By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
THE home of racing in the south-east can expect a shiny, gold cup to take up temporary residence before the spring racing carnival takes hold of Melbourne.
The $175,000, 18-carat gold Emirates Melbourne Cup trophy will land in Cranbourne on Thursday 24 September after touring New Zealand, Malaysia and Australia.
In its last leg of the five-month tour the cup will take centre stage at the Cranbourne Turf Club, where residents will be able to get up close and personal with the treasured trophy.
Cranbourne Turf Club chief executive officer Neil Bainbridge said the club was delighted to welcome the people’s cup.
“Racing is synonymous with Cranbourne and we have a strong suite of Cranbourne representatives who have won the Emirates Melbourne Cup in the past, including Pat Hyland who rode ‘What A Nuisance’ to victory in the 1985 Melbourne Cup,” Mr Bainbridge said.
The winning schools that have participated in a cup colouring competition will also be announced on the day.
