The South Australia town of Kimba lies on the Eyre Highway at the top of the Eyre Peninsula, its name meaning bushfire in Aboriginal. The first European to pass through the area was the explorer Edward John Eyre on his way to Spencer Gulf in 1839, but it was some years later that the first European settlers arrived in the early 1870s, deciding that the vast open grasslands were good for sheep. Today Kimba has a population in excess of 600 and have their own well-run racecourse at Port Lincoln overseen by the Kimba Racing Club. The Club was formed in the early years of the 20th century and became part of the South Australia racing group on 8th November 1913, holdings its first meeting on Monday 29th December 1913. Initially Picnic races were held in March, and by 1922 a full and varied programme was offered, as shown below. |
The inaugural registered meeting of the Kimba Racing Club was staged on Tuesday 29th March 1927 and it proved to be a huge success, with £870 passing through the Totalisator. Profit from the betting, together with gate takings of £52, put the Club on a firm footing.
Tuesday 29th March 1927
Sir Richard Butler Kimba Cup £70 over 1 ¼ miles
1. Lord Nobra owned by Mr J T Forth and ridden by Bert Paynter
2. Ritchcliffe owned by Mr T Mudge and ridden by Brown
3. Formful owned by Mr C Wood and ridden by Campbell
5 ran |
The principal race is the Kimba Cup over 1950 metres which is contested on a Sunday in late March, with a list of recent winners shown below.
Kimba Cup Winners
2002 The Kimba Cup ($2,450) over 1880 metres was won by Pound Shilling trained by G Trenowden and ridden by R Faehr, beating Spurs and Carnivorous 8 ran
2009 The Kimba Cup ($18,000) over 1950 metres was won by Over The Road (5/2) trained by Simon Drewitt and ridden by Matthew Neilson, beating In Error and Jutland 9 ran
2010 The Kimba Cup ($20,000) over 1950 metres was won by So Ready (20/1) trained by Gary Searl and ridden by Jeffrey Maund, beating Emmooki Street and Kingnadim 14 ran
2011 The Kimba Cup ($23,000) over 1950 metres was won by Miss Aberdeen (7/2) trained by B Cozamanis and ridden by Wayne Kerford, beating Emmooki Street and Bracken Blue 12 ran
2012 The Kimba Cup ($25,000) over 1950 metres was won by Artful Terra (20/1) trained by Robert King and ridden by Libby Hopwood, beating Fighting Fury and Hastein 10 ran
2013 The Kimba Cup ($35,000) over 1950 metres was won by Testate (5/2) trained by Simon Drewitt and ridden by Shayne Cahill, beating Artful Team and Hastein 10 ran
2014 The Kimba Cup ($25,000) over 1950 metres was won by Pretty Blonde (5/2) trained by Kym Healy and ridden by Justin Potter, beating Moon Devil and Hastein 12 ran
2015 The Kimba Cup ($25,000) over 1960 metres was won by Moon Devil (10/1) trained by Angela Forster and ridden by Ashley Doyle, beating Nomis and Japan 11 ran
2016 The Kimba Cup ($30,000) over 1960 metres was won by Montalto (11/2) trained by Angela Forster and ridden by Ryan Hurdle, beating Testate and Moon Devil 8 ran
2017 The Kimba Cup ($30,000) over 1960 metres was won by Moon Devil (20/1) trained by Angela Forster and ridden by Brandon Griffiths, beating Artful Diva and Rooboy 10 ran |
