The small New South Wales village of Pooncarie is located on the eastern side of the Darling River in the Wentworth Shire of the State. The earliest European settlers arrived in the region in the 1840s, although at that time they were not formally recognised by the Australian Government. By the early 1860s they became legal and so began the full development of the village. It was a further 30 years before racing was established in the village when the Pooncarie Racing Club was founded in 1891, staging their inaugural meeting on Boxing Day where the Pooncarie Handicap and Flying Handicap were the feature races, with Oaklands and Happy Jack made joint favourites for each of the races. By 1902 the Boxing Day meeting was a regular event and the Pooncarie Race Club Handicap the recognised principal race. |
At the meeting in March 1932 Mr Archie Andrews, from Tandora Station, rode 3 winners, recording successes on Narbella in the prestigious Pooncarie Handicap and the Flying Haandicap, whilst also winning the Hack Race on Bounty Silver. |
Poocarie Race Club lapsed for a number of years leading up to, during, and after the Second World War. However, it was revived in 1951 and staged its first meeting on 17th November 1951. The highlight of that meeting was the Pooncarie Handicap Cup (£30) which included a Cup for the winning owner and a whip for the winning jockey. A dance followed racing in the evening. |
Today the Club is as active and successful as ever, with the highlight of the racing calendar being the Pooncarie Cup over 1550 metres held on a Saturday in late September or early October.
Recent Pooncarie Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2008 Pooncarie Cup ($5,600) over 1550 metres was won by Uncle Willy (6/4) trained by Michael Wayman and ridden by Ms D Mott, beating Old Songs and Angel Berry 4 ran
2009 Pooncarie Cup ($5,600) over 1550 metres was won by Old Songs (2/1 fav) trained by Con Kelly and ridden by Amanda Masters, beating Uncle Willy and Armani Black 6 ran
2010 Pooncarie Cup ($5,600) over 1550 metres was won by Armani Black (1/2 fav) trained by Paul Banks and ridden by John Dertilis, beating Pacific Deva and Ballistic Ruler 3 ran
2011 Pooncarie Cup ($6,500) over 1550 metres was won by Mr Marju (9/1) trained by Jim Scott and ridden by Paul Marks, beating Turn Him Loose and Le Bron 8 ran
2012 Pooncarie Cup ($7,100) over 1550 metres was won by Bullioh (2/1 fav) trained by Brett Charry and ridden by Harry Coffey, beating Noble Connection and Cornish 7 ran
2013 Pooncarie Cup ($7,740) over 1550 metres was won by Artistic (7/1) trained by Con Kelly and ridden by Belinda Carlile, beating Cool As Hel and Con Thrust 7 ran
2014 Pooncarie Cup ($8,380) over 1550 metres was won by Digby Road (6/4 fav) trained by Symon Wilde and ridden by Chris Nicoll, beating Seulamont and Spirit of Many 8 ran
2015 Pooncarie Cup ($8,380) over 1550 metres was won by Talisman Crown (11/2) trained by Nathan Hobson and ridden by Chris Nicoll, beating Grassini and Honor The Moment 9 ran
2016 Pooncarie Cup meeting was abandoned
2017 Pooncarie Cup ($8,345) over 1550 metres was won by Streetwise Savoire (7/4 fav) trained by Patrick Payne and ridden by Stephen Brown, beating Owl on the Prowl and Rouen 10 ran |
