Part 1 | Road to to Forbes Cup 2026
Every Country Cup Begins Before Sunrise
Some people reckon the racing season begins when the first big city carnival rolls around.
Not Kenny. . . . for him…
It begins long before daylight finds the paddocks.
The house is quiet.
Most people are still asleep.
The thermos is full.
The Akubra is already on.
The notebook is tucked safely into the Cruiser.
Then, before anything else…
the golf clubs are carefully loaded into the back.
Tommy often asks why.
Kenny simply smiles.
“One day I’ll tell you.”
The old LandCruiser coughs once…
then settles into that familiar diesel rumble.
Kenny gives the dashboard its usual two gentle taps.
“Good girl.”
Another Country Cup adventure has begun.
Every Country Cup begins the same way… before the sun knows you’re awake.
The Road West
The first hour is always the quietest.
Just tyres humming across the bitumen.
Birds beginning another day.
Country towns slowly stretching awake.
Kenny likes it that way.
The road gives him time to leave yesterday behind and start thinking about the weekend ahead.
Wide paddocks.
Open skies.
Roadhouses.
A couple of kangaroos watching from the fence line.
Then…
the familiar brown sign appears.
FORBES
Kenny smiles.
“Now we’re nearly home.”
When that Forbes sign appears, Kenny reckons the Country Cup season has officially begun.
Every Town Has Its Traditions
Every traveller has one.
For Kenny…
it’s the giant goanna.
He never drives past without stopping.
One quick photo.
One quiet smile.
Then back behind the wheel.
Because someone else is waiting.
Every trip to Forbes begins with an old friend… and a giant local welcome.
Friday Afternoon
Kenny never heads straight to the racecourse.
First stop…
The Globe Hotel.
The front door swings open.
“Kenny!”
Another voice joins in.
“About time you got here!”
Hands are shaken.
Shoulders are slapped.
Stories immediately become bigger than they were twelve months ago.
Tommy reckons Country Cups aren’t annual race meetings.
They’re annual family reunions.
The racing simply gives everyone a reason to come back.
One handshake quickly becomes twenty.
Before the Town Wakes
Saturday morning arrives quietly.
While many of the Bankstown Sports golfers are making their way to the first tee…
and plenty of visitors are still enjoying a sleep-in…
Kenny is already back at the racecourse.
No crowds.
No bookmakers.
No music.
Just horses working quietly on the inside track.
He walks to the running rail.
Places one hand behind his ear.
And listens.
Tommy once asked him what he was doing.
“I’m waiting for the whispers.”
“Have you heard any?”
“Not yet.
They usually get louder the closer we get to raceday.”
Most people come to watch the races. Kenny comes to listen before they begin.
More Than A Race
Standing quietly beside the rail…
Kenny’s thoughts drift for a moment.
Not towards the horses.
But towards the people who make weekends like this possible.
Country Cups don’t simply happen.
They happen because volunteers arrive before daylight.
Because committees spend countless hours planning.
Because communities care.
And because sponsors continue believing Country Racing is worth supporting.
His thoughts wander back to Bankstown Sports Club.
More than thirty years ago…
a group of golfers decided to make the trip west.
What started as a simple idea became one of the great traditions of the Forbes Cup.
Kenny smiles.
“That’s what good sponsorship does.”
“It helps traditions live on.”
Great Country Cups are built on great communities, businesses and the people who choose to support them.
Looking Back Before Looking Forward
Before we discover what this year’s Forbes Cup has in store…
Kenny always enjoys looking back.
Every Country Cup leaves another memory.
Another laugh.
Another story.
Sometimes the whispers find the winner.
Sometimes…
they simply lead to another good afternoon with old mates.
Last year’s whispers sounded convincing enough to have a bet.
Win, lose or draw… Forbes is always worth coming back for.
The 2025 Bankstown Sports Forbes Cup
Before we turn our attention to this year’s field, let's take a look back at how last year’s Forbes Cup unfolded.
