BUY TICKETS MERCHANDISE
Ad (Alex Coppel Photography)

Robbie Dolan embraces the outback spirit

30 September 2025 Written by VRC

Since winning the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup on Knight’s Choice, Robbie Dolan has had many memorable experiences. But his recent trip, nearly 2000 kilometres from Flemington to Winton in western Queensland for the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour, stands out as a particular highlight.

For Dolan, it was an opportunity to see the Australia he had imagined before leaving Ireland. The outback landscape and the flies were unfamiliar, but the warm welcome was not.

“The people out here are just so kind and would do anything for you, go out of their way to help people – and that hits home, reminds me of my roots in Ireland.”

The town of just a few thousand plays host to the renowned Outback Festival, where Dolan gamely swapped his silks for a Dolly Parton costume and joined in the Dunny Derby. His good-humoured embrace of the festivities captured the spirit of what the Cup Tour is all about.

The Cup’s arrival offered a rare chance for the Winton community to come together and celebrate the race that stops the nation. “They are hard workers out here, and they all stop what they’re doing to watch the race. This is the definition of bringing the Cup to the people,” said Dolan.

Upcoming race days