It's hat time of the year again

IT IS Australia's most famous Tuesday - and the party mood is infectious. At 3pm AEST tomorrow, the first Tuesday in November, Australians everywhere stop everything for a horse race.
Not just any race, mind, but the Melbourne Cup. Since 1877, Cup Day has been a public holiday in the Victorian capital and Flemington Racecourse a Mecca for fans of the turf - and those who just want to dress up and have fun.
The grandstand will be packed to the rafters with 7000 punters. By race time, about 150,000 will throng the hill beyond, craning for a glimpse of the big race - even if it is on the giant TV screens dotted around the course.
The nation will take a pause, its money down. Even those who don't usually bet will try their luck with a small wager or entry in a workplace sweep.
Champagne and canap?s, huge hats and hot fashions provide a vibrant backdrop to the actual racing. The track used to be one of the few places in Australia where high society and the lower classes came together socially.
On November 7, 1861, about 4000 gathered at Flemington to witness the first Melbourne Cup. Clear favourite was a local horse, Mormon, while bookies were cool on the chances of Sydney's hope, Archer. Two horses fell and died, but Archer ran down Mormon to finish first. He went on to win the Cup once more - taking a lot of money away from Melbourne and refuelling interstate rivalry. Waning attendances led to the Victoria Racing Club holding the first "Fashions on the Field" competition at Flemington, in 1962, to encourage the return of women racegoers.
Through wars and depression - does that sound familiar? - the Melbourne Cup carnival has been part of the Australian cultural experience and a focus for some Kiwi resentment.
The mighty Phar Lap, foaled in New Zealand in 1926, became the darling of Aussie race crowds during the Great Depression of the 1930s - winning on all four days of the 1930 Flemington Spring Carnival, including the Melbourne Cup.
In 2005, Makybe Diva, with Glen Boss on board, became the first horse to win the Cup three times. A year later, Makybe Diva was inducted into the Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame and a bronze statue of the mare was unveiled in the South Australian city of Port Lincoln, owner Tony Santic's home town.
Last year's race was ravaged by Australia's equine flu outbreak, which meant neither the 2006 winner, Delta Blues, nor runner-up Pop Rock raced. New Zealand entrant Efficient won by a half a length, under Michael Rodd. For businessman Lloyd Williams, it was a third Melbourne Cup success.
Efficient came with a strong run in the final 100 metres to down the heavily-backed Purple Moon, with Irish-trained Mahler third. Williams won with Just A Dash in 1981 and What A Nuisance in 1985.
His favourite horse, Gallic, was scratched on the morning of the race - but Efficient did him proud. The owner watched it all from home and did not even have a bet. He was in a small minority ...