Friday, 15th October saw the 48th annual Caulfield Cup Calcutta taking place at the club. This year was quite possibly one of the best events yet, certainly in the past 15 years or so. The new big screen TV’s were a big improvement, along with the “green carpet”, white picket fence around the “bookies ring” and a red & black theme throughout the room.
130 members and their guests enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal, decanted wines and lovely refreshments throughout the evening. A highlight of the evening is the Fun Tote which was opened by Craig and Robyn during the evening, where punters could place each way bets on the horses and then at the end of the evening, a pre-recorded “phantom call” was played and the lucky punters to back a 1st, 2nd or 3rd horse claimed their winnings from the “bookies” at the end of the evening. Well done to the tables, Captained by Rick Hart, Geoff Guelfi and Brian Bowley, who managed a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize respectively, in the Phantom Call also.
The other major part of the evening is when horses are drawn to tables. Table Captains and their guests are then given the opportunity to sell their horses with auctioneer extraordinaire, James Paxton, at the helm. For the next half an hour, some fast & fierce bidding occurs and the auction comes to an end once all 18 horses have been sold, retained or purchased. Payout for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and last is then based on the actual Caulfield Cup Race on the Saturday.
This year saw CCC long-standing attendee, Rick Hart’s table coming in first place, first time Table Captain Michael Bruce’s table in second place, third place went to first time attendee & Table Captain, Jimmy Carr’s table of brand new LKCC members, and last but not least, long-standing & recently returned Table Captain, Geoff Guelfi’s table of racing experts taking out the lucky last place.
Thanks to the Executive Chef, Jonny Peacham, and his wonderful team of chefs for the delightful dinner. Thank you also to David, Amy, Christian and their awesome food & beverage team for decanting the wines, streamlining service throughout the evening, and for helping to make this event a huge success. Auctioneer, James Paxton did a wonderful job with his gavel as usual, MC Brian Bowley once again ran a seamless event and Craig & Robyn did a fabulous job running the fun tote and coordinating the evening. I’m sure you would all agree, the staff at Lake Karrinyup do a wonderful job and the members are very grateful of their efforts.
Congratulations to all the winners on the night, a big thank you to all members and their guests who came along, and we are now very much looking forward to the Caulfield Cup Calcutta in 2022 …. some have already started to get their tables together!
Please note that all funds received on the night are returned in full to those who win a prize – there is no profit gained whatsoever from the fun tote or auctioning at this event.
Here’s an excerpt from an email received from a long-term attendee of the Calcutta events at the Club ….
16/10/21 … A quick thank you to one and all for a fantastic Caulfield Cup Calcutta night. I have been going for many years and that would rate as one of the best ever. A sentiment echoed by many others at our table. The room looked amazing and was matched by a fantastic meal and great service by all the staff. Many people put in a lot of work to make it a great night, but a big thanks to Robyn and Craig for all your work on the night. A huge effort and one that is very much appreciated. Thanks again to all (and your teams) for a fantastic night.
