Winooka (foaled 1928) was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

Australian

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

who raced for 5 seasons from a two-year-old to a six-year-old including

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

recording major wins from 6 furlongs to 1 mile and winning jockeys being Stan Davidson from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and Sydney

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets a ...

inductees Jim Pike and

Edgar Britt Edgar Clive Britt OAM (30 October 1913 – 28 January 2017) was an Australian jockey, who won every British Classic Race except the Derby. Early life Career One of the first of many Australian jockeys who came to ride in Britain after ...

Breeding

Winooka was bred by Percy Miller

Kia Ora Stud The Kia-Ora Stud is a Thoroughbred horse stud situated near Scone in the Hunter Region, New South Wales. Percy Miller purchased the cattle property Kia-Ora from the established Segenhoe Stud in 1914 and from there developed the Kia-Ora Stud. B ...

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...

in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

. Sire Windbag (AUS) winner of 1925 VRC

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Me ...

with major winners including the champion miler Chatham 1932 & 1934 MVRC

WS Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at ...

, 1932 & 1933

Epsom Handicap The Epsom Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, under handicap conditions over a distance of 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in early October. Prize mone ...

and Liberal 1932 VATC

Caulfield Guineas The Caulfield Guineas is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held over 1600 metres (1 mile) at set weights for three-year-old horses at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money is A$3 million. The race ...

, 1932

VRC Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbo ...

and VATC

Underwood Stakes The Underwood Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, run over 1800 metres under weight-for-age conditions, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late September each year. Total prize money for the r ...

. Dam Kanooka (AUS) won the 1925 AJC

Gimcrack Stakes The Gimcrack Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarte ...

Racing career

Winooka was purchased at the 1930 Sydney yearling sales for 290 guineas by H.C. Taylor from

and originally trained in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

by Tim Brosnan of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

fame. After 2 starts was sold to new owners W.A. McDonald and A.J. Mathews for 1,000 guineas who were well known Sydney bookmakers. Winooka raced between 1930 and 1935 winner of 3 Group 1 races in the modern era the 1933 VATC Futurity Stakes, Caulfield 7

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

record, 1933 AJC

Doncaster Handicap The Doncaster Mile, registered as the Doncaster Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred handicap race for horses three years old and older, held over 1,600 metres at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia. Although th ...

carrying 63 kg in Australasian record time, 1933 AJC All Aged Plate by 5 lengths and second 1935 VATC

Oakleigh Plate The Oakleigh Plate is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late February. Total prize money is A$750,000. History The Oakl ...

carrying 66 kg. Winooka as a five year old was shipped to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

with trainer Mick Polson and jockey Edgar Britt to compete in nine highly publicised races winning two 'Match Races' at

Tanforan Racetrack Tanforan Racetrack, also known as Tanforan Park, was a thoroughbred horse racing facility in San Bruno, on the San Francisco Peninsula, in California. It was in operation from November 4, 1899, to 1964. The horse racing track and buildings were co ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Longacres Longacres was a Thoroughbred horse racetrack in Renton, Washington, United States. Owned by the Gottstein/Alhadeff family and operated by the Washington Jockey Club for the vast majority of its existence, the racetrack was the home of Thor ...

Racetrack

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and two other races at Pimlico Racecourse, being the 1933

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Autumn Handicaps under management of colourful Australian sporting entrepreneur and horse racing identity Rufe Naylor. With Jim Pike up, Winooka's final race was the 1935 Doncaster Handicap. During the race he was galloped on and both his hind tendons were cut. He subsequently recovered and was retired to stud in New South Wales. Trainer Mick Polson 1886-1957 was originally from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

his stables were located at

Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area. Lo ...

near Moorefield Racecourse, Sydney and later at High Street Randwick also trained wonder miler Fuji San winner of 17 races including the 1925 AJC

, 1926 Tatts Tramway Handicap carrying 63 kg and 1927 AJC

All Aged Stakes The All Aged Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred Weight for Age horse race, run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in April or May during the ATC Autumn Carnival. Prize money is A$ ...

also second to

Amounis Amounis was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He won 33 races over distances ranging from 6 to 12 furlongs (1,200 to 2,400 metres). Of these wins, 27 were in "Principal Races" (equivalent to today's Group races or "Black Type" ...

1926 AJC

carrying 61 kg. Mick Polson was mentor to the champion jockeys

and the dynamic Billy Lappin who was tragically killed in 1940. Australian Starts: 30 starts 11 wins, 6 seconds, 5 thirds American Starts: 9 starts 4 wins, 1 second, 1 third

Image gallery

File:Mr Mick Polson and jockey Mr Pike, New South Wales, ca. 1930.jpg, Mick Polson & Jim Pike jockey. File:Racehorse Winooka being ridden on to a field, New South Wales, 1933.jpg, Winooka and jockey Stan Davidson Randwick Racecourse. File:Jockey E. Britt, New South Wales, 22 January 1934.jpg, Edgar Britt Jockey. File:Sporting entrepreneur Rupert Theodore Naylor, New South Wales, 17 April 1934.jpg, Rufe Naylor sporting entrepreneur. File:Jockey astride the racehorse Fuji San being led through a gate by two men, New South Wales, ca. 1930.jpg, Fuji San and Jim Pike 1926 Tramway Handicap Randwick Racecourse. File:T. J. Brosnan Trainer and Captain Frauenfelder 22 August 1944.jpg, Tim Brosnan trainer (left) Randwick Racecourse.

1933 racebooks

File: 1933 AJC DONCASTER HANDICAP RACEBOOK P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1933 AJC Doncaster Handicap racebook. File:1933 AJC St Leger Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing raceday officials. File: 1933 AJC DONCASTER HANDICAP RACEBOOK P2.jpg, Starters and results showing the winner, Winooka. File: 1933 AJC DONCASTER HANDICAP RACEBOOK P3.jpg, Starters and results of the 1933 Doncaster Handicap. File:1933 VATC Futurity Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1933 VATC Futurity Stakes racebook. File:1933 VATC Futurity Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, 1933 Futurity Stakes Raceday officials & information for patrons. File:1933 VATC Futurity Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, 1933 Futurity Stakes conditions and results racebook. File:1933 VATC Futurity Stakes Racebook P4.jpg, 1933 Futurity Stakes showing the winner, Winooka.

References

{{reflist 1928 racehorse births Australian horses Thoroughbred racehorses