Throughout the course of History the noble sport of thoroughbred horseracing has developed from the sport of kings into the king of sports, reaching a pinnacle of perfection on only a few occasions and on a very select number of racecourses throughout the world.

The first Tuesday in November; it's the one day of the year, a day on which Australia comes to a virtual standstill, if for only a few minutes, when the imagination of an entire nation is captivated by the exhilarating spectacle of a pack of graceful thoroughbred horses as they strive towards the finish line and the history books.

It is of course the Melbourne Cup; the jewel in the crown of Melbourne's internationally celebrated Spring Racing Carnival and an event that proudly takes its place amongst a select few horse races throughout the world. The 'Sport of Kings' reaches its zenith on few occasions throughout the year; at England's Epsom Racetrack on Derby Day, in Paris at Longchamp during the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, during the running of the Kentucky Derby on that state's Churchill Downs Track, on Tokyo Racecourse for the Japan Cup, Singapore's Bukit Timah racecourse and the Singapore Gold Cup, the Sha Tin racecourse with the running of Hong Kong's Invitation Cup and Australia's Flemington, which attracted over a quarter of a million spectators and punters at last year's carnival.

When Archer raced to victory on the two mile track at Flemington in 1861, he began a tradition that was to become a part of a nation's mythology and would produce such legends as Carbine, Tulloch and Phar Lap. This year, Flemington and the Victorian Racing Club celebrate Australia's 135th Melbourne Cup. The world's richest two mile handicap race has perhaps achieved its phenomenal success over the years due to its unpredictability; the notion that the battler can win out over the odds and often does is ingrained into the character of a nation whose colonisation began with a boatload of convicts.