It’s been the race that stops the nation for 160 years but for the past two years now, it’s almost been the race itself that’s been stopped!

We are of course referring to horse racing’s The Melbourne Cup, run every year on the first Tuesday in November at the spacious Flemington racecourse.

Not even two World Wars were enough to cause the cancellation of the Australia’s most iconic sporting event but in both 2020 and 2021, the running of the Melbourne Cup has been very much in jeopardy at various times.

The reason of course being the coronavirus and no city in the world has spent more weeks in lockdown over the past 20 months or so that the capital of Victoria.

While restrictions associated with health orders have now been eased somewhat, Victorians spent a massive 245 days in full lockdown between March 30, 2020 and October 21, 2021 – so approximately eight of the past 19 months!

As has been the case in Sydney, many major sporting events have either been cancelled, postponed, or moved to ‘safer’ destinations.

The best of examples of this include the NRL staging its first ever non-Sydney Grand Final in 2021 (in Brisbane), and the 2020 and 2021 AFL Grand Finals both being transferred from Melbourne: to Brisbane and Perth respectively.

But not so the Melbourne Cup, although only 10,000 fans will be permitted to watch the race on track this year owing to COVID-19 related health restrictions.

This is a far cry from the 81,408 raceday fans who cheered 2019 Melbourne Cup hero Vow And Declare home for jockey Craig Williams and trainer Danny O’Brien – but at the same time it’s a vast improvement on 2020 when this year’s topweight Twilight Payment raced to victory under the steering of young gun rider Jye McNeill in front of an empty grandstand.

When it comes to picking winners at the track, the team at Yes I Can Renovations are far from being form experts and we believe it was the a great man who once said: “betting authorities warn that losing is a wealth hazard”.

Nonetheless, we have found no less than FIVE omen tips in the Cup, which carries a mouth-watering $7.75 million in overall prizemoney.

Our office admin guy John reckons that punters could do a lot worse than have a few dollars on his namesake Johnny Get Angry (a $101.00 outsider), while our director Richard Dargham just loves it when customers reject quotes from other renovation companies and tell him that Yes I Can is The Chosen One!

If our tradesmen take do the renovations at your place, there is no doubt that you will end up with a Great House – and because our reputation is second to none, rarely do Richard and our other renovation experts have to Incentivise before you sign on the dotted line.

But after looking at the form and the trainers and the jockeys, and most importantly the NAMES of the horses, we believe our number one selection is a standout!

The rider James McDonald is Australia’s best jockey as he again showed with a quartet of winners at Flemington on Derby Day.

Trainer Chris Waller is also the best in the business, being the man behind the phenomenal  success of one of Australia’s greatest racehorses of all time, Winx, who won an incredible 33 races in succession and a mind-boggling $26 million in stakes.

Our tip actually replaced Winx as Chris Waller’s stable star upon the great mare’s retirement and is no slouch herself, being the reigning Australian Horse of The Year with nine Group 1 wins to her name and putting over $9.3 million in her owners’ bank accounts.

Her name is Verry Elleegant and if you’re looking to upgrade your current bathroom into a space which more comfortable, more modern, more spacious and more elegant, then the answer is Yes I Can Renovations – Sydney’s fastest growing and most innovative building company.

We have the best tradies, the best systems and the best warranties…. and regardless of how your horse runs in this year’s Cup, we will guarantee that your new bathroom will be a winner….and a VERY ELEGANT one at that!

2021 LEXUS MELBOURNE CUP: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2021, AT 3:00PM (Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time).

OUR SELECTIONS: 1. VERRY ELLEEGANT; 2. GREAT HOUSE; 3. INCENTIVISE.

(All care taken but no responsibility accepted!!)

CAPTION: The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s most iconic sporting event. Image courtesy of punters.com.au