Melbourne Cup
02.Nov.09
Every year on the second Tuesday of November, for about three and a half minutes Australia literally comes to a standstill. That’s because at 3pm the Melbourne Cup takes place at Flemington racecourse. For Australian’s this two mile handicap is a must watch event. Not only will they be watching but they will also be betting, with several million dollars riding on the race.
It used to be a very Australian affair with very few international trainers prepared to subject their expensive protégé’s to the long trip over. But more recently the huge prize money on offer has attracted more foreign raiders.
This time around one in particular is causing more of a stir than usual. Mourilyan is owned by the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. If I tell you that this is a man who has a gold-plated gun, wears a one million dollar watch and has been described as the new Stalin, then you will get an idea of what the fuss is all about. He is believed to behind a string of murders and human rights abuses in Chechnya which have led some to compare him with Saddam Hussein.
Not surprisingly then that questions are being asked as to whether he should be allowed to have a horse running in the race at all especially as the police fear that if Mourilyan does take the first prize of $3.3 million then it will be used as part of an international money laundering scheme.
But despite all this one man seems oblivious to all the fuss, Mourilyan’s trainer Herman Brown. He’s quoted as saying that Ramzan “buys expensive horses, he pays the bills really well and he doesn't interfere with the training. Ask any trainer and they're the criteria you want from an owner." Easily pleased is Mr Brown.