Walk down Ipswich Gold Cup memory lane

By Jordan Gerrans

With the last Gold Cup champion to be crowned at the Ipswich Showgrounds on Thursday night, legendary Queensland broadcaster Paul Dolan says there is a sense of optimism within the industry about what is just down the road.

After more than 40 years of greyhound racing at the facility, Thursday’s Group 1 event will be the final Showgrounds running of the Gold Cup before the much-anticipated shift to The Q.

The Q has been unveiled as the future home of Queensland greyhound racing. 

The project will see the Brisbane and Ipswich Greyhound Racing Clubs co-locate at its new home at Purga in Ipswich in 2025.

While there will no doubt be a feeling of nostalgia from many within the industry ahead of the move, Dolan says he views an overwhelming sense of excitement when speaking to participants.

Dolan called time on his career that spanned more than four decades in 2018 but has returned from time-to-time and called races on special occasions.

He was behind the binoculars for an array of Gold Cups.

“I think it will probably hit us all on the last night at Ipswich, whenever that comes, down the line,” Dolan said.

“When I am at the track, there does not seem to be much sadness about leaving Ipswich – it is more looking forward to The Q, the new place which will be just up the road.

“People are just exciting about going to this new venue.”

As the last Gold Cup winner will be written into the history books on Thursday evening from the Showgrounds, it has given racing followers the opportunity to walk down memory lane and reminisce on the great champions of the event.

The respected broadcaster recently published a list of his top winners of the race over the decades.

The list included some champion dogs such as New Tears who set the track record in the Cup which latest for more than a decade.

It also featured the only two-time victor of the series Haylewie Miss which occurred in the early 1990s for mentor Sid Lewis.

Roanokee lifted the Gold Cup before going on to win the Melbourne Cup while Ellie’s Diamond and Whip Tip were also mentioned.

New Generation, for Brian McEvoy, won the first Cup run in 1983 and the trainer became one of the most prolific conditioners in Cup history.

Over the next decade he won the race again with Just Jane and Acacia Ablaze.

Tony Brett’s Thirty Talks was also a memorable Cup champion.

Like McEvoy, Brett is a three-time Cup winner.

Brett’s late father Dave also won the race with the great Toban Leah, as well.

Travis Elson’s Bear’s Bullet was the first dog to win the race under Group 1 status as he did in 2023.

Bear’s Bullet did it in a track record time for the Cup series.

“A bad dog has never won the Ipswich Cup,” Dolan said.

A purse of $225,005 is on the line in Thursday’s Gold Cup with $150,000 going to the winner.

The race has in recent years been elevated to Group 1 status.

In early betting for the Ipswich Gold Cup Final, Smooth Plane is favourite at $2.60 with Duffman $4.

The Thomas Dailly-trained Smooth Plane set a best of the night 30.13 seconds with his heat win on Thursday of last week at his first look at the Ipswich Showgrounds track.

The Victorian-based Dailly sent the regular Group-level contending dog north for the series.

Ipswich Operations Manager Wayne Siekman said the increased stakes on offer and elite-level status for the event has helped bring more interstate interest into the Gold Cup.

There was several interstate heat runners as well as Smooth Plane.

“It is going to be pretty exciting night for everyone here to have the Thursday night limelight,” the new club boss said.

Siekman believes attractive prize money has lifted the Gold Cup’s prominence in recent years.

And, Dolan notes that the financial stakes on offer was the original reason for the event’s significance.

“It was always competitive prize money wise,” the former caller said.

“In the first 20 or so years, the club had to put the money in.

“They worked damn hard to keep the prize money level up there and a lot of the good Gabba dogs, the trainers would go to Ipswich because of the prize money.

“The Ipswich Cup was always an attraction because of the high level of prize money.”

Dolan – also regarded as a greyhound historian – says Ipswich has always been a racing facility that has been popular with participants and punters.

“It was pretty special from day one, which was 1982 when the track was built, because it was the only sand track in South East Queensland,” the respected voice in greyhound racing said.

“It was surrounded by the Gabba, Capalaba, Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Beenleigh – they were all grass.

“It was revolutionary to put a sand track in South East Queensland – there were a couple up north.

“It was unique and different from the other venues for that reason early on.”