Melbourne Cup 2014

So, this is a post way overdue, but this was my first real Melbourne Cup celebration thanks to the company I currently work for, The Property Exchange. It’s a huge Aussie tradition so I’m glad I wasn’t working for once and joined in the fun and excitement. Most companies would organize a Melbourne Cup celebration, and party from lunchtime. Some of them would organize the event at bars and restaurants, and some would have office parties. Although some offices remain open, no real work gets done this day!

We had booked a long table for the whole team at The Subiaco Hotel, and everyone looked beautiful. I have to admit I never enjoyed betting and had no idea how it worked so it was a huge learning curve 24 hours before.

We were greeted with a glass of veuve on arrival, and the party begins!

Entree of smoked venison carpaccio, cherry grape salad, pickled mushrooms

Bbq’d New York strip, asparagus blanquettes verts, peppercorns, champagne potatoes

Slow cooked 1/2 duck with red wine roasted peach, pressed vegetables

Grilled Busselton cod fillet, citrus brik pastry, carrots, wheat berry salad

For the first time I learnt about horse racing, and had fun with the rest of the team placing bets on horses, not that I knew how to so it was completely random! We really enjoyed ourselves that day. As always, our table was probably the loudest in the room! You can see more of our pictures on Facebook.

The tragedy is the the horse I bet on, Admire Rakti actually collapsed and died of a heart attack after the race. I learned that for horse racing, some unethical owners over-train their horses and push them too hard, leading to a lot of horses getting injured, resulting in death or having to be put down.