Aussie News - Issue 23 - December 2006
Lindemans' Melbourne Cup
Once again, the Lindemans’ Melbourne Cup Party held at the High Commissioner’s Residence was a tremendous success. Over 100 people turned out for the IBL sponsored event held on Saturday 28 October.
With the introduction of a modest admission fee for this year’s event, punters only had to concentrate on the form guide and having fun as every other possible need was catered for.
From left to right: Gerard Oakes and
wife Bernadette, Ian McConville and
wife Libby and Peter Cantwell as hosts
and trend setters at the Cup night.
Another change saw the event being held on the second-last Saturday before the first Tuesday in November. This was a convenient strategy to ensure that everyone was captive to ‘Pete’s Sweeps’, a form of punting that allows no advantage to the pros (despite the wicked rumours of sweep and race fixing that circulated after the event).
A definite highlight was the Mike Plumb rendition of one of Australia’s renowned Melbourne Cup poems – Wait Until Tuesday by CJ Dennis – adding a distinct touch of class to an already classy affair.
As always, the fashions in the field were hotly contested. The tone was set by the High Commission boys who each dressed in traditional top-hat, tails and board shorts, while Libby’s cat suit, including ears and tail attracted much attention. These were no match, however, for the various prize winners.
Kristy Cook’s pirate outfit won the overall first prize for best costume, while Nick Hamer walked away with the ‘best attempt’ award for a confusing, yet entertaining and amusing ensemble that defied description.
Competition in the hat parade was fierce. Sally Currimjee backed up her costume win from last year with first-place prize for a tall, feathery hat that would not have been out of place in the movie Pricilla, Queen of the Desert. Toni Wickman’s teddy bear hat surely must have sparked fierce debate amongst the judges, winning second prize.
The starting line-up for Race 2– Shiraz
Estate Cup. From left to right:Fix-it Quick
from the Dispensary (Vincent Labat) Hi-Ho
Silva (Ginny Silva), Take a Breath (Sylvana
Barnes), Dan Dan The Dunny Can Man
(Danny Carroll), Bankers Cure (Caroline
Dawes), Roger and Out (Tim Taylor)
Special category prizes were also awarded to Tim Taylor’s Arabian inspired outfit and to Anu and Saleem Beebejaun’s bright Cape Town African numbers.
The five races were the feature of the night. Punters placed plenty of money on all horses. While some won handsomely, others were left ruing their chances. For all, however, there remains the hope that lady luck will visit next year…
The Australian High Commission is grateful to IBL for their wine sponsorship of the event and trusts that punters enjoyed the Australian Lindemans wines served on the night.