Racing is a great equaliser, so industry rivalries and intrigue were set aside at Caulfield on Saturday for the 150th Caulfield Cup. The centre of power and influence in Melbourne was the invitation-only committee room, where politicians, racing heavyweights, business identities and a smattering of celebrities gathered.
The event was a serious flex and example of pulling power by the Melbourne Racing Club, which has Caulfield in its remit. Not many doors were being knocked by politicians, as a slice of the political class took in the action at the track, including Racing Minister Anthony Carbines, Deputy Opposition Leader David Southwick, shadow federal treasurer Tim Wilson and the retiring state Liberal member for Malvern, Michael O'Brien.
The Melbourne Racing Club board was out in force, comprising chair Cameron Fisher, vice chair Jonathan Munz, treasurer Alison Saville, and committee members Caitrin Kelly, Belinda Meyers, Robyn Gray, Stephen Foster, David Gambell and Frank Pollio, along with club chief executive Tanya Fullarton.
Victoria Racing Club chair Neil Wilson, who recently announced he would step down after this year's Melbourne Cup Carnival, and his wife Steph were moving between the committee room and the mounting yard, where they were supporting friends who had runners in the big races. Michael Ramsden, current vice chairman of the VRC, was also in the power room.
The presence of such a wide cross-section of influential figures underscored the Caulfield Cup's status as a key social and political fixture on the Victorian calendar, as the spring racing carnival builds towards next month's Melbourne Cup.