COONAMBLE CUP 2026
Two Cups, One Trip
Staying on a Little Longer
By the time Kenny and Jane reached Coonamble, the old LandCruiser had been carrying a little more red dust than luggage.
But this time there was no rush to unpack.
Dubbo Cup had come and gone, yet instead of turning the Cruiser towards home, they had stayed west. Kenny’s old mate Rob had offered them a place to stay on his property near Coonamble, and what had begun as two race meetings conveniently joined together had become something considerably better.
For a while, they were simply living in the country.
Mornings began early at Rob’s place.
The light arrived across the paddocks before anybody seemed quite ready for it, birds worked the fence lines, cattle stirred in the distance and the kettle was usually going before Kenny had properly decided whether he was awake.
Jane had taken to it immediately.
There was something about staying with people rather than passing through that changed a place. Coonamble wasn’t a sign on the highway anymore. They had driven into town for supplies, stopped for coffee, heard the local gossip, learned which roads Rob considered perfectly good and Jane considered barely roads at all.
And slowly, without really noticing it, they had become part of the rhythm.
Coonamble sits on the Castlereagh River, north of Dubbo, surrounded by the broad agricultural country that has shaped the district for generations. Sheep, cattle and cropping remain part of its backbone, and the town still carries the unmistakable feeling of being there because the country around it needs it.
But Kenny was beginning to suspect there was something else holding Coonamble together.
Everybody seemed to know everybody.
More strangely, everybody seemed to know everybody by a name that wasn’t necessarily theirs.
One afternoon in town, Jane finally asked the question.
“Kenny… why does nobody around here appear to be called what they’re actually called?”
Kenny looked across at her.
He had absolutely no idea.
Which, naturally, meant they had to find out.
The Town Where Everybody Has Another Name
Welcome to the Nickname Hall of Fame
There are towns that preserve their history in museums.
Coonamble has put some of its characters on the street.
Walking through the centre of town, Kenny and Jane began finding large caricatures of local people, accompanied by their nicknames and the stories behind them. This was Coonamble’s Nickname Hall of Fame, and what might sound at first like a bit of country fun soon revealed something deeper.
Around here, nicknames have become part of the folklore.
A person might earn one because of something they said, something they did, something they wore or ate, or perhaps because somebody several generations earlier had done something memorable enough to condemn the entire family to the same nickname forever.
Some last a day.
Others survive generations.
The tradition became so distinctive that Coonamble began celebrating it publicly, turning local characters and their stories into an outdoor gallery through the streets. It isn’t grand history involving governors, monuments or famous battles. It is history at ground level, preserved through humour and memory.
And perhaps that’s why it works.
Jane stopped at one caricature, read the story underneath and laughed.
Kenny was already moving towards the next.
For two people who had spent the previous week staying with a local farmer, meeting his mates and hearing stories across kitchen tables and verandahs, suddenly Coonamble made perfect sense.
These weren’t merely funny names.
They were little pieces of belonging.
You could imagine some of them beginning in a shearing shed, beside a cattle yard, across a bar or during an afternoon when somebody made the unfortunate mistake of doing something ridiculous in front of witnesses.
Jane glanced sideways at Kenny.
After all these years, Kenny itself wasn’t exactly Kenneth’s full contribution to the English language.
Still, she decided not to mention it.
There was another week to survive at Rob’s place, and in a town capable of making a nickname last three generations, it seemed wise not to provide fresh material.
When Coonamble Goes Racing
From Horseback to Gold Cup
Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a town built around characters has a racing history full of them.
Coonamble’s first race meetings date back to the 1860s, when friends travelled on horseback to informal meetings on Patrick McMahon’s Geanmoney run, west of the Castlereagh River. From those gatherings grew a jockey club, and by 1878 the site of today’s racecourse had been approved and a grandstand built.
The first recorded Coonamble Gold Cup followed in 1910.
But one story particularly appealed to Kenny.
In 1969, rain forced the abandonment of the Gold Cup meeting. Two racing men, Coonamble Jockey Club president Edward “Kensington” Kennedy and Warwick Farm trainer John Poletti, apparently disagreed over whose horse would have won the Cup.
There was, of course, only one sensible way to settle such an important racing argument.
They held a foot race down the main street of Coonamble.
Poletti won.
Legend has it that Kensington Kennedy fell over.
Jane looked at Kenny when she heard that one.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Nearly sixty years later, the horses will do the racing.
On Sunday, 11 October 2026, Coonamble Jockey Club stages its Gold Cup meeting, continuing a tradition that began with country people arriving on horseback more than a century and a half ago.
For Kenny and Jane, Cup Day will also feel a little different this time.
They haven’t simply driven into town, photographed a few landmarks and waited for the races. They’ve stayed here. They’ve watched mornings break across Rob’s property, travelled the roads, wandered the streets and begun recognising some of the characters who make this patch of western New South Wales their own.
Now the racecourse is waiting.
The Cruiser will get another coating of dust. Rob will undoubtedly have an opinion about the Cup. Kenny will undoubtedly have one too.
And Jane, having spent enough time with both men by now, will probably be wise enough to listen to neither.
For the moment, though, we’ll leave them there.
Because next time we join Kenny and Jane, the quiet part of their Coonamble stay will be over.
It will be Cup time.
PART 2 — THE CUP PREVIEW
Chapter 1 - The Day Before the Cup
A Busy Saturday at Coonamble
By the time Rob pulled his ute into Coonamble Racecourse on Saturday morning, preparations for Sunday’s Cup were well underway.
Kenny climbed out and surveyed the activity around him. After nearly a fortnight enjoying Rob and Barb’s hospitality on their property, he had grown accustomed to the quieter pace of country life. But there was nothing particularly quiet about the racecourse today.
Volunteers were attending to the grounds, food vendors were positioning their vans, deliveries were arriving and a small army of locals seemed to be organising everything from tables and chairs to the beer that would undoubtedly be required in considerable quantities the following afternoon.
Rob knew half the people there, and the other half appeared to know him.
As they wandered towards the grandstand, stopping occasionally for introductions and a little friendly banter, Kenny was reminded why he enjoyed country racing so much. These meetings didn’t simply happen. Behind every Cup was a community of people giving their time to make the occasion something special.
One of the local helpers remarked that the travelling bookmakers were part of the tradition. There was still something wonderfully familiar about watching a bookmaker chalk up his prices, exchanging a few words and placing a bet with someone standing right in front of you.
Kenny agreed. Racing might have changed enormously, but some things were worth preserving.
And just beyond the betting ring, he spotted a familiar face.
Chapter 2 — The Man Behind the Board
A Familiar Face and Fifty - Six Years of Racing
Mick Sullivan was inspecting his position in the betting ring when Kenny recognised him.
Known around the country circuit as Mick the Ledger, the travelling bookmaker was in his sixties, with a battered notebook that had survived several generations of mobile phones.
Kenny had met him at another country meeting earlier in the year, where they’d spent a pleasant afternoon discussing racing, bookmakers and the colourful characters who travelled the circuit.
“Mick Sullivan! You’re a long way from home.”
Mick grinned.
“So are you, Kenny. Still trying to find a winner?”
Rob was introduced, and before long the three men were talking about the changing face of country racing. Mick had watched technology transform the betting ring, but he still believed the real charm of bookmaking came from the people standing on the other side of the board.
“Coonamble’s got a bit of history in that department,” he explained. “Ever heard of Shane Horan?”
Shane, a Coonamble bookmaker, had retired in June 2026 after an extraordinary 56 years travelling the country racing circuit. His career had taken him thousands of kilometres through western and northern NSW, becoming a familiar face at meetings where the annual Cup was often the biggest event in town.
“Fifty-six years,” Kenny repeated. “Imagine the stories that bloke could tell.”
Mick nodded.
“More than a few, I’d reckon.”
Kenny smiled. “Our mate Tommy would love to do a story on Shane. That’s exactly the sort of racing history he enjoys.”
“Then tell him to get onto it,” Mick replied.
It was a small conversation, but Kenny tucked the idea away. Some racing stories deserved to be told before the people who remembered them were gone.
Looking across the betting ring, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how different the scene might have appeared half a century earlier. The handwritten boards, bookmakers calling their prices, the familiar arguments over favourites and outsiders, and the country characters who made an afternoon at the races something more than a sporting event.
Much had changed, but the heart of it remained remarkably familiar.
Chapter 3 — The Bookmaker’s Cup Preview
Twelve Runners, One Country Cup
Mick reached into his jacket, produced the familiar notebook and turned to a page marked Coonamble Cup.
“Now then, Kenny. What do you make of tomorrow’s mile?”
Sunday’s QUBE AGRI Big Dance Eligibility Coonamble Showcase Cup will be run over 1600 metres at 4:40pm AEDT. With $75,000 in prizemoney and Big Dance eligibility at stake, the twelve runners have plenty to race for.
The early market has Cuban Cigar ($2.60) as favourite, and Mick could understand why. His recent third at Warwick Farm over 1600 metres was encouraging, and with 58.5kg he looked well placed, although barrier ten might complicate matters.
“He’s the one they’ll all be watching,” Mick suggested. “But I wouldn’t be taking silly odds.”
Kenny was interested in Reset The Jazz ($4.60), whose stronger-company form and record over the mile made him a genuine threat. The 61.5kg topweight was the obvious concern, but barrier three gave him an opportunity to secure a favourable position.
Micro Mikki ($4.40) was another serious contender. With 55.5kg and Clayton Gallagher aboard, he had the recent form to challenge the favourites, although barrier nine left him with some work to do.
Then Rob mentioned Jacenza ($14).
The Rodney Northam-trained gelding had won over 1500 metres at Newcastle and would carry just 54kg from barrier six.
Mick raised an eyebrow.
“Now there’s one I wouldn’t be leaving out of the calculations.”
Kenny, meanwhile, hadn’t forgotten Spicy Lu ($7). He’d followed her disappointing run at Dubbo, and with barrier one and the addition of winkers for the first time, there was reason to believe she might produce something better.
“She’s got the draw,” Mick agreed. “Question is whether she makes the most of it.”
Race Day Co’s Cup Assessment
Cuban Cigar deserves favouritism on his recent form, although the wide barrier presents a challenge. Reset The Jazz has the class to overcome his big weight, while Micro Mikki looks a genuine winning chance.
Jacenza appeals as the value runner following his Newcastle victory, and Spicy Lu remains an interesting outsider if she can improve on her Dubbo performance.
Our leading chances: Cuban Cigar, Reset The Jazz, Micro Mikki and Jacenza.
Tomorrow, the Talking Stops
By the time Kenny and Rob headed back towards the property, the racecourse was still a hive of activity. Mick had returned to his preparations, the volunteers were finishing their jobs and Coonamble was getting ready for another great country racing occasion.
Kenny had enjoyed the visit enormously. He’d caught up with an old acquaintance, discovered a remarkable piece of racing history and found that Rob might know a little more about racehorses than he’d previously admitted.
Tomorrow, the grandstand would fill, the bookmakers would call their prices and twelve runners would assemble for the Cup.
At 4:40pm, the gates would open.
And Coonamble would have its answer.
PART 3 — THE CUP REVIEW
Green Run Takes His Place in Coonamble History
Chapter 1 — A Cup Victory to Celebrate
There is something special about the moments immediately after a Country Cup has been run. The cheering begins to settle, the horses make their way back, and somewhere among the crowd there are owners, trainers and families trying to take in what has just happened. For one set of connections, an ordinary Sunday has become a day they will remember for years.
At Coonamble on Sunday, 11 October 2026, that moment belonged to Green Run, the seven-year-old gelding trained at Dubbo by Dar Lunn and ridden to victory by Jenny Duggan in the Qube Agri Coonamble Showcase Cup over 1600 metres.
For Kenny and Jane, who had arrived in town after their Dubbo adventures and enjoyed the hospitality of Rob and Barb, it was another reminder of why they loved these country racing journeys. The Cup might occupy only a few minutes of the afternoon, but the memories stretch well beyond the winning post.
A Cup Victory to Celebrate
Green Run carried 54 kilograms and jumped from barrier three, with Jenny Duggan aboard in the distinctive blue silks with light blue stars and lime sleeves. When the result was declared, it was Green Run whose name would be added to the Coonamble Cup honour roll.
Micro Mikki, trained by Brett Robb and ridden by J. C. Gallagher, claimed second place, with Cuban Cigar, prepared by T. J. Bartley and ridden by S. Llewellyn, finishing third. Egyptologist, trained by Brett Thompson and partnered by J. J. Pracey-Holmes, completed the first four.
For Dar Lunn and Green Run’s connections, the victory was a wonderful reward. For Jenny Duggan, another Country Cup success to savour. And for Coonamble, another name and another story to carry forward into the history of its great annual racing occasion.
Chapter 2 — More Than a Cup, More Than a Winner
As the afternoon wound down, Kenny and Jane found themselves reflecting on everything that had made their visit memorable. There had been the welcome from Rob and Barb, the familiar country conversations, the characters around the betting ring and the anticipation that always seems to build when a Cup is about to be run.
Kenny, naturally, still had a few thoughts about the bookmakers.
Jane had heard most of them before.
But beyond the banter was something they both understood. A country race meeting doesn’t happen simply because the horses arrive. It takes a racing club, volunteers, stable staff, jockeys, trainers, owners, local businesses and supporters who return year after year.
That is why Qube Agri’s sponsorship of the Coonamble Showcase Cup deserves recognition, alongside the efforts of the Coonamble Jockey Club and everyone involved in presenting the meeting. Their contributions help keep these occasions part of the sporting and social life of regional communities.
And that is why, at Race Day Co, we believe the story should extend beyond the winner. The first four placegetters, the people behind the horses and the community hosting the occasion all deserve their place in the picture.
For Kenny and Jane, it was time to thank their hosts and look towards the next stop on the road. For Green Run’s connections, the celebrations could continue a little longer.
The horses would head home, the grandstand would fall quiet and Coonamble would return to its familiar rhythm. But the 2026 Cup had found its winner.
Green Run. Jenny Duggan. Dar Lunn.
Another Country Cup decided. Another memory made.
And another chapter written on the Road to Randwick.