ILCM fundraiser celebrates Aussie racing tradition

The International Ladies’ Club of Macau (ILCM) raised over MOP 120,000 during its annual Melbourne Cup charity event yesterday.
The Melbourne Cup fundraiser was attended by 120 ILCM members and partners from over 30 nationalities at the Banyan Tree, including two Australian in-house guests of Banyan Tree, who happened to be at the venue and joined the event: “We just landed 20 hours ago in Macau, and we were so excited to join Aussie tradition here! What a wonderful day to start a holiday in Macau,” they exclaimed.
The ILCM president Saroj Chaterjee expressed her gratitude to all those involved in organizing the ILCM Melbourne Cup fundraiser. “I enjoyed my first Melbourne Cup event here in Macau. It has been a great cultural learning experience. Thank you Aussie friends for bringing this to Macau, and I can see that everyone is honoring the tradition by donning such great attire and hats,” she said in her speech.
After enjoying a lavish brunch, guests watched the race broadcasted live from Victoria Racing Club at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse. “We witnessed history today; Ms. Michelle Payne won and became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup”, Ms Chaterjee stated, while also mentioning a special link to Macau: “Her brother, Mr. Paddy Payne was 1999 champion in the Macau Jockey Club competition.” AU