The New South Wales Hunter region may not have a horse in this year's Melbourne Cup, but some of the race's most iconic winners are buried there in treasured sites. For those living in Australia's thoroughbred capital, the horses may be gone but they are not forgotten.
Brian Russell, a thoroughbred breeding consultant from Muswellbrook and racing enthusiast for 80 years, said two giants of the turf were buried in the area. "Five horses won the Melbourne Cup twice and two of them are buried here — Rain Lover at Tarwyn Park in Bylong, and Peter Pan in Singleton," Mr Russell said.
Other notable winners include Old Rowley, who rests at Merriwa after winning the 1940 Cup at 100-1 odds, and Backwood, the 1924 winner buried at Widden Stud in the Widden Valley. However, the name most remembered is Peter Pan, the two-time Melbourne Cup winner often compared to Phar Lap but overshadowed by the latter's fame.
Peter Pan was born and bred in Singleton by the Dangar family, pioneers in racing. Mr Russell recalled that Rodney Dangar, who bred and owned him, told a young milk delivery boy to bet on Peter Pan, and that boy later became well known in Sydney gambling circles. According to racing historian Ms Owers, Peter Pan's legacy was overshadowed by Phar Lap, who died the same year Peter Pan debuted.
Ms Owers described Peter Pan's track ability as remarkable: "He won the Melbourne Cup as a three-year-old in 1932, and again in 1934; he was an outstanding stayer and set mile records." He is buried on the former Dangar estate at Baroona Homestead outside Singleton, with his gravestone in the place where he used to stand looking out over his patch. Rumour has it that a breakfast is held on Melbourne Cup day at his gravesite to honour this Australian legend.
