The New South Wales town of Cootamundra lies in the South West Slopes region of the state, within the Riverina. The earliest inhabitants of the region were the Wiradjuri tribe, the town’s name being derived from their word ‘guudhamang’ which means turtle. The first European settlers arrived in the area in the 1860s, with the town formed on 9th August 1861 by settlers attracted by the gold rush. Today the town is more famous for its association with Sir Donald Bradman, widely claimed to be the greatest cricket batsman of all time. The town has its own successful racecourse on Racecourse Road to the north of the town, with racing administered by the Cootamundra Race Club which was established over 120 years ago. The annual races traditionally take place on the first Sunday in October, with the highlight of the racing year being the Cootamundra Cup over 1600 metres. Records show that racing first took place at Cootamundra, about 4 kilometres from the town of the same name, in 1870 and were run by the Southern Districts Race Club. In February 1870 the Government Gazette reported that 160 acres of Crown Land was dedicated to a racecourse in the town. Within a decade the Turf Club were staging very popular, well-supported meetings, with principal results from the two day meeting held in February 1879. However, the Southern Districts Picnic Race Club also stage meetings at Cootamundra, with the highlight being the Cootamundra Picnic Cup over 1400 metres run on a Saturday in early April. |
Recent winners of the Southern Districts Cootamundra Picnic Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($1,400) over 1400 metres was won by Kingee (5/1) trained by Paul Theobald and ridden by Mr R McCabe, beating Sheikh It Up and Just Ned 8 ran
2010 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($1,400) over 1400 metres was won by Bailey Boy (7/1) trained by Paul Theobald and ridden by Ms J Lindgren, beating Regal Instinct and La Vedette 5 ran
2011 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($1,400) over 1400 metres was won by Tha’hab (2/1) trained by Tricia Anderson and ridden by Ashley Boyd, beating Bold Issue and Regal Instinct 5 ran
2012 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($2,100) over 1400 metres was won by Rosecoloredglasses (5/1) trained by Mr R E Hillicar and ridden by Mr S Cole, beating Poker Pro and Amerrybridge
2013 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($3,500) over 1400 metres was won by Poker Pro (4/1) trained by K R White and ridden by Blake Ryan, beating Strike Me Happy and Rhythmic Chimes
2014 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($3,500) over 1400 metres was won by Nuns on the Run (Evens fav) trained by Neville Layt and ridden by Mr R Blewitt, beating Spicy Lyric and Exchancellor 5 ran
2015 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($3,500) over 1400 metres was won by Exchancellor (5/2) trained by Rodger Waters and ridden by Mr R Blewitt, beating Combine and Partexpectation 8 ran
2016 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($3,500) over 1400 metres was won by The Real McCoy (2/1) trained by Rodger Waters and ridden by Mr R Blewitt, beating War Horse and Two Noughty 7 ran
2017 Cootamundra Picnic Cup ($3,450) over 1400 metres was won by Dream on Stan (12/1) trained by Trevor Sutherland and ridden by Ms K Bell-Pitomac, beating Black Fusion and Dynamic Concept 10 ran |
