I booked my flights to Australia on a whim a few months ago. The temporary two year move from Plymouth to Sydney by one of my old school friends was the perfect excuse to head down under and the rest of the trip was shaped by many suggestions from others who have lived or currently live here. My horse racing mad godfather and his wife got incredibly excited when they discovered I was to be in Australia over the world famous Melbourne Cup week and so another chunk of the trip fell into place. After a few days spent acclimatising to the 11hr time difference, I left Sydney and headed south to the metropolitan city of Melbourne. The hype surrounding the Melbourne Cup had been evident in Sydney and as soon as I landed in the host city, I knew I was in for a treat.
The majority of my race going experiences have been at local point to points. I have had the occasional experience of dressing up for the races attending Royal Ascot and the Grand National but nothing quite prepared me for the outfits seen on Cup Day in Melbourne. Packing weeks in advance in the chilly UK, it was hard to predict what outfit would be most suitable so I sought advice from the official website and "dress to impress" was all the advice I could find. I discovered the Australian interpretation of this guidance was somewhat different to my own - the outfits were as much a feast for the eyes as the enthralling racing itself.
My only regret of the whole day was not supporting our Cornish neighbours at the bookies. It was a historic day as the 100-1 Prince of Penzance galloped to Cup victory ably ridden by the first ever female winning jockey.
No comments:
Post a Comment