Kalgoorlie and the Cup: A racing story forged in gold

Situated in Western Australia’s eastern goldfields, Kalgoorlie is one of the nation’s most historic mining centres – a city built on gold and known for its rich heritage, distinctive red earth, and strong sporting culture.

It is also the only place in Australia that can claim to have produced a horse that won the Kalgoorlie Cup, Perth Cup, and the Melbourne Cup. That horse was Blue Spec.

“[He’s] pretty famous, and we’re lucky to have what memorabilia we have,” said Noel Jerrard, a life member of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Committee and custodian of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Museum. “Funnily enough, we haven’t got the Perth Cup or the Kalgoorlie Cup, but we’ve got the Melbourne Cup.”

The museum’s collection includes rare pieces celebrating Blue Spec’s and Kalgoorlie’s place in racing history. It also houses the race silks from Doriemus’s 1995 Melbourne Cup win, worn by the horse that brought the Cup back to Kalgoorlie for a second time.

“Doriemus was owned by members of our committee here, both life members and both past chairmen, Keith Biggs and Dr Dick Austin,” said Jerrard.

“They were both residents of Kalgoorlie, so it was great. We’re very fortunate that Keith Biggs donated the actual colours to us – with the mud still on them from the race.”

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club has long been a vital part of regional racing. Racing in the Goldfields began across multiple tracks, but Boulder, Coolgardie, and Kalgoorlie – the ‘Big Three’ – established a lasting legacy through the famed “Race Round.” In 1953, the Kalgoorlie and Boulder clubs merged to form the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club, which now hosts around 20 meetings annually and remains one of Western Australia’s leading provincial race clubs.

Blue Spec’s 1905 triumph is one of many enduring stories in the long history of the Melbourne Cup. After limited success in New South Wales, he was bought by Kalgoorlie businessman Paddy Connolly for 155 guineas. Connolly was a dominant owner in Western Australia and believed Blue Spec could succeed nationally. The horse won the Perth Cup before being sent east to trainer Walter Hickenbotham, who was already a three-time Melbourne Cup winner.

Hickenbotham was impressed with the horse’s progress, and Connolly backed him early at odds of 33/1. By race day, Blue Spec had firmed to 10/1. He won the Cup in a record time (for the era) of 3 minutes 27.5 seconds, ridden by returning European-based jockey Frank Bullock.

While Blue Spec was retired with a record of 73 starts for 12 wins and inducted into the WA Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, his legacy lives on in Kalgoorlie – not just in trophies and records, but in the town’s enduring connection to Cup history.

The 2025 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour provided a fitting opportunity for Kalgoorlie once again to celebrate its place in Australia’s greatest race and honour the people, horses, and moments that continue to shape it.