The beautiful area of Sapphire Coast lies in the Bega Valley Shire of New South Wales, between Melbourne and Sydney. It is a huge coastal region celebrated for its clean beaches and clear water. The Sapphire Coast Turf Club oversees racing in the area, staging up to 8 meetings annually, the highlight being the Bega Cup over 1600 metres which is traditionally contested on the first Sunday in February. However, racing has taken place in the area since the early years of the 20th century. In November 1924 a committee meeting was held by the Anakie Gem Field Race Club in Sapphire to plan a meeting scheduled for 1st December 1924. Although Hack races had been staged prior to this date, these were deemed to be minor affairs. On Thursday 1st January 1925 a meeting did take place on Sapphire Fields racecourse in aid of the Dispensing Hospital.
Maiden Plate was won by Molly Nevrenette owned by Mr A E Hopkins
Hospital Hack Race was won by Saddlestrap owned by Mr R Nagga |
By the mid-1930s the meetings began to follow an annual pattern, but were confined to sprints between 4 and 5 ½ furlongs. At the Anakie Race Club meeting on Tuesday 15th May 1934 the card consisted of a number of Handicaps, with all profits from the meeting donated to Sapphire and Emerald Hospitals.
Tuesday 15th May 1934
Sapphire Maiden Plate over 4 furlongs
1. Ellson ridden by J Blaney
2. Rex ridden by Soloman
3. Lady Donna ridden by C Leahey
Emerald Hospital Handicap over 4 furlongs
1. Lady Cinderella ridden by J Blaney
2. Marie Betrayer ridden by W Kane
3. Attraction Lady ridden by C Leahey
Anakie District Handicap over 5 ½ fulongs
1. Lord Ray ridden by J Blaney
2. Bertram ridden by W Kane
3. Spot ridden by A Kane |
Recent winners of the Bega Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Bega Cup ($16,250) over 2200 metres was won by Bossy Matilda (7/2) trained by Garry Clarke and ridden by Ms J Whipp, beating Stay Leica Dane and Royal Singer 7 ran
2010 Bega Cup ($16,250) over 1600 metres was won by Sebony (7/1) trained by Chris Strickland and ridden by Kevin Sweeney, beating Predominance and Bug Huey 8 ran
2011 Bega Cup ($16,250) over 1600 metres was won by Quichang (10/1) trained by Luke Pepper and ridden by Taylor Lovelock-Wiggins, beating Clever Hans and Fine Drop 13 ran
2012 Bega Cup ($17,750) over 1600 metres was won by Domidor (12/1) trained by Steve Stephens and ridden by Ms N Winton, beating Quichang and Equable 11 ran
2013 Bega Cup ($20,510) over 1600 metres was won by Domidor (8/1) trained by Matthew Stephens and ridden by Tash Burleigh, beating Fair Nation and Quichang 9 ran
2014 Bega Cup ($20,510) over 1600 metres was won by Laurie’s Love (5/1) trained by Mike Petrovic and ridden by Jason Devrimol, beating Al Ahmar and Quichang 12 ran
2015 Bega Cup ($20,510) over 1600 metres was won by Life of Reilly (6/4 fav) trained by Bede Murray and ridden by Brenton Avdulla, beating Too Hi Tek and Zuccherina 7 ran
2016 Bega Cup ($20,510) over 1600 metres was won by Green Aventurine (16/1) trained by Brian Adams and ridden by Kayla Nisbet, beating All Giving and Brimstone 13 ran
2017 Bega Cup ($27,750) over 1600 metres was won by Coolcat Dancer (7/2) trained by Richard Clarke and ridden by Grant Buckley, beating All Giving and Sigmund 12 ran
2018 Bega Cup ($27,460) over 1600 metres was won by Makeadane (15/2) trained by John Thompson and ridden by Brodie Loy, beating Almost Court and Rock On Zariz 8 ran |
