The New South Wales town of Wauchope is located in the Mid-North Coast region of the state some 250 miles north of the state capital Sydney. It is an inland town on the Hastings River and has good transport links with its near neighbour Port Macquarie, which is 12 miles west, via the Oxley Highway. A settlement began to develop in the region in 1836 when Captain Robert Wauch bought a substantial area of land on King Creek and a village began to form. Over many years the village grew into the town of Wauchope and today the population has grown to over 7,500 inhabitants. The town has its own racing group, the Wauchope Jockey Club, which stages their races at Port Macquarie racecourse, except in 2015 when they went to Kempsey. The earliest occasion when races were widely recorded in Wauchope was on Monday 25th May 1891 when the principal races were the Wauchope Handicap and the Birthday Handicap. |
Racing continued for a few more years before lapsing. However, the Wauchope Jockey Club was resuscitated in 1903 under its President Mr F Walsh, ably assisted by Vice-Presidents C Dawes and W Landrigan, and held that opening meeting in Mr P Dauiher’s paddock. The principal race in the early years of the 20th century was the Wauchope Jockey Club Handicap over 1 ¼ miles, with some early winners shown below:-
Early Wauchope Jockey Club Handicap winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
1903 Wauchope JC Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was held on Saturday 10th January and was won by Wellshot (3/1) ridden by Threadgate, beating Little Alice (3/1) ridden by Wellard, and Maelstrom (4/1) ridden by McIlwain. There were two other runners, Gladys (6/1) and AL (2/1 fav)
1904 Wauchope JC Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was held on Saturday 16th January and was won by Archibelle, beating AL and Friar’s Balsam
1905 Wauchope JC Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was held on Saturday 7th January and was won by Moonway owned by Mrs William Felton, beating Inspire and Trumper
1906 Wauchope JC Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was held on Saturday 6th January
1907 Wauchope JC Handicap (£20) over 1 ¼ miles was held on Saturday 5th January and was won by Ruination (4/1) owned by Mr J Croad, beating Carmelite (5/1) , Yule Cake (10/1) and Noreen (1/2 fav)
1909 Wauchope JC Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was won by Stirlng, beating Midlothian and Bonnie Brook |
The Wauchope Jockey Club continues to organise top class racing, the highlight of the racing calendar being the Wauchope Cup over 1510 metres.
Recent winners of the Wauchope Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Wauchope Cup ($17,550) over 1510 metres was won by Save A Buck (9/4) trained by Trevor Hardy and ridden by Jasen Watkins, beating Voltabolta and Wembley 12 ran
2010 Wauchope Cup ($14,300) over 1510 metres was won by Slick Sniper (5/2) trained by Tracey Bartley and ridden by Raymond Spokes, beating Bondit and Little Brittain 10 ran
2011 Wauchope Cup ($14,300) over 1510 metres was won by Civita (20/1) trained by Gordon Yorke and ridden by Stephen Traecey, beating Prince of Prague and Eishin Rock 9 ran
2012 Wauchope Cup ($14,300) over 1510 metres was won by Never Doubt Me (2/1 fav) trained by Neil Godbolt and ridden by Cassandra Schmidt, beating Nevzlin and Aristoctratico 9 ran
2013 Wauchope Cup ($15,630) over 1510 metres was won by Fancy Pants (6/1) trained by Allan Kehoe and ridden by Serg Lisnyy, beating Twin Zero and Brave Ali 12 ran
2014 Wauchope Cup ($15,630) over 1510 metres was won by Storm Ahead (4/1) trained by Marc Quinn and ridden by Andrew Adkins, beating Scottish Border and Single Spirit 11 ran
2015 Wauchope Cup ($15,630) over 1510 metres was won by Before You Think (9/1) trained by Basil Ryan and ridden by Ben Looker, beating Shadow Rein and Grand Feeling 12 ran
2016 Wauchope Cup ($15,630) over 1510 metres was won by Parraay (9/2) trained by Kris Lees and ridden by Andrew Gibbons, beating Sofin and Clunes Rocket 12 ran
2017 Wauchope Cup ($17,980) over 1510 metres was won by Explosive Scene (5/1) trained by Marc Quinn and ridden by Robbie Dolan, beating Our Sarastro and Sofin 11 ran |
