The New South Wales town of Wallabadah is located in the Liverpool Plains Shire of the state some 35 miles from Tamworth. It enjoys good transport links with Tamworth and the rest of the state, being on the New England Highway. The region was originally inhabited by the Kamilaroi Aboriginal people who named the town ‘Thalababuri’, but the first European settlers began arriving in 1830 and renamed the town. Despite having a population of barely 750 the town enjoys its own racecourse where racing is staged on New Years’ Day by the Wallabadah Jockey Club, with the feature of the card being the Wallabadah Cup over 1500 metres. The town has a rich racing history having first held races in 1852. By 1860 a two-day meeting was held on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th July with 3 races on the first day, but just a single race on day two. However, the races were unnamed in the advertisements, referred to only as First Race for £20, Second Race for £10 and Third Race for £6. Indeed, on the second day the sole race was for beaten horses, with an unspecified prize. |
Five years later there was more structure to the meeting held on 24th May 1865 to celebrate Her Majesty’s Birthday. The highlight of the day was the Wallabadah Town Plate for £20 over 2 miles, although at this stage results were seldom reported in the newspapers. Annual meetings continued, particularly to celebrate the Queen’s birthday in May. |
Recent winners of the Wallabadah Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Wallabadah Cup ($3,150) over 1500 metres was won by River Press (11/10 fav) trained by S W Miller and ridden by Jessica Drury, beating Satin Express and Tinkwai 4 ran
2010 Wallabadah Cup meeting was not held
2011 Wallabadah Cup ($3,150) over 1500 metres was won by Tompeppa *4/1) trained by Tony McGrath and ridden by Daniel Northey, beating Maize Po and Aftadaka 5 ran
2012 Wallabadah Cup ($3,150) over 1500 metres was won by Tompeppa (7/1) trained by Tony McGrath and ridden by Daniel Northey, beating Nerud and Jose Eduardo 7 ran
2013 Wallabadah Cup ($4,860) over 1500 metres was won by Husisname (5/1) trained by Noel Boland and ridden by Alex Stokes, beating The Aviator and Heistmaster 7 ran
2014 Wallabadah Cup ($4,860) over 1500 metres was won by Stretch (100/30) trained by Lesley Jeffriess and ridden by Chle Lee, beating Subic Bay and Zar Express 7 ran
2015 Wallabadah Cup ($4,860) over 1500 metres was won by Rhodonite (7/1) trained by Lea Selby and ridden by Elizabeth Weiszbach, beating Our Boy Danny and Medal of Glory 6 ran
2016 Wallabadah Cup ($4,860) over 1500 metres was won by Classic Attitude (4/1) trained by Michael Dykes and ridden by Mikayla Weir, beating Run Legless and Exotic Fever 9 ran
2017 Wallabadah Cup ($4,940) over 1500 metres was won by Classic Attitude (9/4) trained by Michael Dykes and ridden by Terry Green, beating Delagos and Brave Maiden 6 ran
2018 Wallabadah Cup ($4,880) over 1500 metres was won by Still Undaunted (1/2 fav) trained by Brett Cavanough and ridden by Billy Cray, beating Sworn In and Missing In Action 6 ran |
