The New Year’s Day event provides a chance for serious punters and family groups alike to spend the public holiday under the glorious Northern Midlands sunshine. 

While many of the attendees on Monday will have little clue about the race’s rich history, professionals in the Tasmanian racing industry regard it as a golden opportunity to propel racehorses, and trainers, into the bright lights of city racing.  

The Tasmanian Turf Club-hosted race, now officially known as the Jim Osborne Cup, has been a springboard for several great racehorses over the years. 

The first winner of the cup was a horse out of Breadalbane named Yeoman.

Yeoman’s owner, Henry Gee, took home the inaugural cup on a day where “the racing was described as excellent and the meeting enthusiastically patronised by a large crowd”, according to Mr B.G. Osborne in a 1946 account of the race’s first 100 years. 

In 1972, a little-known horse by the moniker of Piping Lane took home the crown, before saluting on the first Tuesday in November later that year.

The Ray Trinder-trained horse did the Longford-Melbourne Cup double in 1972, becoming a sporting icon for scores of Tasmanians. 

Racing legend John Letts was lucky enough to be called-up to ride Piping Lane on Melbourne Cup day.

“When I was in Tasmania last time, there was a bookmaker that said, ‘when Piping Lane won the Cup, you cost me my house and car’, – he was an 80-1 chance and everyone over there backed him,” Letts recalled.

Another notable past-winner is cult Tasmanian racehorse The Cleaner.

Known as the Lion of Longford, the bay gelding won the 2012 Longford Cup by four-and-a-half lengths from Lightly Spiced. 

The Cleaner would go on to claim $1.35 million in prize money, including back-to-back wins in the group two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes in 2014 and 2015. 

The Lion of Longford also contested two Cox Plates, finishing ninth in 2014 and seventh in 2015. 

Punters’ appetites for the Tasmanian battler demonstrated his status as a crowd favourite – Sportingbet wrote four-times as many tickets for The Cleaner as any other horse before the 2014 Cox Plate. 

“He was real tough – they couldn’t get past him,” The Cleaner’s longtime trainer Mick Burles said. 

“He would lead all the way and set a pretty hard pace.

“All the other horses would be under the baton and [the jockeys would be] scrubbing the guts out of them at the 600, but he’d be gone. 

“He lives now at Living Legends [racehorse retirement home in Melbourne] and I’m pleased he’s there, because he’s getting a lot of visitors.”

A crowd of approximately 5000 people is expected by the Tasmanian Turf Club to convene at Longford for the 2018 Longford Cup.

The clubhouse favourite is another horse who has achieved success after a strong Longford Cup performance – Up Cups. 

The seven-year-old gelding finished second in the 2016 Longford Cup, before going on to claim victory in both the Launceston Cup and Hobart Cup the very next month.

Re-contesting the race in 2018, trainer Rhonda Mangan believes Up Cups has a great chance to go one better on Monday. 

“He seems to be going alright, he likes the track and it’ll be nice to have another go [at the Longford Cup], Mangan said. 

“Obviously he’s a bit older now, he’s getting over an injury, and seems to be going alright.”

Mangan’s future advice to jockey Jason Maskiell for Monday? 

“If you’re not first, you’re last.”

Tasmanian Turf Club chief executive Peter Scott said the Longford Cup is one of the most enjoyable days on the racing calendar, with 2018 expected to be no exception. 

“The Longford Cup is one of the best attended race days in Tasmania, and it’s a great family day,” he said.

“A lot of people get a car space and have a really good, relaxing day.”

Mangan concurred with Mr Scott’s sentiments: “It’s a great day, with a really relaxed picnic atmosphere, and everyone loves going.”

However, it has been an uphill battle for the event to continue to draw healthy crowd numbers, according to Mr Scott. 

Waning interest from a younger demographic continues to provide a challenge for race organisers throughout Tasmania. 

Mr Scott fears the worst for the future of the industry, unless the sport can attract Generation Y and Z.

“There’s a lot of media and entertainment options these days, and it is a bit difficult to engage the young people to come out [to the races] and enjoy the social side of it,” he remarked. 

“We’ve changed the position of marketing and communications for a younger set  – we’re trying to target Facebook and Instagram to become more relevant to that target group.

“We’re very keen to get young people involved and get them to experience a day at the races live.”

Mangan echoed Mr Scott’s statements, commenting that the Tasmanian racing scene must continue to attract support from the general community. 

“It would be good to get more into the racing and for people to realise how good an industry it is,” she said.

“Tassie has a great racing scene, and it’s better than Melbourne and the other cities – it’s more personal and enjoyable.

“If it slows down [in Tasmania], then racing people will need to move away from Tassie to make a living.”

Regardless of the growing apathy toward horse racing from younger Tasmanians, Longford’s prized sporting event is here to stay for the time being. 

How the industry fares in a future world lead by Generation Y, however, is a question which will continue to cast a shadow over the “Sport of Kings”.

THE 2018 LONGFORD CUP