Tony Martin became the second Irish trainer in as many years to come up just short at the Melbourne Cup as his horse Heartbreak City was narrowly beaten by Almandin.

The Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup is the richest two-mile handicap and a crowd of more than 100,000 was expected at the Flemington Racecourse.

This was Heartbreak City's first ever run in the race and he came so close to doing what Max Dynamite couldn't do in 2015 by claiming the cup.

Melburnians collectively held their breath as Almandin crossed the finish line. #champion #MelbourneCup #melbmoment pic.twitter.com/yrqYYWhPpW

— FlemingtonRacecourse (@FlemingtonVRC) November 1, 2016

It looked as though Heartbreak City would land the spoils when Joao Moreira angled him out off the bend and flew past Hartnell with 400 metres to run but Almandin and Kerrin McEvoy spoiled the Irish party as he was a head in front passing the winning post following a pulsating duel for the final 100 metres.

The two other Irish runners ran poorly as Aidan O'Brien's Bondi Beach under Ryan Moore could only finished 13th, while the Willie Mullins-trained Wicklow Brave was 22nd for Frankie Dettori.

"I'm so happy for all the owners, my family and all the crew that work for us back home," said Martin after the race. "It was a wonderful performance, he ran full of heart but it's just a shame we couldn't quite get him across the line."

This Irish owner was over the moon with a second place finish in the #MelbourneCup. 😂 pic.twitter.com/UIXfgUqPso

— Newstalk (@NewstalkFM) November 1, 2016