Olympic golden girl Ariarne Titmus drenched in champagne disaster at Flemington
Olympian Ariarne Titmus is the latest gold medal winning swimmer to get an off script champagne dunking in the Birdcage at Flemington during Melbourne Cup week.
Fiona Byrne
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A champagne shower rained down on Olympic swimming golden girl Ariarne Titmus on Champions Day at Flemington.
No stranger to getting wet, Titmus could have been excused for thinking the last place she would need a towel was in the Birdcage enclosure on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival … how wrong she was.
Titmus was the latest willing victim of the notorious Mumm champagne ‘tap tap’, where a magnum of bubbles is opened and given tap to fountain skyward.
But what goes up must come down, as fellow Olympian Emma McKeon found on Derby Day when, she was utterly drenched when the spray pretty much landed on her head.
On Saturday, Titmus ducked and weaved but still ended up with champagne bubbles dripping off her nose, cheeks and chest.
“Call the pamper station, we are going to need a touch up,” a minder was heard urgently whispering as a towel was passed to Titmus, who took the splatter in her good natured stride.
The most popular man at Flemington was Robbie Dolan who rode Knight’s Choice to victory in the Melbourne Cup.
Still getting used to his new found fame, Dolan was carrying the best accessory of the day; his Melbourne Cup trophy.
“I think I have slept with it and everything,” he said as people flocked for a snap with him and trophy.
“It has probably taken a million photos since I got it, so it is going good.”
For Michelle Payne, Cup Week has been a revelation. Having retired as a jockey in July, Payne said it was the first time she had been able to fully experience the Birdcage.
“Honestly, I have had the best time of my life. We are always in awe of the Birdcage marquees when we are down in the jockey’s room and now to be down enjoying it, mixing with everyone and having fun it is just so good,” she said.
“Now I am in a partnership with my brother Patrick, it has been really good. He knows it is a busy week and he has given me some relief from the training side of things and running the business.”
Next year will mark a decade since Payne became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
“Time has flown, I can’t believe it has been nearly 10 years,” she said.
“It has been an absolute journey the last nine years and I feel like I have finally relaxed and really am enjoying myself. It obviously is a huge thing to change your life like it has and sometimes it has been tough, but now I am loving it, loving life and everything that comes with it, and enjoying the responsibility of being a role model.
“I feel like I have grown so much over the time. I count my lucky stars and try to enjoy it.”
While the Birdcage celebrity ranks stayed very local this year, one of the biggest international stars in attendance on Melbourne Cup Day went all but unnoticed.
The ‘King of Mandopop’, Jay Chou and his wife, model, Hannah Quinlivan were guests at the Crown Marquee and while locals battled for the spotlight, the couple took in the action of the Cup from the marquee’s exclusive third level.
Chou, a Taiwanese singer/songwriter, musician, actor, director and producer, is a massive star internationally and has almost 10 million followers on his Instagram.
Meanwhile at Stakes Day notables such as Rachel Griffiths, Shane Crawford, Kate Waterhouse, Ross Stevenson, Kelly Cartwright, Andrew and Woody Kroger, Jess Fox, Cameron Munster and Gill McLachlan kept their eyes peeled for winners.
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