Yesterday’s explosive Geelong Cup winner Dunaden has risen from 14th to 8th on the elimination order for the highly-anticipated 2011 Melbourne Cup after Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carptenter handed them a half-kilo weight penalty for their Geelong win.
Emulating last year’s Geelong Cup –…
Geelong Racecourse is one of the most important regional racecourses in Victoria, holding more than 35 meetings each year, and it is the only regional racetrack in Victoria to hold meetings during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. While the current track was opened in 1908, there have been horse races in Geelong dating back into the 1840s.
The most important race at Geelong Racecourse is the 2400 metre Group 3 Geelong Cup, which acts as a qualifier for the Melbourne Cup. This race draws many of Australia’s best horses, who are all looking to earn themselves a spot in the Melbourne Cup field.
Geelong Racecourse has two tracks – a synthetic track and a turf track. The synthetic track is a left-handed all-weather ThoroughTrack course of 1858 metres in length. The turf track is a left-handed oval track that is 2043 metres long.
Geelong is the most important regional track in Victoria, but it still doesn’t hold many large events. It provides the local area with a decent number of track meets each year, but rarely has the most exciting action in the country – until the running of the Geelong Cup.
Punters should be sure to watch the Geelong Cup, as it has been a good guide in recent years to the horses likely to perform in the Melbourne Cup. 2008 winner Bauer was just barely beaten by Shocking in that year’s Melbourne Cup, and 2003 Geelong Cup place getter She’s Archie came second only to the legendary Makybe Diva in the 2003 Melbourne Cup.
The Geelong Racecourse tracks are considered to be quite fair, giving horses long straights. The tracks can support distances of 1100m to 2400m on the grass track and between 1000m and 2200m on the synthetic track.
You can make your way to Geelong Racecourse via many means, including:
Train
Take the Geelong line to Geelong Station, then take the bus to the racecourse.
Bus
Take routes 61, 66, or 67 from Geelong Station and get off at the corner of Tucker St and Fellmongers Rd.
Car
Head to Geelong via the Princess Highway. The track is approximately 72 kilometres south west of Melbourne.
