Jamie Melham is returning to Flemington for a new slice of history. There will be fireworks

Melbourne Cup heroes Jamie Melham and father-and-son training combination Tony and Calvin McEvoy will return to the scene of their greatest triumph on Wednesday as Flemington stages its first New Year’s Eve meeting.

It is the first occasion the trio have all been back together at the famous racecourse since their breathtaking win in the $10 million Melbourne Cup with home-bred stayer Half Yours.

But this time around there will be less on the line – Melham and the McEvoys will be racing for just $65,000 when they join forces in the 1800-metre Australian Trainers’ Association plate.

Not that it won’t be significant. They will still be part of a historic moment, following Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers’ bold decision to reschedule the club’s traditional New Year’s Day meeting.

The strategic move to shift the date and align the event with nearby fireworks displays, as well as introducing live entertainment, is expected to double crowd numbers to 12,000.

“We identified an opportunity to capture the energy and excitement of New Year’s Eve, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Rogers said.

Melham will be riding Ambassadorial for the McEvoys, a five-year-old gelding owned by VRC board member Ann Peacock and her sister Jane Chapple-Hyam.

“My sister is over from the UK, and we are so thrilled that we have got a runner,” Peacock said.

Peacock said they had not played a part in the jockey booking, but were hoping the Melbourne Cup-winning team would bring them “a little bit of extra luck”.

“Jane being a trainer has always been a bit of a bossy boots to other trainers, but surprisingly, she’s just left Tony [McEvoy] right alone,” Peacock said.

“So when we saw that Jamie was on the horse, we were even more thrilled.”

Chapple-Hyam bought Ambassadorial, by Melbourne Cup-winning stallion Fiorente, for $22,5000 at the Melbourne Inglis sale. The gelding, a winner of three races from 20 starts, will be having its first run for the McEvoys.

“He seems fit, healthy, happy, so it would be nice to kick him off a winner with us, but it’s hard to line the form up, especially when he’s a relatively new horse to our camp,” Calvin McEvoy said.

The McEvoys will have one other runner at Flemington on Wednesday – Rue De Royale to be ridden by apprentice Jackson Radley in the last race – while Melham has five rides at the twilight meeting.

The first woman to ride the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double will pilot iron horse Zou Sensation in the listed 1400m Kensington Stakes for training trio Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin.

“She’s actually won on the horse so she knows him quite well,” Troy Corstens said.

“She suits him nicely, so [I’m] looking forward to seeing what she can do tomorrow.”

Corstens is president of the Australian Trainers’ Association and said the New Year’s Eve concept had the organisation’s full support.

“It is going to be something very special,” he said. “I actually know quite a few people who are going to the races who would not usually go.”

Calvin McEvoy also backed the new Flemington time slot.

“I will be going for our runners and probably going home because I’ve got work the next morning,” McEvoy said.

“But I am all for what they are doing. I think it is a great initiative by Kylie Rogers.”

Flemington will open at 3pm. The eight-race card will be run between 3.40pm and 7.30pm, while the venue will stay open until 1am to coincide with fireworks in nearby Footscray Park at 9.30pm and in the CBD at midnight.

“We are confident we can grow this into something really special,” Rogers said.

The last four races will be run down the Flemington straight and jockeys will be provided with yellow-tinted goggles to avoid any issues with glare from the setting sun.

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