The 1.65kg of gold for this year’s Melbourne Cup came from Evolution’s Cowal Mine 100km west of Forbes. The Melbourne Cup Tour included Forbes in September when residents could get a photo with the famous trophy.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s most famous thoroughbred horse race held over a distance of 3,200 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
With a total prize money of almost $8 million, it is the richest “two-mile” handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races.
It is held on the first Tuesday of November each year, and known as the ‘race that stops a nation’.
This year the Melbourne Cup will be held on Tuesday, 1st November at 3pm.
The Melbourne Cup has a long tradition, with the first race held in 1861 when the winner received a gold watch. The first Melbourne Cup trophy was awarded in 1865 and was an elaborate silver bowl on a stand that had been manufactured in England. This is currently owned by Australian wine personality Wolf Blass and is on display at the Wolf Blass Gallery & Museum/Adelaide Hills Wine Bar in Hahndorf, South Australia.
In 1876 Edward Fischer, an immigrant from Austria produced the first Australian-made trophy. In the Second World War years (1942, 1943 and 1944) the winning owner received war bonds valued at 200 pounds.
A new trophy is struck each year and becomes the property of the winning owner. In the event of a dead heat, a second cup is on hand. The present trophy is hand spun from 1.65 kg of 18-carat gold, and the gold for this year’s trophy came from Evolution’s Cowal Mine west of Forbes.
That is why Forbes was included in the annual Melbourne Cup Tour this year. Many residents lined up last month to get a photo of them holding the 18-carat trophy.