The Melbourne Cup, made of Cowal gold, has returned to the mine where the precious metal was sourced.
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The 2016 Emirates Melbourne Cup is touring Australia in the lead-up to the race that stops the nation.
Last Thursday it was in West Wyalong for a community celebration and visit back to the mine.
Elliott Willemsen Bell from Evolution Mining, Cowal Operations, said it was a thrill for the team to see the results of their hard work up close.
“Only a few people see the final product once it’s poured,” he said.
“It’s such a beautiful trophy, to see the workmanship in it and to see the final product, was great for everyone.”
The Cup visited the mine so the crews could get up close, then the site stopped for a barbecue.
Evolution Mining CEO Jake Klein and Australian Bullion Company CEO Janie Simpson took the Cup back to its birthplace, the mining pit.
ABC last year won the contract to produce the trophy for five years and chose Cowal as the source for the gold.
Amongst those who joined the celebrations were Gerard Leahy, son of local property owner JJ Leahy whose mare Sarcherie was runner up in the great race twice. She also claimed a third prize.
Mr Leahy was invited to ride in the horse-drawn buggy with the Cup and then spoke to a crowd of interested locals about his family’s history with the race.
The invitation followed the launch of Mr Leahy’s book in Forbes during Forbes Heritage 2016.
The book, Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves, tells pastoralist JJ Leahy’s story on the land, but he was also a thoroughbred owner of note.
Sarcherie had four starts in the Cup in the 1930s but it was actually Gerard Leahy’s mother’s family who had an early winner with Zulu in 1881.
Gerard Leahy had never thought he would hold the coveted Cup.
Each cup is valued at $175,000, containing 1.65kg of 18-carat gold and 44 pieces that are hand-spun over a 250-hour production process.
