Improving stayer Persan has booked a spot in the 2020 Melbourne Cup with his win in the Group 3 $500,000 The Bart Cummings (2510m) at Flemington today.

Steel Prince, above in blue and red colours, finished third in The Bart Cummings at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

The winner of The Bart Cummings is exempt from the ballot for the Group 1 $8m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3, and Persan now gets a start in the Race That Stops A Nation with a lightweight.

Winning jockey Jye McNeil positioned Persan just behind the leading division and the four year old was given the run of the race after jumping from the inside gate.

McNeil angled Persan ($10) into the clear at the 300m mark and Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained stayer was tough to the line to score a one lengths win over Sound ($15).

Steel Prince ($7.50) ran home solidly from back in the field to find third spot while the $5 favourite Shared Ambition scrambled into fifth position.

Co-trainer David Eustace was excited to secure a spot in the Melbourne Cup with Persan who only broke through for his Maiden win at Bendigo in May.

“He is an amazing horse,” Eustace said.

“I think he won his Maiden in May and they have kept him going the whole way through and I am very proud of the whole team and proud of the horse.”

“He is an incredible horse, he has changed a lot. He is a much more relaxed horse and that obviously has taken him a long way.”

“All the way through we said that we just wanted to get him in a good race with a decent tempo and we thought we would see a better horse for that and he has finally got that today.”

“We have to get him to stay two miles now.”