V’landys is best known for getting The Everest advertised on the Opera House.

But he again found himself in controversy last month by announcing the major money Golden Eagle race at Rosehill on the same day as the first race of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

(At $7.5 million, the prize money makes the Golden Eagle the second-richest race in the country after The Everest, which hit $13 million last year, and the Melbourne Cup's $7.3 million.)

When functionaries at Tabcorp, lined up to be Golden Eagle’s major sponsor, heard about the scheduling clash, they pulled the pin, presumably not to upset Racing Victoria.

That led to V'landys ruminating whether that decision would "destroy [Tabcorp]".

We hear Tabcorp chief executive David Attenborough was not willing to find out.

Tabcorp's $500,000 offer for the Golden Eagle sponsorship will still end up in the Racing NSW coffers, even if the naming rights will end up with someone else.

And that means, somehow, Racing NSW has managed to take the $500,000 sponsorship and turn it into a likely $1 million pay day as it closes in on a new backer.

Not bad work from V’landys, currently holidaying in the United States.

We reported last year even James Packer's Crown Resorts could be interested in the sponsorship.

Their over-the-harbour competitor, The Star, is already a major sponsor of The Everest.

Tabcorp’s $500,000, once earmarked for the Golden Eagle, is expected to be deployed to another Racing NSW event, leaving Racing Victoria looking rather red-faced.

And after talking up chances that Chris Waller was bringing Winx to their $5 million All-Star Mile in March, but in the end failing to secure the champion thoroughbred, you’d think the Victorians would be quite used to embarrassment.

In Canberra, Parliament’s not even back yet and the first staffer stoush of the year has already come and gone, courtesy of Coalition advisor Christian Ellis.

He’s either a talented staffer and a top bloke, or a numbers man par excellence, depending on who you ask, but either way, he’s no longer working on Capital Hill.

Ellis was until very recently in the office of Steve Irons, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, having earlier worked for Resources Minister Matt Canavan, former assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar and Barnaby Joyce, then deputy prime minister.

Now he’s overseas, and our friends at Macquarie Street tell us he’s appeared in the directory as a staffer for Planning Minister Anthony Roberts.

We’re told Irons was pressured to give Ellis the flick because he spent all day plotting against internal enemies (he suggested Ellis go work in Perth, despite being a Sydney resident).

“Christian is a very talented staffer and I understand he recently resigned as Hills Young Liberal president to focus on the seat of Mitchell (held by Special Minister of State Alex Hawke) as a whole,” one sympathetic former colleague told us.

Or as another ex-colleague put it: “He was spending every day sitting with other Right (faction) staffers outside Aussies [cafe in Parliament] plotting branch stacks … doing the numbers is fine, but don’t let your enemies see you do it every day, stay in a shady room”.

Establishment stockbrokers Baillieu Holst emerged from summer with a rebrand, of sorts.

Visitors to their George Street office will note the word "Holst" has been removed from the outfit, in a relaunch that went live at the Sorrento Sailing Club in Melbourne on January 1, when a fleet of navy brollies emblazoned with "Baillieu. 1889." were rolled into position.

The decision to excise one historic name, but not the other, is a curious move considering the Baillieu family has nothing to do with the firm for at least two decades.

More curious: the company history page weaves the family’s history with the company’s story, until Wednesday describing managing director Gavin Powell as a "family" member since 1994.

There appears no evidence he's former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu's distant cousin.

We can understand why the Baillieu board, chaired by David Trude, would make the change – the family is as close to Victorian royalty as it gets.

And we hear the Baillieu family is not just aware of the rebrand, but absolutely furious.