When you think of Gundagai, the Dog on the Tuckerbox is one of the first thoughts that spring to mind.
For those who don’t know, the Dog on the Tuckerbox, located on the Hume Highway near Gundagai, is one of Australia’s most recognised and loved statues.
A small monument inspired by a famous Australian poem called “Bullocky Bill”, the statue celebrates the life of a mythical bullock driver’s Dog that loyally guarded his owner’s lunch.
The story of the Dog on the Tuckerbox has been around since at least the 1850s, while the current statue was unveiled in 1932 by then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons as a tribute to pioneers.
Gundagai Adelong Racing Club, known famously for its annual two-day Snake Gully Cup carnival, will also pay tribute to the town’s famous statue and the region’s pioneers when they host their most significant meeting of the season.
Racing on Friday, November 17, the club will host its $100,000 Snake Gully Cup, which will headline a program worth $395,000.
Complementing the main race will be ‘The Tuckerbox’, which is a 1000m Open Handicap sprint replacing the Snake Gully Flying Handicap.
“We just wanted to rebrand it and give it a new lease on life,” Gundagai Adelong Race Club President Mick Crowe said.
“We thought the best way was to build the name around something that people would associate with Gundagai, and what better way than the Dog on the Tuckerbox.
“Gundagai’s Snaky Gully Cup is all about character and charm, but also offers high-grade racing and prizemoney on what is one of the best country racing carnivals in Australia, and having The Tuckerbox will only add to both of those elements as it will be a $50,000 race.”
Held a month after the $2 million The Kosciuszko, Crowe believes The Tuckerbox will cater for trainers who have top-class country sprinters still in work.
“It’s a race that has grown in stature over the years, and it’s one of the premier sprint races in country NSW, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels, and we want to make it bigger than what it is,” Crowe said.
“Everyone will want to win The Tuckerbox, and I’ve got no doubt that further down the track, it will be worth even more money and attract some pretty good horses.”
While Crowe was pleased to make the announcement, he didn’t want to take all the credit and explained that loyal Gundagai supporter and Queanbeyan trainer Joe Cleary prompted the name change.
“Two Snake Gully Cup meetings ago, Joe baled me up after the races and told me we needed to try and change the name of the Snaky Gully Flying and get it away from the Snake Gully Cup, and he said, ‘It should be The Tuckerbox’,” Crowe said.
“I thought, ‘Why hasn’t someone thought of that before?’ because he was right; It’s an icon in our history.”
Cleary, who’s still chasing that elusive Snaky Gully Cup victory, has won the Snaky Gully Flying Handicap in the past, and he was thrilled to see the club changing things up.
“I don’t want to take the credit or anything,” Cleary laughed.
“Seeing it come to fruition, it’s great. You have the Snaky Gully Cup, Hair of the Dog, and now the Tuckerbox, and everyone will want The Tuckerbox in their trophy cabinet.”
A winner of the Wagga Cup, Albury Cup, and Wagga Town Plate, Cleary will venture back to Gundagai in November, with ambitions of winning an ‘elusive’ Snake Gully Cup, while stable star King Gutho is being set for the inaugural The Tuckerbox.
“We’ll be there again; it’s a great two days of racing, and hopefully we can finally win the Snaky Gully Cup,” Cleary laughed.
For more on the Gundagai Adelong Racing Club’s Snake Gully Cup carnival, click here.
