The large New South Wales town of Inverell is located on the Macintyre River on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands area of the state. The town first began to take shape in 1853 when Colin and Rosanna Ross spotted an opportunity to expand their wheat selling business. Today the population has grown to over 11,600 inhabitants, and the town has its own very well-supported racecourse. In 1870 a meeting was called to discuss the possibility of launching races in Inverell, with meetings certainly taking place in April 1871 and again on Wednesday 4th June 1872. A very popular, well-attended two day meeting was staged in 1873 on the Stanborough course to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday, with key results shown below.
Wednesday 4th June 1873
Inverell Maiden Plate (40 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. Jenny owned by Mr Coggan
2. Pandora owned by Mr Phillips
3. Shellback owned by Mr Geoggie
Publican’s Purse (25 sovereigns) over 1 ¼ miles
1. Stockwell owned by Mr Bracken
2. Slowboy owned by Mr Lunney
3. Jorrocks owned by Mr Walford
Thursday 5th June 1873
Inverell Grand Handicap (60 sovereigns) over 2 miles
1. Stockwell owned by Mr Bracken
2. Comet owned by Mr J Campbell
3. Jorrocks owned by Mr Pultick
4. Slowboy owned by Mr Lunney
5. The Bee owned by Mr Pultick
Within two decades the race patterns at Picnic Meetings had become firmly established, with meetings regularly featuring Trial Stakes, President’s Cup, April Stakes and the Picnic Cup. The two day meeting in April 1895 proved to be particularly beneficial for owner J Borthwick and top jockey at the meeting G Freeman who won 5 races.
Thursday 18th April 1895
Trial Stakes over 1 mile
1. Agate owned by Mr J Borthwick
2. Princess owned by Mr T Cook
3. Maranoa owned by Mr C J Campbell
President’s Cup over 1 ¼ miles
1. York (2/1) owned by Mr J Borthwick
2. Narcissus (1/2 fav) owned by Mr C J Campbell
3. Heather (4/1) owned by Mr H A Merewether
April Stakes over 6 furlongs
1. Tripod owned by Mr J Borthwick
2. Rupee owned by Mr G H Gordon
3. Ithuriel owned by Mr T Cook
Friday 19th April 1895
Picnic Handicap over 1 mile
1. Maranoa owned by Mr C J Campbell
2. Auburn owned by Mr J A Anderson
3. Covalite owned by Mr T Cook
Vice-President’s Cup over 1 ½ miles
1. York owned by Mr J Borthwick
2. Agate owned by Mr J Borthwick
3. Fernhill owned by Mr W Borthwick
The next year a meeting was staged on Wednesday 1st July 1896 called the half-holiday races and was held on the MP Mr G A Cruickshank’s grounds at Goodwood, featuring the Opening Handicap won by Mr T Short’s Octavia, as was the final ‘Half-Holiday Handicap’.
The inaugural meeting organised by the newly formed Inverell Jockey Club took place on Monday 23rd May 1897, with principal race results shown below:-
Opening Handicap:-The Hermit beat Ptarmigan and Lord Monmouth
Inverell Jockey Club Handicap:- Narcissus beat The Hermit and Ptarmigan
Goodwood Handicap:-King beat Zero and Ptarmigan
A handsome new cup, ‘a credit to the jeweller’s art’ was made for the Jockey Club in 1932 and first presented in January 1933 to Mr J F Allen, owner of Why Tee.
Early pre-Second World War Inverell Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
1933 Inverell Cup (£200) over 7 furlongs was won by Why Tee (4/1) owned by Mr J F Allen and ridden by J Armstrong, beating Carat (3/1) and McPrherson’s March (8/1) 17 ran
1934 Inverell Cup (£203) over 7 furlongs was won by Calamity Jane (4/1) owned by Mr W Williams and ridden by McKinnon, beating King Pin (5/2) and See Mac (6/1) 14 ran
1935 Inverell Cup (£300) over 7 furlongs was won by Leone (Evens fav) owned by Mr F Christey and ridden by Thorley, beating Extra Mount (5/1) and Alice Blue (10/1) 11 ran
1936 Inverell Cup (£300) over 7 furlongs was won by Dancing Lady (10/1) owned by Mr B H Crowley and ridden by Heath, beating Eden Prince (12/1) and Dogwood (9/2) 11 ran
1937 Inverell Cup (£300) over 7 furlongs was won by One Alone (5/1) owned by Mr P Reynolds and ridden by Reynolds, beating Extra Mount (5/1) and Wallace Crossie (10/1) 12 ran
1938 Inverell Cup (£300) over 7 furlongs was won by Red Thespian (2/1) owned by Mr H R Muro, beating Lovacre and Promised Marple
Nowadays racing is still administered by the Inverell Jockey Club who stage at least 5 meetings annually, with the highlight of the racing year being the Inverell Cup over 1400 metres contested on New Year’s Day.
Recent Inverell Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Inverell Cup ($16,250) over 1400 metres was won by Geigeron (5/1) trained by Steve Hodge and ridden by M A Butler, beating Silver Street and Innocenttassie 13 ran
2010 Inverell Cup was abandoned
2011 Inverell Cup ($16,250) over 1400 metres was won by Lucky Elmo (4/1) trained by Bindi Cheers and ridden by Matthew Paget, beating Montana Hilton and Counterspy 13 ran
2012 Inverell Cup ($16,250) over 1400 metres was won by Usain Prince (2/1 fav) trained by Sue Grills and ridden by Andrew Gibbons, beating El Sonador and Dusty’s Felt 13 ran
2013 Inverell Cup ($17,460) over 1400 metres was won by Tully Bolero (16/1) trained by Frank Tanner and ridden by Courtney Van Der Werf, beating Blinkin Easy and Universal Belief 10 ran
2014 Inverell Cup ($17,460) over 1400 metres was won by Wolfgang’s Boy (6/1) trained by Jane Clement and ridden by Sophie Young, beating Rioqualo and Dusty’s Felt 11 ran
2015 Inverell Cup ($17,460) over 1400 metres was won by Monashee Woods (100/30) trained by Sue Grills and ridden by Sophie Young, beating Clunes Rocket and Keep It Danish 11 ran
2016 Inverell Cup ($17,460) over 1400 metres was won by Finishing Card (11/1) trained by Shane Edwards and ridden by Matthew McGuren, beating Single Spirit and Nautile 14 ran
2017 Inverell Cup ($19,750) over 1400 metres was won by Finishing Card (8/1) trained by Shane Edwards and ridden by Matthew McGuren, beating Not Wanted and Belle Express 14 ran
2018 Inverell Cup ($19,555) over 1400 metres was won by Loud Enough (25/1) trained by George Woodward and ridden by Miki Nakao, beating Carry On Jake and Mishani Honcho 14 ran
