Hughes, ridden by John Allen, claims the 2026 Echuca Cup. Photos: Jordan Townrow.
A thrilling finish saw Hughes beat out Justadeel by just 0.02 of a length to claim this year’s Echuca Cup on an action-packed day at the Echuca Racing Club.
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Hughes, ridden by John Allen for Gavin Bedggood, had the fourth-best odds heading into the main race, and it came home strong to win the prize money of $55,000 just ahead of favourite Justadeel.
Elsewhere across the eight-race slate, local trainer Gwenda Johnstone’s horse Here Comes Wozza, ridden by Luke Currie, took out race two ahead of Wild Ruby.
Johnstone had three other horses compete across the day, with the other notable finish coming from Written Royalty, ridden by Liam Riordan, which finished third in race five.
Fellow local trainer Rhys Archard saw five horses compete across three races, with Earthly Crown and Adieu Grasse finishing seventh and ninth respectively in race one, Royal Blaze and Maestro’s Echo finishing eighth and 10th respectively in race two, and Space Age placing 11th in the Echuca Cup.
Races were varied in their competitiveness across the day, with Baganov, Positivo, and Martial Music all victorious by comfortable margins in races one, four and eight, respectively.
There were a few other close finishes alongside the Echuca Cup, as Hollerasaurous beat out Masakari by a length of 0.06 in race three, Fire Tribe finished ahead of Snappy Pierro by a length of 0.1 in race five, and Charmed Run claimed race seven by a length of 0.75 ahead of Before The War.
Emma Croft, Ruby Taranto, Jade Camden, Tanya Croft and Nicole Taranto.
Here Comes Wozza, trained by local Gwenda Johnstone, takes out race two.
Punters enjoy their day out at the Echuca Racing Club.
Carolyn Butler, Dennis Miller, Mat Pearson, Brent Bartling and Kerri Jamieson.
Helen Jones, Gary Denson and Keri Denson.
Jaime Lake and Nikki Palmer.
Sonya Moore, Rebecca Murrells, Andrea Dowel and Karen Ancrum.
Jade Camden.
Hollerasaurous, ridden by Luke Currie, takes out race three.
Marilyn James, Mark James, Shane Andrews and Carol Andrews.
Kim Bainbridge, Linda Becker, Bill Young, Val Watson, Rod Bainbridge, Phil Bainbridge and Graham Becker.
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