Wheeler wasn't surprised Dye had refused to back away from his long-held defence that he had given the horse known as ‘The Wanganui Wonder' every chance by tracking out to better ground.

"(Shane Dye) has never admitted it (that he got it wrong), so he won't now. What's the point?

"He was just too overconfident, I think. He was about 15-wide at the 800m, and he had to go (wide) around the final bend.

"You always have your disappointments. That's just the way it goes sometimes."

But Wheeler‘s admiration for Veandercross is as strong now as it was back in October 1992, saying: "He was the toughest horse I ever trained. He probably wasn't the best … (Our) Poetic Prince was the best and Rough Habit was probably the most competitive."

John Wheeler with his 11-time Group 1 winner Rough Habit.

"You get guys like that in football, those who never lie down even when things don't go right. Veandercross was one of those."

Veandercross ran second to Subzero in the 1992 Melbourne Cup with Dye retaining the ride, but Wheeler says that result was a clear-cut one, unlike what happened in the Caulfield Cup.

"Subzero won fair and square that day," he said.

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Dye, now 56, doesn't care what people have said about his ride over the years.

"They all said I had a bad carnival (in 1992)," he said.

"I ran second in a Caulfield Cup and second in a Melbourne Cup (on Veandercross), I ran third in the Cox Plate (on Slight Chance), I won a Mackinnon Stakes (on Veandercross) and won the Oaks (on Slight Chance), and I also won a Sandown Cup and Sandown Guineas.

"Geez, I would hate to have had a bad carnival."