Melbourne Cup is as Aussie as prawns on the barbie
Columnist
By Spiro Zavos, 3 Nov 2009 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Horse Racing, Melbourne Cup
Blake Shinn, ridding Viewed(R), wins the Emirates Melbourne Cup during the 2008 Emirates Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington. Slattery Images
Not long after I started work at the Sydney Morning Herald writing editorials, I was told to write one on the Melbourne Cup. I started off with the notion in my head of using the traditional cliche about “the race that stops a nation.”
So I started my editorial by stating that at “3.30 this afternoon, the nation stops for a horse race. But not any horse race …”
The editor at the time, David Bowman, a great newspaperman, used to go through the editorials – and everything that was going to go into the newspaper – with an eagle eye.
His face went red when he read my opening sentence.
I had got the time the race started completely wrong. But what more can you expect from the only Greek I know who never gambles – except for a bet one race in the year on the Melbourne Cup.
Over the years, I’ve been reminded of the real reason why the Melbourne Cup is such a popular race. As Alan Jones says, it is a long race where the best horses are given very heavy weights to ensure that they don’t win easily.
Jones always makes the point that this is very Australian.
The champions, as it were, are dragged down to the level of the battler horses, a sort of racing tall poppy syndrome that seems to be a feature of Australian life.
Mark Twain attended the Melbourne Cup in 1895 and was enraptured with the event. In the 1930s, embattled folks trying to get by with no job won some drinking money by betting on Phar Lap, even though he was given monstrous weights to slow him down.
Carbine, Phar Lap and Kiwi are three of the New Zealand-born winners who have given a mystique to the Cup.
Kiwi’s win was one of the most remarkable in racing history.
The horse was so far out of the race for most of the running that it was only called to point out it had no chance. Then, down the long straight, which is one of the features of the race as the horses battle it out for victory, Kiwi just powered home, rather like Peter Snell winning his 800m gold medal at Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
I always have a bet on the Melbourne Cup, my one bet of the year.
I can’t make any sense of form or anything like that. So a horse with a name I fancy gets my money – and the TAB takes it. This year I’m betting on Master O’Reilly.
Why?
Because Bill O’Reilly was the greatest bowler in the history of cricket.
I had a couple of droll conversations with him when he was a cricket columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald. He was an inspiration to all sports writers, a great man.
The least a person can do is put some money on a horse bearing his name.
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Brett McKay said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Spiro, it’s as good a logic as any others I’ve heard on Cup day – certainly no better or worse than the “prettiest colours”!!
Good luck with your annual wager…
sheek said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:31am | Report comment
Spiro,
The Melbourne Cup is truly a very unique Australian thing. And Kiwi also, let’s not forget. NZ have provided so many winners that were bred on their fertile soil.
Most other countries have a 2000 metres or 2400 metres weight-for-age race (for 3 year olds & above) as their signature race of the year. Think of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400), King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2400), Dubai Gold Cup (2000), US Breeders Cup Classic (2000) & US Breeders Cup Turf (2400).
Not Australia. We pick a gut-busting 3200 metres handicap race as our signature event. To win, you need a combination of staying endurance & finishing speed. And if you carry extra weight, you need to have a champion heart.
There have been regrettably many ordinary winners of The Cup. But even so, there are so many great stories. And when a champion can carry his/her huge weight to victory, it makes it all so extra special.
Yet the Melbourne Cup is under attack from breeders & owners who want a quick & immediate return on their investment by making the helter-skelter 1200 metres dash Golden Slipper for two year olds as the signature race in Australia. This is absurd. It’s like making the Olympics 100 metres final a race for 10 year boys & girls!
Hopefully, the Melbourne Cup will never be bested as our most important & valuable horse race. I always maintain racing needs variety to attract racegoers, & to thrive & survive.
Unfortunately, there is a trend towards American racing, by having fewer & fewer distance races. I believe this would be to the detriment of horse racing.
Racing needs to continue offering handicaps from 1000 metres right up to 3200 metres. It also needs to offer quality weight for age races from 1200 metres to 2400 metres. While also offering the 3 year old Derbies/Oaks/Guineas & two year old Golden Slippers, Blue Diamonds, etc.
An uncle of my wife pooh-poohed what may or may not be happening in racing. An avid punter, who places his bets at the last minute by following late money plunges, he said he rarely knew the name of the horse, jockey, trainer, owner, race, distance or track.
It was all numbers to him, for example – Sydney, race 7, saddlecloth 5, $100 on the nose. Nothing else!
Hopefully, there are more people who love the horses, the jockeys, the trainers, the pageantry, the atmosphere, the drama, so that purists like me can continue enjoying horse racing in all its forms.
My tips – Viewed to win from Roman Emperor (or the reverse) with Shocking 3rd. Worth keeping tabs on Allez Wonder also, Bart’s 3rd horse in the race.
Basaltico is my ‘roughie’ tip, mainly because like most of the red-blooded male population, I have lustful thoughts for Francesca Cumani, the daughter of Basaltico’s trainer Luca Cumani!!!!!
MyGeneration said | November 3rd 2009 @ 11:04am | Report comment
“There have been regrettably many ordinary winners of The Cup”. What’s regrettable about it? It’s a handicap. Ordinary horses get there chance against the good ones. It’s part of the Cup’s mystique. And when a good horse wins with a big weight, it’s the stuff of legends.
Spiro Zavos said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:40am | Report comment
A couple of points I should have made. First, the Melbourne Cup starts on the dot of 3 pm.
Apparently favourites have won only 9 of the last 39 Cups.
Bill O’Reilly wrote his cricket column for the SMH for 31 years, and was therefore a stayer. Hopefully his namesake, Master O’Reilly has the same qualities.
MyGeneration said | November 3rd 2009 @ 11:13am | Report comment
I don’t think favourites winning 9 out of 39 is a bad record considering the size of the field. Favourites generally win about a third of races run, and race fields on average would be half the size of the cup. So around 25% strike rate in a huge field means the cup has been quite good to favourite backers over the years. Good luck with the Master. He’s had three goes at the distance (twice in the Cup) for not-a-sausage. But he’s still trying, so he’s a stayer in that respect (or his connections are).
sheek said | November 3rd 2009 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
Accepted – point one. And accepted – point two.
I’m actually amazed I can still find the keyboard!!!
Pippinu said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:57am | Report comment
Good article Spiro.
I too only bet once a year on the Cup, and on occasions I’ve fluked a few wins in a row.
I grew up across the Maribyrnong River from Flemington – you can see the imposing grandstands from the front yard of our family home (which my parents still live in).
But I’ve never been to the Melbourne Cup – and I’ll be honest – it’s not really something I’m desperately wanting to do – even though I do enjoy the sight of the horses galloping down the home stretch (which I have only witnessed first hand at lesser meets).
I never really appreciated how big the Cup truly was until I moved away from Melbourne, and where I have lived in parts of Southern NSW and Canberra, it’s been the same story – people pretty much don’t work for the day.
In fact, I heard recently that Canberra made it a public holiday – which is quite extraordinary.
Tifosi said | November 3rd 2009 @ 10:48am | Report comment
Pip, its actually “Family and Community Day”
Once upon a time we had a trades and labour picnic day which wasnt an official holiday but generally the tradies and blue collar workers took the day off.
I think under the Howard’s governments Workchoices regime, that day was illegal. The ACT labour govt decide such a day should officially exist so they decided to do it on the Melbourne cup day.
Next year it will be moved to September as what is happening is that people would take the monday off as well creating a four day weekend.
Businesses that would do well on Melbourne cup day have done no trade at all since this holiday came about is another factor in the change.
Anyway go Roman Emperor !!
Pippinu said | November 3rd 2009 @ 11:27am | Report comment
tifosi
thanks for the explanation – it all makes good sense.
Sandy B said | November 3rd 2009 @ 9:18pm | Report comment
Great article again Spiro
However can I have a go at the sub editors please – since when is prawns on the barbie an Aussie Icon? Admittedly I live in the bush so any seafood not out of a tin is considered dubious, but prawns (or Hoges’ “shrimps”) – who serioulsy has them on a barbie on a regular basis, or ever?
Snags – definitely especially if there are kids around,
rissoles – yep,
steaks – yep,
chops – yep,
kebabs – something new over the last 10-20 years or so but yep.
egg and bacon rolls – yep – pretty good earner at a kids sport barbie,
Prawns – never.
Interested in your thoughts
BigAl said | November 3rd 2009 @ 10:18pm | Report comment
Exactly my thoughts, when I first read the article this am: !
I have never seen a prawn on or anywhere near a barbie, and I’ve lived near the sea all my life.
The Answer said | November 3rd 2009 @ 10:14pm | Report comment
I’m with you Sandy B, I think I once eaten a BBQ prawn.
Funnily enough I was once at a foreshore BBQ and one of the gents had brought along an newly arrived English girlfriend. Attending her first Aussie BBQ she’d brought along a bag of prawns to “throw on”. But not one of the ten males standing around the embers had every before had a barbie with prawns included.
It’s an odd myth for sure.
Pippinu said | November 3rd 2009 @ 10:32pm | Report comment
Very funny story, and agree with all, well, to a point.
Ok, it’s confession time.
One Xmas I invited the folks and a brother to my place for Xmas, and I was sick of roast turkey and the like (served after a course of pasta), and I decided to have a Xmas lunch out on the deck, with assorted seafood barbecued, and I pretty much went the full hog – and amongst the Marlin (fantastic fish to barbecue by the way), was a selection of stuff which included, baby octupus (delicious), calamari (I didn’t do it justice), and, yes, you guessed, some prawns – what the hell.
dasilva said | November 3rd 2009 @ 11:04pm | Report comment
It’s strange stereotype about prawn on the barbies as part of Australian lore.
Although saying that the Vietnamese community seem to bbq prawns and other seafood a fair bit.
IN Vietnam during my holidays there they also BBQ prawns (nearly 70% of the diet of vietnamese people is seafood). Yet I never seen prawn in the BBQ in most anglo BBQ. It’s always sausages and steaks, chicken and pork and lamb chops.
Jameswm said | November 4th 2009 @ 8:15am | Report comment
What are you guys talking about? I BBQ prawns all the time.
You either shell and devein them youself, leaving the tails on, or buy them already done. The readily shelled ones (tails on) don’t tend to be the same quality as the ones you do yourself though.
Then there are various mairnades you can put them in briefly (don’t want to overpower their natural taste), then you bung about 20 on a hot BBQ, and by the time you put the last one on, the first one has changed colour and is ready to turn. They only need 1-2 mins each side.
Then you have them with either an avocado, tomato and basil salsa or a spanish onion and mango one.
This is a seriously nice entree. A bit of family favourite. My sister-in-law who lives in England always asks for this as her first meal back.
Let me know if anyone wants a couple of recipes.
Redb said | November 4th 2009 @ 8:30am | Report comment
Prawns on the barbie – absolutely! Plate must be red hot – cook them quick – yahoo!
Biggest tip: buy them fresh as fresh as possible and avoid any that have been marinated already.
Redb
Argonaut said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Probably one of the biggest myths regarding the Melbourne Cup is that Mark Twain attended it in 1895. He didn’t, as a matter of fact. He was in Melbourne during the lead-up to the Cup of that year, and certainly wrote about it, and about how people’s reactions to this handicap horse-race astonished him – however at the time the race was actually run he was on his way to New Zealand.
Sorry, just one for the history buffs!