Australia’s most iconic sporting trophy reached new heights today when the $200,000 Lexus Melbourne Cup took flight over the red plains of Alice Springs in a hot air balloon.
The sky-high expedition was the Cup’s final activity as part of its five-day tour of the Northern Territory which started last Wednesday in Darwin.
While on Tour, the coveted trophy has got up close and personal with the NT’s most famous reptiles, visited residents at the Old Timers Village aged care home and attended the iconic Alice Springs Camel Cup, where dual Melbourne Cup-winning jockey and Cup Tour Ambassador Jimmy Cassidy turned cameleer for the occasion.
While in Alice Springs, the People’s Cup visited the Todd River, where local apprentice jockey Lorelle Crow saddled up and rode the Cup along the Todd’s famous sands on board usual mount Doon Buggy.
The coveted trophy also travelled to the outback indigenous community of Santa Teresa, where Cassidy shared the magic of the trophy with locals.
As part of the visit to Santa Teresa, Alice Springs drew its barrier for the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep.
Assisted by Melbourne Football Club CEO Gary Pert, traditional owner Norma Hayes-Wheeler selected barrier 13, the same barrier legendary Cup winner Phar Lap jumped from in 1930.
As part of the National Sweep initiative, 24 regional Tour destinations across Australia will be allocated a starting gate (barrier) for this year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup and the town which draws the barrier of the Cup-winning horse will win $50,000 to put towards a charity supporting a local community initiative.
Should Alice Springs be successful, the money will go towards grassing the Santa Teresa football oval, a project dubbed The MCG of the Desert. The project, a joint initiative between the Melbourne Football Club and the Atyenhenge Atherre Aboriginal Corporation (AAAC), will see the desert oval transformed into a lush green oval.
Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour Ambassador Jimmy Cassidy said it was fantastic to accompany the Cup on its NT journey and share it with the community.
“It’s an amazing experience being on the road as part of the Cup Tour. To see the look on people’s faces when they hold the Cup is extraordinary.
“The Cup is something I dreamed about and to be sharing it with people who might not get the chance to travel to Flemington for the race is really wonderful.”
The Lexus Melbourne Cup will continue its tour tomorrow when it travels to the Queensland destinations of Bowen, Ayr and Townsville.
Since its beginning, the Tour has travelled more than 600,000 kilometres and visited more than 450 regional, rural and metropolitan destinations. It has provided communities with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the magic of the Melbourne Cup and hear the many stories connected with Australia’s greatest horse-race.
