Premier Ben Carroll was hardly sleeping on the job on Saturday.
asserted
Carroll → sleep → Saturday
Carroll was up early on the weekend, swiftly returning serve on reports that he had cat napped in his parliamentary office, via a video uploaded to his Instagram where he simply said: “You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.”
asserted
you → return → newspaper
Also not wasting time on Saturday was the Liberal opposition, which rolled out a billboard poking fun at the premier off the back of the nap claim that apparently found its way from disgruntled staffers to the Herald Sun.
uncertain
that → waste → Sun
After dealing with alleged dozing drama, Carroll was wide awake and full of energy when he attended the Cox Plate at Flemington.
asserted
he → deal → Flemington
The premier and his wife Fiona Rothville mingled with racing identities from the Moonee Valley Racing Club, the Victoria Racing Club, the Melbourne Racing Club and Racing Victoria in the packed committee room.
asserted
premier → mingle → room
While Carroll left around 3pm for another commitment, Rothville stayed to watch the big race.
asserted
Rothville → leave → race
Cox Plate day this year took on a very different appearance, being at Flemington for the first time while the Moonee Valley racecourse is being rebuilt.
asserted
racecourse → take → time
Admittedly, the location was a bit of a brain bender for regular attendees of the Plate, who for years have set the sat nav for “The Valley″ in Melbourne’s inner north-west, but thousands poured into Flemington to see “the same race in a different place”.
asserted
thousands → set → place
Moonee Valley chair Adam Lennen lent into the new location, jokingly referring to the Cox Plate as this year “couch-surfing at a mate’s place”.
asserted
Lennen → lend → place
Let’s just say it was a pretty swanky couch to be crashing on!
asserted
it → let → ?
Inside the committee room, the inner sanctum at the track, the Moonee Valley board – including Lennen, vice chair David Sinn, John Blight, David Korbritz, Peter Blunden, Anthony Durakovic, Jim Hogan, Kate O’Sullivan, and club chief executive Michael Browell – hosted racing powerbrokers, politicians and owners of runners in the main race.
asserted
board → include → race
VRC chair Neil Wilson, who will step down after this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, and his wife Stephanie, Vin Cox, the chair elect to follow Wilson into the top job at the VRC, and his wife Nicole, and VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers were in the unfamiliar position of being at a race meeting at Flemington but not on duty.
asserted
who → step → duty
Racing Minister Anthony Carbines worked the room like a superstar – there was hardly a hand he didn’t shake – while retiring Nationals MP Tim Bull, who announced in May that he would not be contesting his seat in November’s state election, talked horses.
uncertain
he → work → horses
Racing Victoria chair Tim Eddy, chief executive Aaron Morrison, Melbourne Racing Club chair Cameron Fisher, and Paul Guerra, new chair of the Melbourne Market Authority and a Racing Victoria board member, were spotted.
asserted
Eddy → spot → Authority
The crowd also included Eddie McGuire – the wearer of many hats from media personality to businessman to Visit Victoria board member – as well as VRC board member Ann Peacock, former VRC chair Amanda Elliott and TAB boss Gill McLachlan.
asserted
crowd → include → member
The Cox Plate, the weight-for-age championship of Australian racing, is on track to return to Moonee Valley for next year.
asserted
Plate → return → year
Over in the Club Stand, sporting identities from various codes were looking for winners including Richmond veteran Tom Lynch, former North Melbourne player Bailey Scott and his partner Bella Henry, former champion jockey Jimmy Cassidy, swimmer Sam Williamson and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Abbey Caldwell.
asserted
identities → sport → Lynch
And,despite the meeting not being at its traditional home, The Horses, a hit made famous by Daryl Braithwaite and known as the “Valley anthem” still got a run.
asserted
hit → make → run
With Braithwaite recently retiring from public performances, singer Michael Paynter stepped up and had a chorus of thousands in the stands joining him on the iconic song.
asserted
chorus → retire → song
The Aporia
