The New South Wales town of Cowra lies in the Central West region of the state, some 195 miles south-west of Sydney and about 120 miles north of Canberra. The region was first inhabited by the Aboriginal Wiradjuri tribe, with the earliest European explorers discovering the area in 1815 when George William Evans entered the Lachlan Valley. Although he did not rate the area as a place to settle, he did name the Oxley Plains after his fellow explorer John Oxley. It was to be a further three decades before the town started to develop, firstly in 1844 when known as Coura Rocks, and then in 1847 it was named Cowra. The earliest record of racing in the town was on Easter Monday 1850 when a £15 Purse was the highlight of the card. Within 5 years the meeting had become fully established when a 3 day meeting from Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th October 1855 was staged. Principal race results on each day of that meeting are shown below.
Tuesday 9th October 1855
Cowra Town Plate for £50 twice round
1. Cooramin owned by Mr Thomas Walsh and ridden by Francis
2. Kiss-Me-Quick owned by Mr Noble
3. Paddy Two Sticks owned by Mr O’Brien
Wednesday 10th October 1855
Cowra Hurdle Race £25 over 3 times round and 9 leaps
1. Kiss-Me-Quick owned by Mr Noble and ridden by Edwards
2. Jack Donohoe owned by Mr Gray
Thursday 11th October 1855
Cowra Ladies’ Purse £30 over 1 ½ miles
1. Cooramin owned by Mr Thomas Walsh and ridden by Francis
2. Sweet William owned by Mr Daly
3. Fire Ball owned by Mr Cheshire
By the turn of the century at least two meetings were held annually, organised by the Cowra Jockey Club. On Easter Monday and Tuesday a 2 day meeting was watched by over 1000 people when the feature race was the Cowra Jockey Club Easter Handicap.
Cowra Jockey Club Easter Handicap 25 sovereigns
1. Normanby II owned by Mr Geodacre
2. Robin Hood owned by Mr O’Loughlon
3. Delhi owned by Mr Norton
While later in the year a meeting was staged on Friday 21st September 1900 when the Cowra Jockey Club card featured the Publican’s Purse which was won by Napoleon, beating Easy John and Kincora.
After the end of the First World War the Cowra Gold Cup was the highlight of the racing year in the area.
1921 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs resulted in a dead-heat between Truant Boy (10/1) ridden by J Wood, and Capcyllene (4/1) ridden by Spencer, with Carnita (10/1) in third 14 ran
In 1922 there were Jockey Club races and Picnic races. The Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Battleaxe (2/1) ridden by Brown, defeating Yandarlo and Craonne 13 ran. The Picnic Race Cup for gentleman riders was won by Finish Sure (2/1) ridden by Mr Lawson, beating Ossyboy (4/6 fav) ridden by Mr McGarry and Beva (5/1) ridden by Mr A Mackie
1923 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Red Heart (3/1) ridden by W Johnson, beating Capcyllene (10/1) and Hermealdo (3/1)
1924 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Sister Ray (5/1) ridden by O’Bryan, beating All Gold (3/1) and Spirit Level (5/1) when 14 ran. However, the result was a bitter-sweet success because Sister Ray’s trainer backed the horse with the bookmakers and had 10 winning tote tickets, all of which were stolen immediately after the race by pickpockets and cashed before the unfortunate man could alert the bookies.
1925 Cowra Gold Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Hermealdo ridden by W Johnson, beating Magician and Yield 18 ran
1926 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Dartmoor (5/1) owned by Mr A O Smith and ridden by H Perry, beating Larillo (10/1) and Evelyn More (6/1)
1927 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Don Panther (7/4 fav) ridden by Ellis, beating Narrogin and Shrapnell
1928 Cowra Cup over 9 furlongs was won by Marshon (6/1) beating Linmart and Evelyn
Today the population of the town is in excess of 10,000 and continues to operate its own highly successful racecourse, where races are administered by the Cowra Jockey Club, although the Cowra Picnic Race Club also hosts meetings. The track stages at least 5 meetings annually; the highlight of the racing year is the October meeting when the Cowra Cup is held over 1700 metres, although in 2018 it took place on Sunday 21st January.
Recent winners of the Cowra Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Cowra Cup ($13,000) over 1200 metres was won by Mister Unique (8/1), beating Sneak a Nip and Teepee Gee Gee 9 ran
2010 Cowra Cup ($10,400) over 1200 metres was won by Gumnuts (9/1) trained by Ken Parsons and ridden by J Galea, beating Miss Alberta and Follow The Command 12 ran
2011 Cowra Cup ($10,400) over 1200 metres was won by Color Purple (2/1 fav) trained by Garry White and ridden by Mathew Cahill, beating Spectacular Iam and Hewentwhoosh 11 ran
2012 Cowra Cup ($13,000) over 1700 metres was won by Cosmic Fury (7/1) trained by Kevin Hanley and ridden by Simon Miller, beating Granite Bluff and Moment of Clarity 9 ran
2013 Cowra Cup ($14,410) over 1700 metres was won by Signoret (5/4 fav) trained by Matthew Dale and ridden by Brendan Ward, beating Desert Melody and My Dear Friend 12 ran
2014 Cowra Cup ($14,410) over 1700 metres was won by At Twilight (16/1) trained by Tara and Philippe Vigouroux and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Al Ahmar and Alerted 12 ran
2015 Cowra Cup ($14,410) over 1700 metres was won by Sand Dune (11/2) trained by Kerry Weir and ridden by Simon Miller, beating Strong Boy and Dashexpress 10 ran
2016 Cowra Cup ($14,410) over 1700 metres was won by Baylie Louise (2/1 fav) trained by Matthew Dale and ridden by Brendan Ward, beating Cardiff Prince and Dawson’s War 12 ran
2017 Cowra Cup ($16,800) over 1700 metres was won by Uncle Sugar (4/1) trained by Tara and Philippe Vigouroux and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Overdane and Our Sarastro 10 ran
2018 Cowra Cup ($16,630) over 1700 metres was won by Illyrian (11/1) trained by John Rolfe and ridden by Michael Heagney, beating Uncle Sugar and Orrstar 9 ran
