“Southern Grampians Shire is believed to be the only Shire in Australia with four racetracks.”
Where To Stay
Maximise on the beauty of the country air by choosing one of Coleraine Racing Club’s recommended accommodation options.
A Guide To The Grampians
Wondering on where to go next? The Grampians & the western district host some of the most scenic & picturesque drives. Discover what’s around
Enjoy Country Hospitality
Discover the regional areas of the western district by exploring the wine regions. Feeling luxurious, head to the Royal Mail Hotel. Take a walk and slow down after your day at the races.
Coleraine is 350 km west of Melbourne and 35 km north-west of Hamilton in the Shire of Southern Grampians. Coleraine Racecourse is operated by the Coleraine Racing Club and is home to the Oldest Steeplechase in Australia.
The Great Western Steeple chase was first run in 1857 and famed poet and horseman Adam Lindsay Gordon rode in this steeplechase and penned the Poem "On the Fields of Coleraine". Discover more about Adam Lindsay Gordon
Adam Lindsey Gordon competed in five consecutive Great Western Steeples between 1862 and 1866 for one win and four placings. After riding “Cadger” to victory in 1865 he wrote The Fields of Coleraine.
“On the fields of Col’raine there’ll be labour in vain
Before the Great Western is ended,
The nags will have toil’d, and the silks will be soil’d.
And the rails will require to be mended.
For the gullies are deep, and the uplands are steep,
And mud will of purls be the token,
And the tough stringy-bark, that invites us to lark,
With impunity may not be broken…”
(“The Fields of Coleraine”, Adam Lindsay Gordon)
Discover The FactsAbout Jumps Racing
MAY 1865
One of Australia’s most celebrated poets, and also an amateur jumping rider, Adam Lindsay Gordon wins the May Steeplechase at Coleraine, on his own horse, Cadger.
Gordon rides his other runner Modesty, in the daunting Great Western Steeplechase, run over 4 miles and 42 big post and rail fences, and runs third in the race.
At the conclusion of the days racing, Gordon wrote his famous poem “On the fields of Coleraine”
Gordon was a big crowd puller at Coleraine. Later a monument was erected at Mt Koroite, near Coleraine, in honour of Adam Lindsay Gordon. Gordon lived in a cottage at Port McDonnell, near Mt Gambier, and spent two years representing the district in the SA Parliament.
He shifted to Ballarat in 1867, and the following year, performed a feat that could never be repeated, when he won all three steeplechase races at the Melbourne Hunt Club meeting at Flemington.
Gordon was short sighted and acquired a number of head injuries from jumping racing falls. Sadly he took his own life at Brighton, less than two years later.
The race survives to this era, and from its initial running in 1858, is the jumping race with the longest history.
Courtesy of John Adams - Author Over The Hurdles
