A small town inland from Noosa is the only community in this part of Queensland to score a visit from one of Australia’s most famous sporting trophies – the Melbourne Cup.
The event literally “stopped a community” as the Kandanga Country Club hosted the 18- carat gold cup, as part of the milestone 20th annual Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour.
It was accompanied by 1992 Melbourne Cup-winning jockey, Greg Hall.
“This is the cup that will be presented on the 1st of November in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cup – it was valued at $275,000 when it was made and they’re suggesting today that it’s worth $300,000 due to the increase in gold prices,” Kandanga Country Club manager Julie Worth said.
“There’s some very excited people here, people who have been involved in racing for a long time, so they feel very privileged to get up close to the whole thing, it’s great.”
The event included a visit to the club by children from three local schools, who enjoyed lawn bowls before having their photos taken with the cup.
It was followed by a Fashions on the Field and a brief Q&A hosted by VRC Representative Joe McGrath with Mr Hall, who discussed his favourite Melbourne Cup and racing memories.
Kandanga is also one of this year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep destinations, which will see 24 rural and regional tour destinations across Australia be allocated a barrier for the 2022 Lexus Melbourne Cup.
The town that draws the barrier of the Lexus Melbourne Cup-winning horse will be presented with a cash prize of $50,000 to put towards a charity for a local community initiative. Barriers for the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep will be drawn later in October.
VRC Chairman Neil Wilson said this year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour would celebrate 20 years on the road.
“The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour gives us an opportunity to share the magic of the Cup with people across the nation and the world,” Mr Wilson said.
“The tour has only continued to grow in popularity, with a record-breaking number of applications from towns and communities for its milestone 20th edition.
“We are pleased to be taking the iconic trophy back on the road and sharing it with the nation again after restricted travel over the past two years.”
Since the tour first began in 2003, the iconic three-handled trophy has travelled more than 760,000km and visited more than 560 destinations, providing communities with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the magic of the Lexus Melbourne Cup and help raise funds for local initiatives.
This year’s tour will see the iconic trophy travel to 33 destinations across Australia as well as a number of destinations overseas, including Auckland and Cambridge in New Zealand, and Singapore.
For further information about the 2022 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour, please visit Melbourne Cup Tour.
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