The Taree Wingham Race Club stages its races at the Bushland Drive Racecourse in Taree, a New South Wales town on the Mid North Coast. The original Aboriginal inhabitants in the area encountered European settlers in 1831 led by William Wynter. Race meetings were staged regularly in Taree in the middle and late years of the 19th century, often administered by the Manning River Jockey Club. One such meeting took place on Tuesday 30th March 1880 when the track was almost waterlogged, the nearby rivers being swollen by the torrential rain. In the event all races were won by Manning River horses at the main expense of Port Macquarie horses. For further details of the early racing in the area see Manning Valley races. |
Today the town has a population in excess of 26,000 and is able to offer a full programme of races throughout the year, sharing the venue between the Taree Wingham race Club and the Manning Valley Race Club. As well as the Manning Valley Race Club’s principal race, the Harrington Handicap Cup over 1300 metres which is contested in the first week of January, further highlights during the year include the Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres traditionally staged on the third Sunday in August, and the Taree Spring Cup over 1624 metres staged on the first Tuesday in November. |
Recent Taree Gold Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2001 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Shoemaker, defeating Bozeman and Sea Jester
2002 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by All Tanked Up, defeating Mountain Echo and Crimewave
2003 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Quadri, defeating Legerdemain and Brave Player
2004 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Gold Lager, defeating Colombo and Rodeo Chute Out
2005 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Wicked Wizard, defeating Monsoon Sunrise and Serpentine
2006 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Mr Gold Fire, defeating Bullet Express and Windon
2007 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Mr Gold Fire, defeating Fair Trial and Precise Timing
2008 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by With A Chance, defeating Mr Gold Fire and Champion’s League
2009 Taree Gold Cup ($39,000) over 2000 metres was won by Fair Trial (40/1) trained by Bill Farrow and ridden by P Ferris, beating Fiori and So The Cat Said 14 ran
2010 Taree Gold Cup ($39,000) over 2000 metres was won by Spence (13/2) trained by Ms L Cohen and ridden by Peter Wells, beating Blinkin Easy and Gazza Guru 13 ran
2011 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by Island Dane, beating Blinkin Easy and Rodeo Playboy
2012 Taree Gold Cup over 2000 metres was won by The Paymaster, beating Southern Shimmer and Rodeo Playboy
2013 Taree Gold Cup ($35,760) over 2000 metres was won by Gazza Guru (8/1) trained by Stephen Farley and ridden by Matthew Bennett, beating Phrases and Castlemagne King 13 ran
2014 Taree Gold Cup ($35,760) over 2000 metres was won by Slivovitz (7/2) trained by Kris Lees and ridden by Andrew Gibbons, beating Lucky Liaison and Samsili 16 ran
2015 Taree Gold Cup ($35,760) over 2000 metres was won by Ghost Protocol (4/1) trained by Paul Perry and ridden by Thomas Huet, beating Just As Comic and Slivovitz 14 ran
2016 Taree Gold Cup ($47,425) over 2000 metres was won by Olympic Academy (6/1) trained by Kris Lees and ridden by Aaron Bullock, beating Get On The Grange and Egyptian Ruler 12 ran
2017 Taree Gold Cup ($43,600) over 2000 metres was won by Pirate Ben (30/1) trained by Damien Lane and ridden by Travis Wolfgram, beating Egyptian Ruler and Admiral Jello 13 ran |
Recent winners of the Taree Spring Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Spring Cup ($4,200) over 1600 metres was won by Terrahawk (3/1) trained by Neil Godbelt and ridden by Scott Thurlow, beating Casino Bob and Igotthelastone 8 ran
2010 Spring Cup ($4,200) over 1600 metres was won by Midgy Gharrat (7/4 fav) trained by Nick Chambers and ridden by Peter Graham, beating Be Unique and Bandmaster 7 ran
2011 Spring Cup ($4,200) over 1614 metres was won by Wrattonbully (13/8 fav) trained by Michael Byers and ridden by Scott Thurlow, beating Elite of the Year and Etrain 7 ran
2012 Spring Cup ($4,540) over 1600 metres was won by Eralass (6/1) trained by Robert Davies and ridden by Belinda Hodder, beating Bindifield and Prince of Prague 8 ran
2013 Spring Cup ($3,400) over 1624 metres was won by Perlaact (100/30) trained by Greg Drury and ridden by Marlon Dolendo, beating Jaal Spirit and Can’t Be Doubted 8 ran
2014 Spring Cup ($3,400) over 1624 metres was won by Golden Melody (7/4 fav) trained by Margaret de Gonneville and ridden by Scott Thurlow, beating Art Delago and Can’t Be Bothered 6 ran
2015 Spring Cup ($3,400) over 1624 metres was won by Prime Minister (5/4 fav) trained by Kristen Buchanan and ridden by Ben Looker, beating Nonino and Breakin’ Rules 6 ran
2016 Spring Cup ($3,340) over 1624 metres was won by Orlando jack (6/4 fav) trained by Damien Lane and ridden by Jessie Graham, beating Melwood and Brasileiro Macho 5 ran
2017 Spring Cup ($3,305) over 1624 metres was won by Wollartant (100/30) trained by Ross Stitt and ridden by Scott Thurlow, beating Svavarsson and Jester Lionheart 6 ran |
