Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Australian trainer Bart Cummings claimed a record-extending 12th Melbourne Cup as 40-1 outsider Viewed won Australia's richest horse race in a photo finish.

Ridden by Blake Shinn, Viewed held off fast-finishing English stayer Bauer by a nose in the two-mile (3,200-meter) handicap at Flemington Racecourse to claim the A$3.3 million ($2.1 million) first prize. C'est La Guerre was third.

``I thought it was all over at the last 50 yards, then I wasn't sure,'' Cummings, 80, said in an interview with Channel Seven after claiming his 250th elite Group 1 win. ``It's a baker's dozen coming up next year; always look ahead.''

Cummings, who won his first Melbourne Cup in 1965, had quipped that this year's 148th edition was a case of ``spot the Aussie'' because half the 22 runners were trained in Europe or New Zealand.

``It's great to see the Aussies succeed,'' Cummings said at the presentation ceremony, 50 years after entering his first horse as a trainer. ``But I really thought it would have been a dead heat.''

Bauer, prepared by Italian-born, English-based trainer Luca Cumani, surged in the final straight to force the photo finish that left more than 100,000 spectators trackside waiting about 30 seconds for the result.

`Went Forever'

``I'm an inch away from being a hero,'' said Corey Brown, who rode Bauer.

Profound Beauty was the next-best European runner in fifth for two-time winning trainer Dermot Weld of Ireland. Cumani's other entry, Mad Rush, was the pre-race favorite and faded to seventh.

Irish champion trainer Aidan O'Brien, who has handled more than 140 Group 1 winners, filled three of the last four spots after flying a trio of gallopers in for the race. Second- favorite Septimus finished 18th, with Alessandro Volta and Honolulu coming in last and second-last.

``He might not be the right horse for the race really,'' jockey Johnny Murtagh said of Septimus. ``We were going a nice even trip all the way but when we turned into the straight, they went by us as if we were stopped.''

Winning Combination

Shinn took Viewed past Septimus around the final turn and streaked clear with 300 meters to go only to be pegged back. Cumani also trained last year's runner-up, Purple Moon.

``The last 10 seconds went forever,'' Shinn said after winning his first Melbourne Cup as a jockey. ``I thought, `Oh no, I've gone too early.' But my horse kept his momentum. It's an unbelievable feeling.''

Viewed is owned by Cummings's friend Dato Tan Chin Nam, a Malaysian businessman. It was the fourth time they combined to produce the Melbourne Cup winner after Think Big in 1974 and 1975, and Saintly in 1996.

``Winners are grinners,'' Dato Tan said. ``We co-operate with each other all the way. We've mellowed with age.''

Known locally as the ``Cups King,'' Hall-of-Fame trainer Cummings last oversaw a Melbourne Cup winner in 1999 when Rogan Josh triumphed at the so-called ``race that stops a nation.'' He first tasted Melbourne Cup success while working for his father Jim Cummings, whose Comic Court won the 1950 race.

Held on the first Tuesday of November, a public holiday in Melbourne, the race is seen or heard on television or radio by about 85 percent of Australia's 21 million people, according to the Victoria Racing Club.

Tabcorp Holdings Ltd., Australia's largest wagering company, paid A$41 for a A$1 winning bet. Bauer paid A$6.90 for a place, and New Zealand galloper C'est La Guerre returned A$8.10 for finishing third.

2008 MELBOURNE CUP FINISHING ORDER:

1. Viewed

2. Bauer

3. C'est La Guerre

4. Master O'Reilly

5. Profound Beauty

6. Moatize

7. Mad Rush

8. Nom du Jeu

9. Zipping

10. Newport

11. Ice Chariot

12. Guyno

13. Littorio

14. Varevees

15. Boundless

16. Red Lord

17. Prize Lady

18. Septimus

19. Barbaricus

20. Alessandro Volta

21. Honolulu

DNF: Gallopin

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney at dbaynes@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2008 01:40 EST