Melbourne Cup Tour races through Portarlington

PORTARLINGTON joined racing history earlier this week when it hosted the 18-carat gold Lexus Melbourne Cup as part of the Melbourne Cup Tour.

On Tuesday, the cup began its tour by hitching a ride from Docklands on the local ferry with 2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Danny O’Brien and 36-time Melbourne Cup race caller Greg Miles on board, as well as Portarlington Business Development Association president John Rae and vice-president Ashley Andrew.

Making a brief stop in Geelong, the cup was ferried to Portarlington and a special Melbourne Cup Tour function at the newly refurbished Portarlington Grand Hotel, where guests heard from Mr O’Brien and Mr Miles as well as Victoria Racing Club chair Neil Wilson.

As well as getting a chance to pose with the Melbourne Cup, guests at the Portarlington Grand Hotel could also view the Geelong Cup, which will be run later this month.

The Melbourne Cup travelled to Portarlington Primary School and then made its way down Newcombe Street and visited several local businesses, before attending an evening function at the Portarlington Golf Club.

Portarlington is also one of this year’s Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep destinations, which will see 24 rural and regional tour destinations allocated a barrier for this year’s Melbourne Cup, which will be run on November 1.

The town that draws the barrier of the winning horse will be presented with a cash prize of $50,000 to put towards a charity for a local community initiative.

Portarlington officially nominated Ten02 as their chosen charity, and barriers will be drawn this month.

“We are very excited to be part of this year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour, especially given the cup has never been to Portarlington,” Mr Rae said.

Mr Wilson said this year’s 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.

“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 three-handled trophy has travelled more than 760,000 kilometers and visited more than 560 destinations.

This year’s tour will see the trophy travel to 33 destinations across Australia as well as several overseas destinations, including Auckland and Cambridge in New Zealand, and Singapore.