Situated on the Moruya River, the New South Wales town of Moruya is accessed by the Princes Highway and is located about 190 miles south of the state capital Sydney and almost 110 miles from the countries capital Canberra. The area was originally inhabited by the Yuin people prior to the first European settlers arriving in 1829. An Irishman, Francis Flanagan, was the first to realise the potential of the region, and the town has now grown to almost 4000 inhabitants. Races were first staged in Moruya in 1849 when a two-day meeting was held on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th March. The Moruya Stakes (£24) over 2 miles was won by Mr Robert’s Nimrod who beat Traveller, while the Maiden Plate (£20) over a mile was won by Babby owned by Mr Barrett. One of the best spectacles was the Harkaway Hurdle Stakes (£20) over 3 miles and 9 leaps which was won by Don Juan owned by Mr Higgerson. Races were held annually and increased both in popularity and race structure. The 3-day meeting held from Tuesday 10th to Thursday 12th June 1851 featured the Moyura Stakes (£30) over 2 miles which was won by Mr W Campbell’s Molyneux, and the Maiden Plate (£15) over 1 mile which was won by Colonel owned by Mr W Roberts. Once again there was a Hurdle Race on the card which went to Mr Thomas’s Tam O’Shanter. In 1855 the races reached a new level of excellence when the meeting on Tuesday 6th November 1855 took place at Shannon View course which was hosted by Mr Francis Flanagan JP. It attracted the greater part of the inhabitants of the district and was described as a sporting spectacle. |
Leading up to the Second World War the Moruya Cup over 1 mile was contested annually with selected results shown below.
1936 Moruya Cup over 1 mile was won by The Genius (3/1) owned by Mr C A Russell and ridden by Mulligan, beating Royal Corima (3/1) and Blacklight (3/1)
1937 Moruya Cup over 1 mile was won by Jutland (3/1) ridden by Simpson, beating Faronga and Resurgam
1938 Moruya Cup over 1 mile was won by Nord, beating Sunup and Jutland
In August 1939 a committee meeting was convened by Mr P J Mylott to consider reviving horse racing in Moruya. Membership numbers in the Club were boosted to 100, so it was decided to form Moruya Racing Club. Although permission was granted to hold a meeting in 1940, it was decided in the light of world affairs that the event scheduled for 26th and 27th January 1940 should not be taken forward. |
Today the town enjoys its own racecourse on Donnelly Drive at North Head, with racing administered by the Moruya Jockey Club. The racecourse, which opened in 1985, is a vibrant place hosting at least 12 meetings annually, although the highlights of the racing calendar are the Moruya Cup over 1650 metres, which is traditionally staged on the third Monday in January, and the Winter Cup staged every July.
Recent Moruya Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Moruya Cup ($16,250) over 1930 metres was won by Regal Celeb (3/1), beating Bossy Matilda and Deejay Brahms 10 ran
2010 Moruya Cup ($14,300) over 1930 metres was won by Jordan Valley (4/1) trained by Robert Price and ridden by Patrick Murphy, beating Regal Celeb and Big Huey 8 ran
2011 Moruya Cup ($14,300) over 1930 metres was won by Ilringya (13/8 fav) trained by Luke Pepper and ridden by Jeff Penza, beating Prince of Essex and Magpie Speak 9 ran
2012 Moruya Cup ($14,300) over 1930 metres was won by Ilringya (7/1) trained by Luke Pepper and ridden by Jeff Penza, beating Coliseo and Quichang 11 ran
2013 Moruya Cup ($15,630) over 1937 metres was won by Four Nation (7/2) trained by Paul Murphy and ridden by Jeff Penza, beating Dolphin’s Boy and Gregory’s Fortress 9 ran
2014 Moruya Cup ($15,630) over 2000 metres was won by Celtic Soul (15/1) trained by Rado Boljun and ridden by Scott Pollard, beating Roaming Around and Sebony 11 ran
2015 Moruya Cup ($17,460) over 2000 metres was won by Retort Courteous (6/4 fav) trained by Steve Engletrecht and ridden by Deanne Panya, beating World Wide and Tingeera 8 ran
2016 Moruya Cup ($17,460) over 1650 metres was won by O’Reilly’s Revenge (5/2) trained by Bede Murray and ridden by Grant Buckley, beating Jackaizane and Landlocked 9 ran
2017 Moruya Cup ($22,200) over 1660 metres was won by Coolcat Dancer (15/4) trained by Richard Clarke and ridden by Grant Buckley, beating Marquee and Sigmund 12 ran
2018 Moruya Cup ($21,970) over 1650 metres was won by Let It Roll (11/2) trained by Nick Olive and ridden by Richard Bensley, beating Akiko Gold and Goldmine 10 ran |
