The Story of the Melbourne Cup: Australia's Greatest RaceThe Story of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's Greatest Race celebrates the remarkable history of a wonderful horse race -- one of the world's most famous and enduring tests of a thoroughbred. This is a story of the risk takers and planners who have made a race into a cultural phenomenon; toffs and battlers; the genius trainers Cummings, de Mestre and Freedman; the marvellous riding skills of Lewis, White and Boss; the obsessives, the families, and the flukes; the dominance of the Kiwis and the sudden surge of northern invaders; and how the Melbourne Cup has evolved through boom times, wars and depression. The concept of a handicap race as a nation's greatest event is unique to Australia and the Melbourne Cup. It represents so much about its host nation -- a chance for all no matter the circumstances of birth or opportunity. This is as much a story about that growing nation as it is about its most famous event. |
