1969
Coonamble Cup - John Poletti wins in a boil over - WITHOUT
A HORSE
So here's
a good yarn you can win money on with a pub bet!
On
the morning of the Coonamble Gold Cup in 1969, (yes,
42 years ago - the year Rain Lover won the Melbourne
Cup for the second time) it bucketed down. So much rain
that the highlight of racing at Coonamble, the running
of the Coonamble Gold Cup was abandoned.
A
lot of the punters and trainers and "colourful
racing personalities" regretfully withdrew to the
pub for a quick one before going their separate ways
- among them Warwick Farm trainer John Poletti who'd
made the trip to Coonamble with his horse Opening Duel
and the president of the Coonamble Jockey Club, Ted
Kennedy who had a runner in Transit.
Poletti
and Kennedy were very anxious to tell each other how
far their respective horses would have won the Coonamble
Cup by and Ted was very insistent that Opening Duel,
despite his perceived class advantage, would have merely
been there to blow smoke up Transit's proverbial.
John
Poletti would have none of it so eventually it was decided
that the only way to settle it was a 50 yard race up
the main street - without horses of course!
Ted Kennedy and John
Poletti were quickly reduced to bare feet and a large
crowd (some estimate up to a thousand) lined the marked
out "course" in Coonamble's main drag.
To
make it official, they both donned racing silks and
the sprint was officiated by the Chief Stipendiary Steward.
The crowd roared at
the off and Poletti went straight to the front, was
never headed and won in a canter. The pomp and ceremony
that followed had to be seen to be believed. In a solemn
ceremony, interrupted only by the popping of beer caps,
the Coonamble Gold Cup for 1969 was officially handed
over to John Poletti , together with the winning sash
by Kennedy in his role as Jockey Club President and
Poletti took the Cup back to his Warwick Farm headquarters.
At the end of a short
period of celebratory exhibitions, the Coonamble Gold
Cup was duly returned by Poletti to the Coonamble Jockey
Club.
So
there you go. The 1969 Coonamble Gold Cup was raced
over 50 yards, not on the track but in Coonamble's main
street and was won by trainer John Poletti without a
horse.
Ted
Kennedy passed away 1990 but is fondly remembered for
this racing incident (and many others) during his term
as Coonamble Jockey Club president...... back in the
days when having fun was number 1 and officialdom wasn't
taken quite as seriously as some want to today!
