The countdown is on to the famous Snake Gully Cup carnival with this year marking 40 years of the popular country racing tradition that sees thousands of racegoers converging each November at the picturesque Gundagai racecourse.
Whether you're a hardcore punter looking for top-tier country racing, eager to take in the latest in spring racing fashions or simply want to catch up with family and friends, trackside at Gundagai has something for everyone.
The popularity, prizemoney, and prestige of the carnival has grown dramatically in recent years, with the Gundagai-Adelong Racing Club hard at work preparing for the big two-day event on 14 and 15 November, featuring this year’s headline race offering a massive $100,000 in prizemoney.
From a digital sale to a dream finish, the Mitch Beer-trained Clever Art surged down the straight to take out the 2024 Snake Gully Cup and will be back this year to defend the title.
If you had told the stable a few months out that they’d be winning a Snake Gully Cup with a horse they didn’t even train yet, Beer said it would have been hard to believe.
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“She arrived with us via digital sale, and she just thrived from the moment she got there,” he said.
“She’ll be there [on Cup day] with bells on, a fast run 1400 is right up her alley.
She’s on target and tends to peak at that time of year.
“We’ll probably use the traditional lead up races for her. She’s already qualified for the Dance races so that’s a massive bonus; to have that in the bag early for a Snake Gully Cup is terrific.”
Beer will also be targeting The Tuckerbox, a 1000m Open Handicap sprint, a race he won a couple of years ago with the mare, Gweneth.
Beer remembers his first Snake Gully Cup meeting and being, like most first-timers, blown away by the crowd numbers.
“It was just unreal and a time-honoured race that not only is a great little race but very hard to win,” he said.
“Any races on those two days, especially Cup day, they are hard races to win, and Gundagai had been a bit of an elusive meeting for me.
“I remember taking a horse called Princess Cordelia there and thought it was an absolute moral. She got beat on Snake Gully Cup day and won her next two at Randwick and Rosehill, so it’s a tricky track, a lot can go right, a lot can go wrong, so when you win those sorts of races, it just makes it all that more special.
“We can’t wait to be back there and hopefully it will be just as fun as last year.”
It was early days in jockey Brock Ryan’s apprenticeship when he tasted Snake Gully Cup victory in 2016 onboard Griepel.
“I won on the horse in the last race at the Wagga carnival and then I was able to get back on later that year for the Snake Gully Cup,” he said.
“I was pretty confident with the horse. I think I landed outside leader, we had a nice easy time up front and then he just kicked away; he’s a very honest horse.
“I was pretty puffed. I probably just gave a little fist pump on the line because it felt like a big race to me at the time.
“It’s a tricky track to ride, very tight turning. It’s got probably three dog legs into a really short straight, so if you’re on a horse that can race on pace and kick away on those tight turns, it’s really advantageous. You can see horses swoop from behind but it’s definitely beneficial to be up on the pace there.
“Everyone knows the Snake Gully Cup, and it is good to win. It’s up there with one of the better ones, probably second to the Wagga carnival.
“You get all the local folks there and the out of towners. It’s a great country feel and a great carnival to get to.”
From humble beginnings back in 1982, the Snake Gully Cup meeting has grown into one of the most popular and well-known race meetings to be conducted in the country areas of Australia.
The idea of conducting a race called the Snake Gully Cup was originally floated at a committee meeting of the Gundagai-Adelong Racing Club in the early 1970s. The race, however, did not materialise due to lack of support from the committee of the day.
The idea gained real momentum at the unveiling of the Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel statues at the Snake Gully service centre in November of 1979 when Ted Tout, one of the principals of the centre, mentioned the possibility of a Snake Gully Cup being run as a picnic race meeting similar to the very popular Bong Bong Cup meeting.
In November of 1982 the Gundagai-Adelong Racing Club conducted a mid-week race meeting as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Dog on
the Tuckerbox.
The feature race at this meeting was the Snake Gully Flying Handicap, over 1000 metres, which was sponsored by the Tout family.
The Snake Gully Flying Handicap remained as the feature race of the club’s November meeting for the next two years.
In 1984 the club applied for TAB status for the 1985 meeting when the proposal was to conduct the first Snake Gully Cup, over 1400 metres. The application was unsuccessful.
This was the beginning of the Snake Gully Cup in its current format.
The Tout family continued to sponsor the Snake Gully Cup until 1991, a total of 10 years.
In 1990 the club once again applied for TAB status for the Cup and were successful in securing this for the 1992 instalment. From that date the Cup has been conducted on a Friday.
