Wyong Hosts 150 Years of Racing Excitement

Yes, it’s been 150 years of racing at Wyong, and now its Robusto who’s the $3.90 favourite with wagering agencies for the initial Wyong Leagues Club Group $500,000 The Lakes.

Run as an Open Handicap over 1600m with a 52kg minimum, Robusto is coming off a length second in The Buffering, having earlier won The $2m Ingham of 1600m at Royal Randwick.

To be ridden by Adam Hyeronimus on 59kg for Bjorn Baker from Gate 6 of 12 runner, it was syndicator Darby Racing who six starts ago paid $160,000 for Robusto at the Inglis On-Line Sale.

Now the winner of $1.18m for Darby, he was raced by breeder Ingham Racing, sired by Churchill from the Tibbie Stakes wining Redoute’s Choice mare She’s Clean, the close family of Nettoyer.

Shortening to $5.50 is the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott 4yo mare Redbreast who’ll be ridden by Zac Lloyd on 54kg from 2, previously a half-length second in the Belle of The Turf Stakes.

At $6 is the Chris Waller trained Osipenko for Jay Ford on 57.5kg and from Barrier 11, while both at $9 is Spangler with Andrew Gibbons on 54kg and Highlights with Winona Costin on 52kg.

Up north on the Gold Coast, it’s the Bjorn Baker trained O’ Ole who’s $14 for the $3.5m The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic having earlier had victory in the MM Wyong 2YO Classic.

In being by the Leading First Season Sire of Stakes Winner in Ole Kirk, and again ridden by Tommy Berry, O’ Ole has her second placing Memo at $9 and fourth placing Blitzburg at $101.

The Magic Millions Wyong 3YO & 4YO Stakes winner Bauhina is at $9.50 for trainers Lee and Cherie Curtis, and Tommy Berry in the $3.5m Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas over 1400m.

However, it’s said the coastal centre of Wyong is the quintessential Aussie township, for ‘in Australia a town is founded once a community builds a pub, then a racecourse followed by a church.’

Michael Woodbury built the Woodbury Inn in 1866, with racing starting in 1875 at the adjacent Old Wyong Racecourse river flats, while also from 1875 the Inn hosted the monthly Catholic Mass.

With horse racing starting at the Woodbury Inn site in 1875, and unofficially possibly earlier, it continued at the same site until the rail line was extended to Tuggerah and Wyong in 1898.

A new racecourse was established not far from the Tuggerah station on the flats, with horse racing moving to the new Tuggerah sire in 1898, but was hampered by water logging and floods.

Local shire councillor, saw miller and timber merchant George Goldsmith, who owned the upper level of today’s Wyong Racecourse site, developed and owned the Wyon Park Racecourse.

Staging its first race meeting on 27 February 1913, the new track had up to two years of success before World War I in 2014, and with George Goldsmith dieing in 1917, the racecourse closed.

In 1924 the Wyong Agriculture Association purchased the racecourse site with racing resuming shared with the Showground activities, with racing continuing on the site to the present day.

Of course, Wyong has had its fair share of ‘historical highlights’ no more than the father of today’s Wyong public relations Glenn Munsie, when his father jockey Norm Munsie attended Court.

As apprentice Norman Stuart Munsie told a Quater Sessions Jury there was nothing unusual about the well-backed Buccaneer which he won in 1952, only to find it was ‘doped’ before the race.

Much earlier in 1928 jockey A Puckeridge had no difficulty winning on Chirmo by three lengths at Wyong, and with the Stewards discovering a battery was concealed under the jockey’s cap.

The Stewards disqualified Chirmo and awarded the race to Blair Boy, with jockey Puckeridge taken into custody by police and being charged with animal cruelty and later released on bail.