July 6th, 2024Melbourne Cup coming to Trentham
The Melbourne Cup is coming to Trentham as part of the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour.
The tour, courtesy of the Cup’s manufacturer W.J. Sanders, and its sister company ABC Bullion, will start in Cowes on June 28 and will arrive in Trentham on October 16.
There it will head to the Hotel Trentham, owned by Australian Basketball Hall of Famer and Olympian Chris Anstey.
Chris bought the hotel in July last year. “It sits in the middle of a historic street, and the street had lost its heartbeat a bit, so we wanted to give it its heart back. It’s a pub for the locals, nothing too fancy,” he
told news outlets.
“I spent as much time (on the application) as I’ve spent on anything since high school. We can’t wait to put together the sort of visit the town deserves.”
The day will include a parade down the main street. Along with Australia, the Cup will have also made an appearance around the world, visiting New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, the USA and Japan.
The final route was decided after a record-breaking number of applications were received by the Victoria Racing Club from towns and cities around the world.
Manufactured in Australia for the VRC using 1.69kg of ABC Bullion 18-carat yellow gold, and recently independently valued at $750,000, the Cup has been hand-forged by W.J. Sanders since 2016.
Each year, the Cup takes over 250 hours to produce at the W.J. Sanders workshop in Marrickville, Sydney.
Every team member contributes to making the trophy, starting up to eight months before the race, which occurs on the first Tuesday in November.
“We are deeply honoured at W.J. Sanders and ABC Bullion to play a role in crafting this remarkable legacy,” said Darren May, general manager at W.J. Sanders.
“The Lexus Melbourne Cup embodies the true essence of being proudly Australian made and it fills me with immense pride that, in a world of mass production and lean manufacturing, our team of talented craftsmen and women have been entrusted to create this iconic symbol of international sport.”
Melbourne Cup Day is on Tuesday, November 5
