THE 1888 Melbourne Cup is visiting Ararat Regional Art Gallery from the National Gallery of Australia as part of the Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift.
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The 1888 Melbourne Cup is a remarkable example of Victorian silverware and offers a fascinating insight into the era it was made.
1888 was the one hundredth anniversary of British settlement in Australia. In Melbourne the climax of the celebrations was the Centennial Fair, held in the Exhibition Building in the spring of 1888.
The exhibition was still in progress during Melbourne Cup week, and its trophy of that year was known as the Centennial Cup.
The trophy was commissioned from Elkington & Co Birmingham, England in 1887 and was particularly large due to the importance of the centenary.
The Cup features three magnificent horses cast in silver weighing 800 grams surmounted on a large silver plated base.
There were 28 runners in the 1888 Cup competing to win part of the new 50,000 sweep run by Mr George Adams, the owner of the company that began Tattslotto.
As the race was run, jockey Mick O'Brien (wearing the racing colours of black with white sleeves and scarlet cap) always had Mentor in a winning position.
With plenty in hand, Mentor ran home a comfortable winner in 3 minutes 30 3/4 seconds from Tradition second and The Yeoman third.
Mentor had been bred at Mr Donald S Wallace's stud 'Ballark' between Ballarat and Geelong.
The 1888 Melbourne Cup will remain on display at the Ararat Regional Art Gallery until July 8 2015.
To accompany the presentation of the Cup there is a craft area for children at the gallery with some horse themed activities.
Children can colour in horses and add them to a racetrack on the gallery wall or make a paper race day hat to take home.
The gallery is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm, weekends and public holidays 12pm to 4pm. Entry is free.
Anthony Camm
Director
Ararat Regional Art Gallery