Tag Archives: melbourne cup
Flemington Racecourse, Home of the Melbourne Cup
Flemington is definitely Australias best known racecourse as it is home of the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation.
Flemington in central Melbourne is where races were held in 1840, on the river flats of the Maribyrnong River. At the time, Melbourne was a town barely five years old and just starting to boom, largely due to the gold strikes in nearby Bendigo and Ballarat. Flemington then developed along with Melbourne.
Flemington is Australias oldest race course, and in 2006 was placed on the National Heritage List. Located just 15 minutes from Melbournes CBD, Flemington is firmly on the tourist map, although many tourists come to see the famous rose gardens rather than the horses! Flemington is serviced to this day by special race trains on big race days, and Melbournes famous trams at other times. Flemington is a big centre for training, with many of Australias best known horse trainers maintaining stables at or near the Flemington course
The history of Flemington is synonymous with the history of the Melbourne Cup. The Cup was first held at the course in 1861, and has been held ever since on the first Tuesday of November. The Melbourne Cup is the best known race of Flemingtons Spring Carnival, which runs over eight days. Other feature races are the AJ McKinnon Stakes, the Victoria Derby and the Victoria Oaks.
The Flemington track has an unusual feature called the “straight six” where horses race down a straight 1200m (six furlongs) section of track which then joins the track proper.
The modern day Flemington track bears little resemblance to the original rough and ready track, which brought rich and poor together in the gold rush days. The early track had no barriers and few facilities. However, the long term success of the Melbourne Cup has seen the Victoria Racing Club invest heavily in the Flemington track. Today Flemington boasts a capacity of over 120,000 and three grandstands. The newest stand cost $45 million and opened in 2000. The Hill Stand was built in 1977. Notable art works displayed in the stands include a bronze statue of the famous horse Phar Lap, and a seven panel mural by Harold Freedman, which illustrates the history of racing.
As soon as the Melbourne Cup of 2006 was run and won, the entire track surface was ripped up and replaced for the first time in Flemingtons history. Racing did not resume at Flemington until September 2007.
Even in the early days, the Melbourne Cup became as well known for its social party atmosphere as for the racing and betting. Today, Flemington is as much home to fashion in the field events in Australia as Ascot is in England.
Flemington markets itself as a destination for much more than racing. The Flemington Event Centre is a premier spot to host a wedding in the rose gardens, a sophisticated cocktail party or a trendy product launch. However, at the end of the day, Flemington racecourse will always be the home of the Melbourne Cup.
Despite All Odds, Damien Oliver Bounces Back
Damien Oliver is probably the best-known current Australian jockey. His is a story of talent and success, but also of heartbreak, tragedy and recovery. Its the stuff Hollywood films are made of, and its not entirely surprising that a movie based on Damien Olivers career is currently in production. “The Cup” is scheduled for release in 2009, and will feature Stephen Curry as Damien Oliver.
Damien Oliver was born in Perth in 1972 into a racing family. His father Ray Oliver was also a jockey until tragically killed in a race fall in Kalgoorlie, WA.
Damiens career started as an apprentice to Lindsey Rudland in Perth, and his first winner was Mr Gudbud in 1988 at Bunbury, WA. In total, Oliver rode 66 winners in WA and was the leading apprentice for the 1988/89 season. He then moved to Melbourne, to complete his apprenticeship with the trainer Lee Freedman. Under Freedman, Oliver did complete his apprenticeship with a total of 478 winning rides.
Olivers first Group 1 win was on Submariner in 1990, for Bart Cummings in the Show Day Cup. By the end of his apprenticeship he had 18 Group 1 wins, including the Caulfield Cup (on Mannerism). He also won the Victorian Jockeys Premiership twice as an apprentice.
Over the next decade, Oilvers career went from strength to strength. Highlights included winning the Caulfield Cup again in 1994, 1995, and 1999 as well as the Cox Plate in 1997 and 2001. In 1995, he won the Melbourne Cup on Doriemus. During this decade Damien was at the height of his profession, and he won the Victoria Jockeys Premierships five more times. Then tragedy struck.
Days before Oliver was due to ride Media Puzzle in 2002s Melbourne Cup, his older brother Jason, also a jockey, was killed in a fall during track work. Damien is on record as having said “Melbourne Cups dont mean anything to me any more Id give it back to get my brother back”. Damien then went on to win the Melbourne Cup for the second time, and flew home to Perth the following day to attend his brothers funeral. The 2002 Melbourne Cup went down in history as the most emotional Cup ever.
Oliver continued his career as a highly successful jockey, but then tragedy struck again. In 2005, during a race at Moonee Valley, he fell and was left with two fractured vertebrae, which kept him out of racing for a year. He was extremely lucky not to have damaged his spinal cord, which could have confined him to a wheelchair for life. Many jockeys with Olivers injuries would have taken the opportunity to retire. Instead he worked through a year of painful rehabilitation, and returned to the track in 2006 to come second in the Melbourne Cup that year.
In 2008, Damiens mount Mad Rush was favourite to win the Melbourne Cup, but was a little unlucky on the day and came in eighth. One gets the impression that Damien Oliver hasnt yet finished with the Melbourne Cup and will be back for another crack in 2009.
Damien Olivers story is not just that of a great jockey, its also that of huge determination and dedication to his sport. Thats why, against all odds, Damien Oliver always bounces back.