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Money can\u2019t buy you a Melbourne Cup, but having some serious wealth behind you certainly helps in the pursuit of Australia\u2019s most prized racing trophy.<\/p>\n
Rich-lister Lloyd Williams has won seven Melbourne Cups, and this year joins forces with Jayco Caravan magnate Gerry Ryan, with Cleveland and Serpentine both runners in this year\u2019s Cup.<\/p>\n
They will be up against Soulcombe, owned by Aziz \u201cOzzie\u201d Kheir, founder of property developer Resimax, and Richmond stars Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt.<\/p>\n
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Aziz \u201cOzzie\u201d Kheir and his Melbourne Cup runner Soulcombe.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Kheir, who also has Interpretation running in this year\u2019s race, has won the Cup twice before as a part owner of Protectionist in 2014 and Verry Elleegant in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re standing in that mounting yard, it doesn\u2019t matter who where you\u2019ve come from, what background you are, whether you\u2019re a sheikh or whether you\u2019re a country guy with a horse,\u201d Kheir says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in that mounting yard with your horse, you\u2019re all equal.\u201d<\/p>\n The son of Lebanese immigrants has been involved in racing for only a decade, but he says that for the past four years it has consumed him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sheikhs and all these billionaires from overseas who have been trying to win the race have come so many times and not been able to do it,\u201d he says. \u201cTo have a horse good enough to actually compete in a race like the Melbourne Cup, and then to actually be able to win it, was just the most amazing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Kheir says he loves the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, except for the 10 minutes immediately before.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very nerve-racking time,\u201d he says. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how much anxiety I get in that time.\u201d<\/p>\n When he\u2019s watching the race, Kheir says, he can hardly breathe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about me cheering or screaming,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m literally holding my breath while they\u2019re racing \u2026 I\u2019ve literally got my eyes glued on my own horse \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Gerry Ryan had to cheer on his 2020 Melbourne Cup winner from afar.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Williams and Ryan have teamed up, and the pair have won the Melbourne Cup before with Twilight Payment.<\/p>\n Ryan\u2019s son Andrew Ryan, who runs the Ryan Group\u2019s hospitality arm, including the Prince Hotel and St Hubert\u2019s winery, reminisced at the Prince\u2019s spring racing carnival lunch about Twilight Payment\u2019s 2020 Melbourne Cup when nobody was allowed at the track.<\/p>\n The Ryans gathered on the top deck of the Prince with fellow owners including Williams and music impresario Michael Gudinski to watch the race on a big screen.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was amazing because there wasn\u2019t a lot to celebrate that year,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cWhat made it more special was that Amanda Elliott, who was the chairman of VRC at the time, and Scott Thompson, who was the chief executive of Lexus, actually drove down from Flemington and presented the Cup up on the deck to the winning owners, and it was just so surreal and exciting when they came out. It would have been probably the first time in its 160 years that the Cup has ever been presented off the track.\u201d<\/p>\n Colin Madden, the managing director of RMBL Investments, won last year\u2019s Melbourne Cup last year with Gold Trip, and thinks the horse has a definite chance of going back-to-back this year.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been going very well,\u201d Madden says. \u201cIt\u2019s the same sequence of races that that led up to last year\u2019s success. But look, I\u2019m the eternal optimist.\u201d<\/p>\n Madden\u2019s optimism has paid off over the years; he also had a share of champion horse Black Caviar, but he generally refrains from betting on his horses.<\/p>\n \u201cA $20 bet is a significant investment for me,\u201d Madden says. \u201cI\u2019m not a gambler, I\u2019m not a punter. I\u2019ve got enough invested without needing to heighten the excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n Madden says his passion for racing has not come cheaply, and when his friend Neil Werrett first asked him to get involved he declined.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were keen to meet the school fees rather than waste money on horses, but then the kids were educated, we were a bit more liquid and we joined up with him,\u201d he says. \u201cYou need to make sure life\u2019s challenges are behind you before you indulge, and then when you indulge and have a bit of fun it doesn\u2019t seem to be a price too high to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n Madden says it\u2019s better not to put a dollar figure on what he has spent over the years chasing the Melbourne Cup, but it has been worth it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever it has cost us, I could not afford to purchase the pleasure that it\u2019s given me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. <\/i><\/b>Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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