The New South Wales town of Gulgong lies about 190 miles north-west of state capital Sydney in the Central Tablelands region of the state. It developed as a result of the gold rush, although it was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. Today the population is in excess of 2,500 people and it runs its own successful racecourse where racing is administered by Gulgong Turf Club. The earliest record of racing in the town was a 2 day meeting on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd January 1871. The meeting was held at Black Lead, about ¾ of a mile from the centre of the township. |
Within 7 years the annual meetings were taking shape featuring races like the Town Plate and Free Handicap, but despite this the meetings lacked support. Typical of this was the meeting held on Tuesday 28th May 1878 which had poor fields and poor attendance. The opening Publican’s Purse saw Fatima beat sole rival Freemason, while the Town Plate was won by Chieftain against a single opponent Bay Middleton. Furthermore, the normally competitive Free Handicap was won by Harkaway against a single opponent Fatima. |
Today the highlight of the racing year is the Gulgong Cup over 1200 metres, traditionally staged on the second Sunday in June.
Recent Gulgong Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Gulgong Cup ($4,200) over 1200 metres was won by Commissioner Mac (14/1) trained by S G Brown and ridden by Ms L Brown, beating Course and Star of Universe 8 ran
2010 Gulgong Cup ($4,200) over 1200 metres was won by Hewentwhoosh (100/30) trained by Brett Thompson and ridden by Ken Dunbar, beating Hot Gemini and Spy Zaim 9 ran
2011 Gulgong Cup ($4,200) over 1200 metres was won by Spectacular Iam (15/4) trained by Kylie Kennedy and ridden by Jeff Kehoe, beating Secret Encounter and Tollado 10 ran
2012 Gulgong Cup ($4,200) over 1200 metres was won by Hot Gemini (7/2) trained by Sean Thomas and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Shot Putt and Dragon’s Keep 7 ran
2013 Gulgong Cup ($4,860) over 1200 metres was won by Convent Hill (7/1) trained by Jeremy Sylvester and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Hewentwhoosh and Darcy’s Delight 7 ran
2014 Gulgong Cup ($4,860) over 1200 metres was won by Hewentwhoosh (13/8 fav) trained by Brett Thompson and ridden by Mathew Cahill, beating Wolfgang’s Boy and Sly Lu 5 ran
2015 Gulgong Cup ($4,860) over 1200 metres was won by Budgee Boy (5/1) trained by Brett Thompson and ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes, beating Sharp Note and Prattler 12 ran
2016 Gulgong Cup ($4,860) over 1200 metres was won by Speedy Squib (6/4 fav) trained by Michael Gallagher and ridden by Kody Nestor, beating Filomena and Don’t Move 8 ran
2017 Gulgong Cup ($4,940) over 1200 metres was won by Desert Marshal (5/2) trained by Jane Clement and ridden by Rachael Murray, beating Don’t Move and Tumbling Dice 7 ran |
