GUNNEDAH CUP

Presenters:  Gareth Taylor and Kylie

​

I told Kylie somewhere around the Liverpool Plains that I reckoned I was going a bit Australian myself these days.

Knew what a “good drop” meant.

Ordered a parma without checking the menu.

She let me finish.

Then, with the particular satisfaction of someone who’d been waiting for the opening, she reminded me that earlier that morning I’d asked where the nearest “petrol station” was.

“Servo, Gareth.”

Apparently I still have work to do.

Gunnedah calls itself the Koala Capital of the World, and you can genuinely find koalas living among the trees around town, which delighted Kylie considerably more than it appeared to delight the koalas.

But Gunnedah has another wonderful connection.

Dorothea Mackellar.

The poet behind My Country has deep links with this district, and Gunnedah proudly celebrates her legacy. There’s a striking memorial to her in Anzac Park, and standing there with the great Liverpool Plains stretching beyond town, you begin to understand why this landscape has inspired generations of Australians.

Or Australians and one increasingly confused Englishman.

We climbed to Porcupine Lookout for the view.

Properly vast.

Rich farming country stretching towards the horizon in almost every direction.

Kylie decided this was the appropriate place for me to attempt some Australian poetry.

I did badly.

She corrected me.

Frequently.

We’d come for the Gunnedah Cup, but between the koalas, the poetry and my ongoing education in what actually makes someone Australian, apparently considerably more than a decent tan and a taste for meat pies, it became one of my favourite stops on the whole run.

If you’re planning next year’s Cup trail, give Gunnedah the full day.

And whatever you do…

call it a servo.

________________________________________________

​​

THE GUNNEDAH CUP REPORT
24 May 2026

​​

Four for Bullock as Tavros carries the weight and takes the Cup

​​

By Cup time, Gareth had learnt enough about racing to notice one thing.

“Aaron Bullock’s having a decent afternoon.”

Kenny laughed.

“Three winners. I’d call that decent.”

And Bullock still had one ride that mattered.

Tavros.

The favourite.

Trained in nearby Tamworth by Craig Martin.

And carrying 62.5 kilos.

Gareth looked at the weight.

“That’s enormous, isn’t it?”

Finn nodded.

“Now you’re learning.”

When the Cup got underway, Tavros never gave them much reason to worry.

Bullock had him travelling.

Coming for home, he asked the gelding to go.

Tavros answered.

The big weight didn’t stop him.

Neither did the field.

Tavros had won the Gunnedah Cup.

And Aaron Bullock had ridden his fourth winner of the afternoon.

Gareth looked at Kylie.

“Four winners. Is that normal?”

“No.”

“Good. I thought I still had a lot to learn.”

Kylie smiled.

“You do.”

Tommy heard her.

“She’s a keeper, mate.”

Gareth looked at Kylie.

He already knew.

​​