design. The national Australian Ballet 50
years ago commissioned a special ballet:
The Melbourne Cup.
Besides that, Cup Day is an excuse for
a party around the continent. And an ex-
cuse to dress for the occasion – from fan-
cy dress to the highest levels of stylish
fashion.
At a practical level, the Flemington Mel-
bourne Cup Carnival is the bedrock on
which the rest of Australian racing has
built its prosperity. Racing is still a thriv-
ing sport in every state of Australia, from
the outback to the big cities.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum
has owned two winners of the Melbourne
Cup, Dato Tan Chin Nam shared in four,
Sheikh Fahad al Thani has had a winner, as
did the late Robert Sangster, but so too
have business princes, sheep farmers and
