RACE DAY FEATURE
THE FLEMINGTON CUP 1849 WHEN IS ‘FLEMINGTON’ NOT ‘FLEMINGTON’ ?
BY ANDREW LEMON
I n marking 180 continuous years of racing at Flemington Racecourse since the first meeting here in 1840, the Victoria Racing Club this year has been celebrating some forgotten stories from our past. There is a unique Australian-made, two-handled silver cup in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. It is inscribed as ‘The Flemington Cup’. It stands 17.6 centimetres tall. It was originally presented as the trophy for an 1849 horse race, won by a thoroughbred named Belzoni. It holds special historic significance as the oldest known surviving racing trophy awarded in Victoria. The silversmith was Charles Brentani, a young Italian jeweller who worked in Collins Street, Melbourne from 1845 until just before his death in 1853. The Flemington Cup is the only example of his craftsmanship held by the NGV.
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