The 'simply outrageous' barrier draw for the world's richest horse race on turf was mocked by punters - thanks in no small part to a man being fired out of a cannon.<br /><br />Racing bosses in Australia went all out for the draw for Saturday's £10.3million Everest, a mega-money race over six furlongs at Randwick.<br /><br />But the excess isn't confined to the prize money.<br /><br />Whereas the quaint draw for last June's Derby was held outside a Wetherspoon pub in sleepy Epsom, there was no expense spared for the Everest.<br /><br />Taking place in a circus, there were women on stilts, firebreathers, and trapeze artists you'd expect to see in Cirque du Soleil.<br /><br />An enormous structure called 'the wheel of death' was used to announce that the Growing Empire was getting stall seven.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the antics that announced I Am Me's draw in gate one defied belief.<br /><br />A woman was tied to a ladder which in turn was driven round in a circle by a bloke on a motorbike - all while suspended in mid-air.<br /><br />Even Rod Stewart at his best couldn't match anything like this.<br /><br />But by far the best was the man being launched what looked at least 80ft through the air by, presumably, a cannon.<br /><br />He landed on what looked like a massive bouncy castle on the other side as a huge banner unveiling the number nine signaled where favorite I Wish I Win had been drawn.<br /><br />The whole thing was a truly bizarre spectacle.<br /><br />But you have to praise Racing New South Wales bosses for thinking outside the box and giving it a go.<br /><br />Even if not everyone agreed.<br /><br />While some loved the razzmatazz of it all, one punter moaned: "What on earth are we watching? It's horrendous."<br /><br />Another said: "This is ridiculous - cringeworthy."<br /><br />A third summed up the view of many when they wrote: "I’m all for innovation but WTF am I watching?"
