No booking? No problem. From Flemington to the Flower Drum, Cup winners stay the distance

November 4, 2026 — 7:33pm

Just like their champion galloper Point Of Law, the owners of the Melbourne Cup winner have shown they are elite stayers – by partying into the night from the CBD to South Yarra following their big race win.

“You don’t want my throat or my voice today,” part-owner John O’Neill rasped to CBD at the annual Oaks Club Lunch at Crown on Wednesday.

O’Neill also part-owned 2021 winner Verry Elleegant, but collecting the Cup on Tuesday with Point Of Law – “he is Mr Handsome” – a horse bred by King Charles, was “very cool, extremely cool”.

And very worth celebrating.

“We went to the Flower Drum. You know what it is like there; you can’t get in, so we just barged our way in with 60 or 80 people and carried on,” O’Neill said.

“And then we all went to The Osborne [hotel in South Yarra] afterwards, so that was a bit of fun. It was really good. We love it.”

O’Neill, the chief executive of outdoor advertising firm QMS, said the owners of Point Of Law, also including Michael Anghie, chief executive of APM Human Services International; Gilbert + Tobin partner Peter Cook; John Wylie, founder of asset manager Tanarra; former AFL great Chris Judd and his wife, Bec; and Jaggad athleisure-wear founders Steven and Michelle Greene, were part of the night of celebrations and that the Cup got plenty of use as just that – a cup, to toast the win and drink champagne out of. Winning trainer Ciaron Maher joined the group at the pub just before midnight.

Anghie and Cook were with O’Neill at the Crown event on Wednesday.

O’Neill and his mates bought into Point Of Law after Maher purchased the horse from the King.

“The King was going to keep half the horse and then he wasn’t able to, so Will Bourne [head of Bloodstock at Ciaron Maher Racing] called and said, ‘What do you think about putting a heap of people together?’ O’Neill said.

“Will has got a lot of loyal supporters that jump in behind him, so they did that, and then Michael Anghie and Peter Cook and myself, Chris Hadley, Jonathon Pearce and Nigel Satterley all jumped in. We race a lot of horses together. It’s been fantastic.”

Clutching the golden cup, he added: “I’ve had three seconds, a couple of thirds, and a couple of wins [in the Cup] now. I don’t take any of this for granted.”

O’Neill might keep the party going on Saturday. Cox Plate runner-up Birdman, another horse he part-owns, is set to line up in the group 1 Champions Stakes at Flemington.

Fashion safari

Adventurer, entrepreneur, author and former No.1 ticket holder at the Sydney Swans Jason Kimberley has been single-handedly championing the return to fashion of the much-maligned and unloved safari-style suit during this year’s spring racing carnival.

On Wednesday, whereas the smattering of men at Crown’s Oaks Club Lunch mostly played it safe with their outfits, Kimberley stood out like a beacon among the female contingent’s frocks and fascinators in a powder-blue ’70s number.

We asked, “Why?” He answered, “Why not?”

The suits are a nod, Kimberley said, to Don Dunstan, the long ago former premier of South Australia.

CBD has been tracking Kimberley’s adventurous fashion this racing season. We were particularly taken by the statement camel-hued safari suit ensemble he wore to the Caulfield Cup last month.

“I have got to tell you, they are easy to look after. You just throw them in the wash, hang them up, and give them a bit of steam,” he said of the suits.

“I like the low-maintenance factor. There was a nasty stain on this [jacket] this morning, and a quick rub of the damp cloth, and I was in business.

“It’s a bit adventurous and Don Dunstan, my hero growing up in the fashion stakes … who could forget him and his magnificent safari suits?”

In what may come as no surprise, Kimberley, son of Just Jeans founder and former Swans president Craig Kimberley, found Wednesday’s number in an op shop.

Kimberley recently launched his latest book, The Chook Book, a meditation on life seen through the eyes and actions of a flock of chickens. Radio station 3AW breakfast co-host Russel Howcroft handled the emcee duties.

For the launch in St Kilda, Kimberley again showed his unique fashion sense, wearing a mustard velour suit made to exactly match the curtains in the ’70s-style studio where the event was held.

And keeping things quirky, guests were asked to pose for a happy snap with chooks on arrival. Not every book launch is as memorable.

Williams goes ‘Cactus Cowboy’

UK pop star Robbie Williams well and truly earned the best seat in the house to watch the Melbourne Cup from after his Super Bowl-esque pre-Cup show at Flemington on Tuesday.

Williams joined Victoria Racing Club chair Neil Wilson and Wilson’s wife, Stephanie, and US ambassador to Australia David Brat with his wife, Laura, in the Chairman’s Suite in the grandstand for the running of the $10.2 million race.

The star rocked a suit from local label Reigner for his lauded set in the Mounting Yard and was still in the outfit when he joined the dignitaries. The suit, embellished with cowboys riding horses, is called the “Cactus Cowboy Suit” and priced from $3700.

Williams’ post-race concert was also a crowd pleaser, with CBD noting numerous racing identities on the elevated viewing deck in Flemington’s Elms enclosure bouncing to Rock DJ and Let Me Entertain You.

Without doubt, Robbie Williams certainly entertained Flemington. The bar has been set high for Cup Day next year.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.

From our partners