Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

The race that stops a nation

Today is Melbourne Cup Day, the first Tuesday every November and all eyes, Australia and New Zealand on the biggest race on the racing calendar.

This year there will be no crowd, no fashion parades, in fact not even the horse owners will be allowed to attend.  At a recent Cup meeting there was no commentary over the loudspeaker, the only noise apart from horses hooves, the sound of jockeys yelling.

NZ usually features with NZ owned and trained horses.  This year only one - The Chosen One.

Comments

  • Seems odd there’s no crowd when only last week the NRL final was allowed a 40k attendance. 
  • Different state .... 
  • This will be an odd viewing experience (well, as it's at 4am in the UK, an odd watching-back experience). If I had to advise on parting with a shilling, then Stratum Albion (AKA Stratum, but there's a prolific stud horse out in Oz called Stratum, hence the name change) and Sir Dragonet would be my picks.
  • landed in Melbourne once the day before the Melbourne Cup to find we'd beaten Arsenal 4-2 at Highbury. On Cup day it was lovely going round the City as it was practically deserted except for us tourists. 
  • landed in Melbourne once the day before the Melbourne Cup to find we'd beaten Arsenal 4-2 at Highbury. On Cup day it was lovely going round the City as it was practically deserted except for us tourists. 
    I've been there on Cup day. There's some wasted people around in the evening though. I seem to recall someone stumbling into me at the Young & Jackson pub opposite Flinders Station causing me to spill two drinks. The worst part was trying to understand what she was saying as she tried to press money into my hand for the spillage. I politely refused, but the barman overheard the conversation and asked her to leave the pub. 
  • PaddyP17 said:
    This will be an odd viewing experience (well, as it's at 4am in the UK, an odd watching-back experience). If I had to advise on parting with a shilling, then Stratum Albion (AKA Stratum, but there's a prolific stud horse out in Oz called Stratum, hence the name change) and Sir Dragonet would be my picks.
    I’ve heard there’s yet another horse out of the same stables being touted as a potential future champion called Stratum & Hove Albion.
  • Gutted to see AVD break a fetlock. A great Derby winner, and that Caulfield Cup second - what a battle that was.

    It's also a huge shame to see that the Australian attitude toward horse racing and welfare lags inexcusably and massively behind the UK/Irish (generally European) bodies. At least the fine is sort of proportionate to his cut of the earnings, whereas in the UK this is an issue that needs some work.

    One would do well to bear this in mind: jurisdictions vary from country to country/region to region.
  • A death is a death, wherever it occurs.

    £$£$£

    🐴 
    Forgive me for potentially massively misinterpreting your post that immediately follows mine - but would you thus hold FDR responsible for the Holodomor?
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!