The Melbourne Cup goes global this month when the $A125,000 (NZ$153,000) trophy tours Ireland, England and Dubai weeks before the international horses arrive for the spring carnival.
The Cup will visit the Curragh racecourse in Kildare, the home of Irish racing, on September 13 before travelling to London and Dubai as the Victoria Racing Club promotes the race that stops Australia to a wider market.
The Irish are already familiar with the Cup after local horses Vintage Crop and Media Puzzle went home with the trophy in 1993 and 2002.
And Irish stayer Yeats was today given topweight of 59kg for this year's race to head the weights for the third successive year.
On its return home, the Cup begins its local tour to 26 cities and towns across Australia and New Zealand before arriving back at Flemington for Cup day on November 4.
In New Zealand, the Cup will visit Christchurch on October 7, Queenstown on October 8 and Auckland on October 9.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockeys Roy Higgins (1965 and 1967), John Letts (1972 and 1980), Greg Hall (1992) and John Marshall (1999), and recently retired chief steward Des Gleeson, were today announced as tour ambassadors who will accompany the Cup on its Australasian tour.
"This is a great opportunity to take the Cup back to the people and share my own personal stories of the great race with communities around Australia," said Higgins who rode Light Fingers and Red Handed to victory.
Melbourne Cup winners Might and Power (1997), Doriemus (1995), Rogan Josh (1999) and Brew (2000) returned to Flemington racecourse today to help launch the tour.
The first stop on the local tour is the Tasmanian town of Sheffield on September 29 and the Cup will visit centres including the NSW south coast town of Nowra, the home of 1861 and 1862 Cup winner Archer and 1978 winner Arwon.
Over the past five years, the Cup has travelled more than 125,000km and visited more than 120 towns and cities across Australia and New Zealand.