| A Beginners Guide to Melbourne Cup - DEC 08 | | Print | |
For as long as I can remember I've been dying to go to the Melbourne Cup. Funnily enough, only now that I have moved half way across the world to Mumbai, I finally managed to get myself there. Now by no means am I completely new to the races. I’ve had plenty of fun days out with the girls drinking way too much champagne at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse, and more recently was able to spy some fabulous examples of Indian fashion at Mumbai's Derby Day. But to me the Melbourne Cup was unfamiliar territory, an entirely new ball game! For you fellow novices that have similar aspirations to one day attend the Cup, I have devised this 'Beginner's Guide' to prevent you from making the same mistakes I did.Lesson 1: Do not take a ridiculously large hatbox with you. 
A girlfriend of mine who is a serious race-goer kindly me lent me her rather divine Nerida Winter fascinator for my Melbourne Cup debut with the proviso that it travelled with me in the rather large hatbox that it came in. Since I did not want to risk ruining the lovely ornate creation, complete with delicate black quills, or risk my friendship, I complied. As I boarded the plane with my oversized box I could see other ladies looking at me quizzically as they were holding hatboxes about half the size of mine. I walked down the aisle and watched these ladies place their hat boxes with ease into the overhead compartment and could hear peals of laughter behind me as I unsuccessfully tried to jam my humungous box in. I ended up having to do a walk of shame down the entire length of the plane artfully carrying the hatbox on my head so I didn't side-swipe the other passengers and pleaded with an unimpressed air hostess to keep it stowed in the galley for me. Since I was seated down the front of the plane I had to wait for the entire plane to disembark before the now rather irate hostess bought my hat box down the aisle and scathingly remarked “I had a look in the box – nice hat but really it could have fit in a box about a quarter of the size”. Lesson 2: Be prepared for Melbourne weather. Alas my hat box dramas did not cease there. As I got out of my cab on Collins Street to meet my girlfriend, Alifiya, who was joining me for my Melbourne Cup debut, a gust of wind forced my hat box open and its contents flew into oncoming traffic. Amazingly I caught the hat mid air and a lovely brave bystander ran into the street and managed to rescue the lid before any damage occurred. Luckily, a bit of pink tissue paper was the only casualty. In addition to this little drama, Alifiya solemnly informed me that the forecast for the Cup was not looking promising – 17 degrees and showers. I had come unprepared with a silk races frock, open toed shoes and only a light pashmina for warmth so at this stage all I could do was pray for the weather man to be wrong. Lesson 3: Melbournites Don’t go to Melbourne Cup. 
The night before the Cup I caught up with some Melbournite friends and was surprised to hear that none of them had any plans to attend the Cup. Apparently the locals find the Cup to be too commercialised, too messy, too raucous and full of undesirable out-of-towners! These sentiments seemed to be echoed by many other people that I encountered from Alifiya’s colleagues, to taxi drivers, bartenders and shop assistants who all seemed to prefer Derby Day, held on the Saturday prior to the Cup, and Oaks Day (also known as Ladies Day), which is held on the Thursday after. Undeterred, I was still really looking forward to my Melbourne Cup experience and my local friends did reassuringly tell me that it was always a fun day – they had just done it too many times before. Lesson 4: Get invited to a marquee. While Alifiya and I were lucky enough to nab some members passes to the Cup, those in the know claim the best fun is to be had at the various corporate sponsored marquees. This is where the champagne is free flowing, canapés are whisked around on platters, relief from Melbourne’s unpredictable weather is accounted for and all the best celeb spotting occurs. Having just moved to Melbourne from Mumbai, Alifiya is now determined to get invited to a fabulous marquee next year and I may just have to come back and join her. Lesson 5: Don’t bet on favourites. 
While to a races novice betting on the favourite seems like the obvious choice, when you are only betting small amounts for a bit of fun, a win will bring in such a meagre return that you may as well bet on a ‘dark horse’, so to speak. Having not done our research, Alifiya and I were unwise and stuck to the favourite, Mad Rush, and soon waved our money goodbye. We also placed a small bet on Barbaricus, having met the horse’s owner Liz the day before whilst getting pedicures and were even invited to the after-party should Barbaricus get a place in the Cup. Lesson 6: Remember to Bring Cash Since I was carrying a very tiny hand bag to the races I brought very little cash, as I am used to the world being a bit of a plastic economy, I assumed I could put everything on credit card. Sadly at the races this is not so and everything has to be paid for in cash. The lines for ATMs were agonisingly long and when I finally reached the front of the queue I could not remember my PIN having not used my Australian bank account for over a year. Perhaps also due to the champagne I had consumed. All in all a slight disaster! So for all you race goers, remember to come pre-loaded with an adequate supply of cash. Lesson 7: Wear something unique.
Lesson 8: Ladies do not eat hot dogs for lunch. After way too much champagne, Alifiya and I found ourselves to be absolutely ravished by hunger. And the alluring scent of the hotdog vendor was way too much to bear. We suddenly found ourselves waiting it out in a long queue for hotdogs and ordered them with the lot. Now there is no ladylike way to devour these tasty but not particularly classy treats and the mustard stains that I later noticed on my pale lilac pashmina are testament to this. Lesson learnt. Ladies do not eat hot dogs. Lesson 9: Book a Car. Admittedly, Alifiya and I did attempt to book a car to drop us off and pick us up from the Melbourne Cup to avoid the hassle of the seemingly never-ending taxi queues. We did manage to get a ride to the races, however on our way to the Cup our driver who we discovered on course to Flemington, had a slight gambling problem, confessed that if he won on the Cup he would be taking the next month of work and would thus be sending another driver in his place. As we were ready to leave we dialled our driver’s mobile number only to find him slurring and elated on the other end. He had won on the Cup and while he promised to send another driver, nothing materialised so it was off to the taxi queue for us. So if you book a car try and pick a driver who doesn’t gamble! Lesson 10: Find Out where the crowds go after the Melbourne Cup. Since Liz’s horse Barbaricus didn’t place in the Cup we were left with a bit of a conundrum as to where to go post Cup. Alifiya and I decided to hit the city as that was close to home and try a couple of bars that had been recommended to us by friends. Since it was only 5.30pm on a Tuesday night, unsurprisingly both of the bars were completely empty, and as we sipped cocktails in our races attire we felt as if there must be a place fellow race revellers went that we were clearly not at, or a secret that we were not in on. Eventually the bars did slowly fill but there was not another fascinator in sight so we were clearly not at the right venue. Next time I will be sure to get some inside knowledge on where the after parties take place. Despite my lack of knowledge, I did have a great day at the Cup and managed to do some wonderful people-watching and catch up on what’s hot in Australian fashion. I would highly recommend a trip to Melbourne for the Cup to anyone – it’s something that every Australian should do at least once but please take heed of my lessons to ensure a truly fantastic experience.
For more information: http://www.visitmelbourne.com/
|
I live in Mumbai so have access to a multitude of amazing Indian designers, yet for some reason, true to my Aussie roots I chose to wear an Alannah Hill frock. Embarrassingly, I found myself in the bathroom reapplying my lipstick next to a rather gorgeous girl who was wearing the exact same dress. In order to avoid this conundrum wear something unique!
Comments