my 2nd Melbourne Cup trifecta...

so Melbourne Cup day is one of my favourite days in the Australian sporting calendar! why you may ask?

well, couple of reasons:

• firstly, I think it's quintessentially Australian that a horse race literally brings our beautiful nation to a standstill
• secondly, it's something I have been to with my Dad (2006, can't recall who won, but he could tell you) and
• thirdly, even though him and I are rarely in the same town for the event, we have our little routine...

so it's become a tradition and reflecting on it this morning I realised a couple of things...

how grateful I am that my parents have found hobbies they love and now they are all but retired, they are truly enjoying and living their lives (good for them, they both worked bloody hard)...they have instilled in me (and I guess in my sister) a passion for things..and sure, I don't share all of their passions, but I am passionate and I am not afraid to enjoy the things I love and am passionate about...but mostly what i realised is how much Melbourne Cup is about family, or my Dad, for me...

funny, really it's about 24 horses, 24 jockeys, 24 trainers, countless owners, even more countless racegoers and millions of dollars, but for me, it's about the little rituals that I have come to regard as normal, the build up to the big day, the conversations with my Dad as we work out just who we are boxing in our trifecta...

so today, we picked the trifecta together! for me, it's my 2nd trifecta and my first one was all my own work, but today, I simply wouldn't have gotten over the line without Dad insisting that Red Cadeaux must be in the mix....and boy am I glad I listened...and this isn't our first trifecta! we've picked one previously, earlier this year at Caulfield, but picking the tri on the Cup is quite a feat!

our picks (which we do separately, although Dad has the advantage of a good mate who is a 'buff', somewhat more time than me to dedicate to the studying of the form guide, and is a much more regular racegoer than me) are typically aligned which is a good starting point, and then we debate who should make it into our final 7...over the years, we've moved away from 5 to 6 and now 7 horses that we box! seems reasonable...of course the TAB have also made it easier by allowing us to select our investment rather than have to fit into their previously rather rigid pricing structure..

I also no longer dread going into a TAB - and why? because my Dad (and my Mum, who is also a keen follower) have taught me how to place a bet and to understand the odds and race track lingo, as it were...

on the first Tuesday in November in 2006, with a winter's day that only Melbourne could serve up in spring, we did the Cup together! i'm certain we won nothing that day, but we had a ball...courtesy of IBM we did the Melbourne Cup in style...

so as I drove to work today I realised that long after my Dad is gone (and I sincerely hope that is a very long time away), Melbourne Cup will always be to me something I did with him, something he taught me to love and something we shared....special...

ps 1st Fiorente (Gai Waterhouse's first MC win, ridden by the brilliant Damien Oliver) 2nd Red Cadeaux and 3rd Mount Athos...