The New South Wales town of Tocumwal, on the banks of the Murray River, lies close to the Victoria state border in the Berrigan Shire of the state, about 170 miles north of Melbourne. It enjoys good transport links with the rest of the state, being close to the Newell Highway and the Murray Valley Highway. It has a population of just under 1,900 inhabitants and benefits from its own racecourse where racing is administered by the Tocumwal Picnic Race Club, the highlight of the racing year being the Easter Cup over 1300 metres run on Easter Saturday. The inaugural meeting of the Tocumwal Race Club took place on Tuesday 27th March 1883, attracting crowds from as far afield as Melbourne, Jerilderie and Yarrawonga. Key winners at the meeting are shown below, and after racing settling up took place at Deakin’s Hotel.
Hurdle Race:-Angler
Maiden Plate:-Trifle
Tocumwal Handicap:-Native beat Nora
Border Stakes:-Boatman ridden by Looney |
By the turn of the century a pattern had been established to Tocumwal’s race cards, with the principal race at the annual meeting being the Tocumwal Handicap over 9 furlongs.
Early 20th century winners of the Tocumwal Handicap
1900 Tocumwal Handicap over 1 mile 1 furlong was won by Bruce owned by Mr A McLean, beating Triple and Kathleen
1901 Tocumwal Handicap over 1 mile 1 furlong was won by Ganymede (2/1) owned by Mr S M Brown, beating Playmate owned by Mr R J Hines and Bruce owned by Mr A McLean 7 ran
1902 Tocumwal Handicap over 1 mile 1 furlong was won by Bruce owned by Mr A McLean, beating sole rival Dazzle
1903 Tocumwal Handicap over 1 mile 1 furlong was won by Atonement, beating Tara and Mneosynm
1904 Tocumwal Handicap over 1 mile 1 furlong was won by Uncas, beating sole rival Bruce |
Recent Tocumwal Easter Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($4,900) over 1300 metres was won by Charmtrice (4/1) trained by Tommy Lanyon and ridden by Glen Davis, beating Lyle Be It and Stratton Place 6 ran
2010 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($4,900) over 1300 metres was won by Rosecoloredglasses (4/1) trained by R E Hellicar and ridden by Amanda Masters, beating Galaway Glow and Bronze Aussie 8 ran
2011 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($4,900) over 1300 metres was won by Microchip Lad (3/1) trained by Phil Sweeney and ridden by A Stead, beating The Invincible One and Hexy Legs 9 ran
2012 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($4,900) over 1300 metres was won by Microchip Lad (3/1) trained by Phil Sweeney and ridden by Nick Souquet, beating Jumpinmycar and Armani Black 11 ran
2013 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($6,780) over 1300 metres was won by Thetoppie (5/1) trained by John Brennan and ridden by Bradley Vale, beating Prince Pedro and Redial 8 ran
2014 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($7,740) over 1300 metres was won by Sonro (4/1) trained by Gino D’Altorio and ridden by Michael Heagney, beating Tramuntana and Emboldened 12 ran
2015 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($8,645) over 1300 metres was won by Real Calm (5/2) trained by Kym Davison and ridden by Amanda Masters, beating Chinzia and Koel 8 ran
2016 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($8,645) over 1300 metres was won by Chinzia (15/8) trained by Brian Cox and ridden by Robert Beattie, beating Lampedusa and Red Corner 8 ran
2017 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($9,100) over 1300 metres was won by Real Calm (9/2) trained by Kym Davison and ridden by Michael Heagney, beating Mywordsaidthebird and Not Too Sure 8 ran
2018 Tocumwal Easter Cup ($8,975) over 1300 metres was won by Piece of Eight (3/1) trained by Stephen Aldridge and ridden by Michael Heagney, beating Tableaux and Shy Frank 7 ran |
