Today the Tour departed Melbourne for Brisbane, ready to take in a full day of racing at Doomben, the epicentre of Queensland racing.

Joined by champion jockey, John Marshall, who rode Rogan Josh to Melbourne Cup victory in 1999 and VRC Representative, Judith Fitzmaurice, the 18 carat gold trophy was warmly welcomed trackside by racegoers across the course.

The Cup and its entourage were hosted at a luncheon for Brisbane Racing Club members, who were all eager to have their photo with the Cup and listen to some tales from John.

Sky Racing personality and former Melbourne Cup winning jockey, Larry Olsen (Kensei, 1987) also added to the banter with a live interview with John to entertain the audience.

With the Cup in high demand across Brisbane, the team escorted the trophy to a number of media opportunities in the afternoon.

John, Judith and the Emirates Melbourne Cup starred in an in-studio interview where the station’s phones rang hot as listeners phoned-in to ask John questions or recall their favourite Melbourne Cup moment.

Melbourne Cup Carnival media partner, Channel Seven showed its support by hosting the Cup in- studio at Mt Coot-tha on the Sports Desk.

After a long day, the Queensland sun had tired the Tour party, heading to the airport, Sydney bound for another day in the spotlight.

To view further images of the EMCT and track the Tour’s progress, visit Flemington on Facebook.