by Jishi Santos

Created on: August 14, 2008

Australia's Melbourne Cup. The race that stops a nation.

Australia's Melbourne Cup is certainly built up like many sporting events in Victoria, Australia, such as the football league grand final and the test cricket played every summer at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Horses come from all round the world to compete in this, the 'Wimbledon' of horse racing. The prize money attracts many but it's status built up over the years assures that many owners will try to win the prestigious event. In recent years there have been successful Irish and Japanese syndicates who have carried it off. It used to be dominated by horses from New Zealand and there have been local and home grown winners

The race that stops the nation is quite literal. It is a public holiday from the start and as we are such a sporting minded nation many bet for the first time to try their luck. Why last year I managed a thirty dollar win, my only bet for the year. Aussies love an event where people get out and have a good time but in the case of this race alcohol and the fashion stakes take over and it is only for those who can afford it. A couple of drawbacks viewing it as an outsider, but then again for many televised sport is a lifesaver, especially if your are stuck in a nursing home or hospital. My mother is an avid race goer and we invited her over last year to watch the Melbourne Cup on television. At the ripe old age of ninety she had a ball and we followed the race with interest. I have two sorts of personal contacts with the Cup. I knew a man who won the race with his horse; in fact I taught his sons in my class at a school in Melbourne. Later when I was working in the field of disability, I worked with a young man whose brother has become a famous horse trainer in Australia and has won quite a few Melbourne Cups. Apart from the Melbourne Cup, horse racing does not hold a great interest for me.

I feel for the horse though. My mother assures me they are bred for racing and know no other life but when you see the jockeys whipping them to the finish post and horses falling over it does touch a chord of sympathy.

One of our famous winners way back was a horse called Phar Lap. He was a mighty horse with a heart literally bigger than most horses. He was sent to America to race but was poisoned while there.

Oh the Melbourne Cup you need such luck and you have to dress so gaudy or like a toff. Whatever happens the Melbourne Cup is sure to make you go off. The horse are lining up at the starting stalls and the excitement is intense, we just hope a horse doesn't jump a fence. The starters order sends a fleet of horses on their way and each hopes it is their day. Down the track a furlong and a half to go and the jockeys all know. Know that if they win their future is assured, that golden cup is allured. Round they go, not long now, the sweat is pouring from their brow. Down the final straight they gallop and and josstle all trying to achieve the impossible. The finish gets closer and closer and the tempo increases for him and her. Men and women are jumping around as to their horse they are bound. The winner flashes past and dollars are flying round, yours or the bookies bound. The celebrations go on into the night and within a week it's all over and forgotten and the track stands empty and the clouds float across the sky, as if nothing had happened. But the racegoers can't wait for the next one. We'll all have to wait another year and so the cycle of life goes on in all different forms until the Melbourne Cup comes around again and stops the nation.

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