Cessnock residents will get the chance to see an iconic piece of Australian cultural heritage up close this Sunday when the Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour comes to town.
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The $200,000, 18-carat gold Cup is on its fifteenth annual tour of Australia and New Zealand, in the lead-up to this year’s race in November.
While in Cessnock, the Cup will engage in a number of exciting activities including a civic welcome at Cessnock Leagues Club at 9.30am and a visit to the Jacaranda Grove retirement village at 10.30am before heading out to Drayton’s Family Wines.
The final stop will be the Cessnock TAFE Park, where residents are invited to view the Cup and have photographs taken from 1pm to 4pm.
Cessnock Racecourse Advisory Panel member Bruce Wilson said it was a rare opportunity to see the Cup up close and encouraged local families to take time out and join the celebrations.
“It is exciting to celebrate the country’s most famous horse race in conjunction with our own rich history of horse racing here in the world renowned Hunter Valley region,” Mr Wilson said.
Wendy Green, part-owner of 1999 Melbourne Cup winner Rogan Josh, will be in attendance to share her unique Emirates Melbourne Cup story.
Referred to as ‘Wendy in Wonderland’, Green jointly-owned Rogan Josh with her son John-Paul Miller and husband Robert.
Victoria Racing Club chairperson Amanda Elliott said the VRC is excited to bring the magic of the Emirates Melbourne Cup to the people of Cessnock.
“The Melbourne Cup is an Australian cultural icon and is truly the People’s Cup, so we’re delighted to share it with the people, on this its fifteenth annual tour of Australia and New Zealand,” Mrs Elliott said.
The 2017 tour started on July 1 in West Wyalong, where the gold used by ABC Bullion to make the trophy is mined.
Other stops on its 31-town journey have so far included Perth, Christchurch, Auckland and Alice Springs.
After visiting Cessnock on Sunday, it will head off to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Lismore, and will also visit South Australia and Tasmania before returning to Flemington for ‘the race that stops a nation’ on November 7.
Check out the photos from the Melbourne Cup Tour’s stop in Nowra, courtesy of our Fairfax stablemates, the South Coast Register.