Lexus Melbourne Cup tours Northern Territory

The 18-carat-gold $750,000 trophy started its tour in Tennant Creek alongside Lexus Melbourne Cup winning trainer Sheila Laxon, visiting locals at the nearby stations of Anthony Lagoon and Brunette Downs which is also home to the iconic outback Brunette Races.

A.B.C. Amateur Race Club President and Anthony Lagoon Station Manager Mary (Brumby) Vaughan, who applied for the tour to come to Tennant Creek, said the community travelled far and wide to experience the magic of the Lexus Melbourne Cup.

“Brunette Downs is a pretty iconic station in the Northern Territory and Australia,” Ms Vaughan said.

“Some of the people have left really early in the morning today and travelled 500km just to hold the Melbourne Cup, and then they've headed back this afternoon. So it's a 1000km round trip for them.”

“I applied for the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour and thought maybe we'll get it maybe we won't, but I thought it'd still be worth having a crack and it just means a lot to me and racing means a lot to our community.”

The trophy then made its way to the Top End to meet up with three-time Lexus Melbourne Cup winning jockey Glen Boss who accompanied it while visiting Katherine. The tour attended the 59^th annual Katherine Show where eventgoers had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close with the trophy before Boss joined in on the festivities riding the Cup into the arena to kick off the rodeo and participating in the campdraft.

Glen Boss said it was a privilege to be part of the tour and share the iconic trophy with the Katherine community.

“I always love being part of the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour and coming on the road to share the magic of the People’s Cup with the community,” Mr Boss said.

“The reception from the town has been fantastic, they have such an incredible horse-riding community so it has been great to join them in the festivities at their annual Katherine Show.”

The Cup also visited Katherine locals Tick and Kate Everrett, who founded Dolly’s Dream in 2018 following the shattering loss of their 14-year-old daughter, Dolly, to suicide after ongoing bullying. Kate Everett said they were thrilled Dolly’s Dream is Katherine’s nominated charity for the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep.

“I just think the Lexus Melbourne Cup is an iconic thing to be involved in and we've got such a beautiful, supportive audience that they'll all be very invested in that,” Mrs Everett said.

“If we were to win the (Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour) National Sweep, that money that would be invested straight back into the rural community with some of our workshops and mental health first aid. This is where we started and these are the people that have got our back but to take our supporters on that journey with us will be incredible.”

Both Tennant Creek and Katherine will be part of the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep, an important VRC charity initiative which sees 24 rural and regional towns allocated a barrier and the correlating runner in the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Two representatives from each of the 24 destinations will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Flemington, courtesy of the VRC, to watch the Lexus Melbourne Cup and cheer home their horse. The town with the winning horse will be presented with $50,000 to put towards a charity of their choice.

The tour will conclude its Northern Territory journey today with a tour of Nitmiluk Gorge before making its way to visit Hobart and Rowella in Tasmania alongside dual Lexus Melbourne Cup winning jockey John Letts.

This year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour will see the iconic trophy travel to 39 destinations, with the final route spanning six countries including Australia, Japan, USA, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Since its inaugural journey in 2003, the tour has travelled over one million kilometres, visiting more than 640 destinations to unite communities and provide a once-in-life-time opportunity to get up close and experience the magic of the People’s Cup. This includes visiting 482 schools, 401 hospitals and aged care facilities, participating in over 2100 community events and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local fundraising initiatives.

For further information about the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour please visit MelbourneCupTour.com.au.

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