Coffs Harbour residents clamour to see Melbourne Cup trophy
One of the planet’s most prized trophies - the Melbourne Cup - is doing the rounds in Coffs Harbour where the locals are still buzzing about the success of their own annual race day.
Coffs Harbour
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It was an invitation-only affair on Friday morning as a select few had the chance to see the Melbourne Cup trophy at the Coffs Harbour Racing Club.
The famed Cup is on a tour of regional sites, and Coffs was lucky enough to secure a ‘show and shine’ after council lobbied for a date on the schedule.
At the racing club a small group of people patiently queued for a photo with the iconic prize, with the racecourse home straight and the mountains providing the perfect backdrop.
Racing club CEO Tim Saladine was understandably chuffed, and more so as the visit came seven days after the bumper turnout at the 2023 Coffs Cup.
The local headline race day was run on a Friday for the first time, and despite the absence of a half-day public holiday, a huge crowd was on hand.
“It was a fantastic turnout and we ticked just over 5000. We had 4300 last year so that’s a good increase,” Mr Saladine said.
He said the Friday timing for the Cup was “here to stay” instead of the usual first Thursday in August.
“I think it (Fridays) encourages people to fly into town and stay for the weekend,” Mr Saladine said.
The big crowd also proved a public holiday was not needed to support the event, he said, and may be better directed toward another community event like the Coffs Show.
After leaving the race club, the Melbourne Cup was due for general public viewings at Centro and the C.ex club.
The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour is one of the most important initiatives of the Victoria Racing Club and since its inception in 2003, the three-handled Cup has travelled far and wide across Australia and the world.
This year’s tour of the 18-carat gold trophy will wind up at the Melbourne Cup race day on Tuesday, November 7.
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