THE GLISTENING gold of the Melbourne Cup landed in Boort last Friday.
Heading into the home straight of its international tour before the thoroughbred racing cup is run next month, Boort was the 36th of 41 destinations on the 2023 tour.
The cup’s arrival in the Loddon Shire was marked with a cocktail party for representatives of Boort and district organisations where guest speaker was 1992 cup winning jockey Greg Mills.
Loddon Mayor Dan Straub said the shire had applied to host a leg of the cup’s tour as a flood recovery event tied to the first anniversary of last October’s emergency that he said had impacted towns and communities and left a $100 million bill for the local agriculture sector.
Cr Straub said Loddon’s submission by shire flood recovery officer Mal Brown had told the local story of the floods.
“The cup’s visit is a unique way to bring our community together ... an opportunity to help us rebuilds,” he said.
“And the tour including Boort and the Loddon Shire is also a recognition of the culture and spirit of our communities.”
Loddon Shire is a designated cup stopover where local communities go into a special sweep. Cr Straub said the nominated charity for Loddon, if its horse won, would be the Rural Flying Doctor Service.
The 2023 Melbourne Cup was on display at Saturday’s annual Boort Show where people had their photographs taken with the impressive trophy.
And while the running of this year’s cup is stlll a fortnight away, Victoria Racing Club officials organising the tour said the 2024 cup would arrive at its Flemington headquarters next week.