Derby day demolition as Sydney riders put on a stunning display

STOP. THE. FIGHT. Sydney jockeys won seven of the nine races at Flemington on Derby Day to give their interstate rivals a lesson in riding.

STOP. THE. FIGHT.

SYDNEY jockeys won seven of the nine races at Flemington on Derby Day.

So to make it a level playing field, we asked Racing Victoria's chief handicapper Greg Carpenter yesterday if he would consider giving horses ridden by Sydney hoops an extra kilo.

The Melbourne jockeys appear to need all the help they can get.

MELBOURNE CUP SWEEP GENERATOR

"We'll have to start declaring riders before the weights so we know which ones they're riding,'' Carpenter quipped.

"But we see the spring carnival as an Australian racing carnival, and we expect winners from all states and overseas.''

Sydney really is enjoying a golden era with the likes of Hugh Bowman, Nash Rawiller, Jimmy Cassidy, Kerrin McEvoy, Peter Robl and Tommy Berry - all winners on Saturday - just some of the big name now based in the harbour city.

MELBOURNE CUP PROFILES

PREMIER LEAGUE APPEAL

IRISH jockey Jamie Spencer got quite the welcome when he lobbed in Melbourne ahead of the Melbourne Cup.

Firstly, he was badgered by an airport official, wanting to know which horse he was riding in the Cup, and if it could win.

Then he spotted "half-price mattresses on sale until the running of the Cup''.

"That's stuff you'd see when the Premier League is on, not a horse race,'' Spencer said.

Spencer told us he has an aunt who lives in Sydney, and for several years asked him about heading Down Under for the Cup.

JIMMY PUMPS LIFE INTO ROY

ROY Higgins was grateful Jimmy Cassidy was able to join him and the late George Moore in the very, very exclusive club that celebrates jockeys who have ridden 100 career Group 1 winners.

"He help put my name back up in lights, and let people know I'm still alive and used to be able to ride,'' Higgins said.

Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, the owner of topweight and 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden.

SHEIKH, RATTLE AND ROLL

SHEIKH Fahad Al Thani was on the end of some good old-fashioned Aussie hospitality yesterday.

The Sheikh jumped into his awaiting black Jaguar and, as he was leaving the Werribee compound, decided to pull over to the side of the exit and have a chat with a mate. But a taxi driver who was clearly in a hurry let rip on the horn, telling the Sheikh to move his expensive set of wheels.

ROBL'S TALL ORDER

PETER Robl had no idea the super tall woman he posed with outside the cab rank at Flemington late Saturday was Australian basketball and WNBA star Liz Cambage.

"Really, who is she?,'' Robl asked, in reference to the centre who became the first woman to dunk it at an Olympic tournament.

"She was standing the cab rank and she was so tall, so we asked for a photo. I was with the owners of Diamond Earth. She was a nice girl.''

Cambage clearly came off second best after the day out as she posted on Twitter late Saturday: "I think it's bed time..... Derby day 1 Liz 0.''

Australian basketball star Liz Cambage and jockey Peter Robl. Picture: Twitter

ORANGE ALERT

SPOTTED: Robbie Waterhouse being stopped by security on the gate to the mounting yard at Flemington. The reason? Waterhouse was holding an orange. There is a strict no-food policy in the enclosure.

HARDLY DRAW A CROWD

WHY Melbourne isn't cool No.5: It's the race that stops a nation, so why didn't the VRC hold the Melbourne Cup barrier draw in a suitably sized room? We've seen bigger toilet cubicles than the venue for Saturday night's draw.