Picture: stock
A six-year attendance record was set for Flemington on Saturday when 81,612 racegoers passed through the racecourse turnstiles for Derby Day.
The crowd for the traditional curtain-raiser stood at 81,612, the highest crowd since 2018, according to the Victoria Racing Club.
Goldrush Guru (ridden by Jamie Kah) won the blue riband $2 million Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m), Australia’s oldest classic race.
FIELD: Who’s running in the Melbourne Cup
Kah won the race just over an hour after she was stood down by the club doctor after being head-butted by Hurry Curry before the Wakeful Stakes, according to the VRC.
She had earlier scored an emotional win aboard Another Wil, whose owner Colin McKenna died last weekend, and she received a 10-meeting suspension for interference aboard Kuroyanagi in race two.
But Kah was cleared to resume commitments after the Wakeful Stakes and became the second female jockey to win Australia’s oldest Classic, following in the footsteps of Clare Lindop, who won aboard $101 shot Rebel Raider in 2008.
Victoria Racing Club Chief Executive Officer Kylie Rogers said that the first race day had surpassed expectations, on and off the track.
“Flemington turned on fantastic weather and it was superb to see our members and racegoers in a stylish sea of black and white as they enjoyed world-class racing, food, fashion and entertainment.
“The focus of Australia and the world now turns to the race that stops the nation, the Melbourne Cup, with another memorable chapter set to be written in the race’s illustrious and storied history. Another name will join the likes of Archer, Carbine, Phar Lap and Makybe Diva on the honour roll of Australia’s greatest race.”
Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald dominated the other feature races; they combined to win the $2 million Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) with Switzerland and the $1m Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) with Atishu.
The Melbourne Cup (Tuesday, November 5) is the next race day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival then Crown Oaks Day (Thursday, November 7) and Stakes Day (Saturday, November 9).
