Sports reports: St Lawrence takes the Gold Cup to Victoria

This story includes a contribution from James Tzaferis.

Victorian raider St Lawrence has edged out South Australian pin-up horse Sir Kingsford to win a thrilling edition of the $150,000 Murray Bridge Gold Cup for trainer Gavin Bedggood and jockey Noel Callow.

The eight-year-old has been a grand campaigner across several seasons for his connections, with Saturday’s win the 10th of a career that has now netted $1.3 million in prize money.

The race was run in challenging conditions after persistent overnight rain left the track a soft seven for the start of the races.

Callow said he thought St Lawrence brought the strongest form into the race, but he admitted the rain dented his confidence before the race.

It was a happy homecoming for the five-time group one-winning rider, who was originally based in South Australia before moving to Victoria to establish himself as one of the country’s premier jockeys.

“He blew them away at Flemington last time and I thought if he turned up like that he would win the Gold Cup easily,” Callow said.

“Then the rain came and I’d drawn barrier one, which gave me a few concerns.

“I got beat in the race before the Gold Cup by Isaac Sit, who stayed on the fence, and that gave me the confidence that there was nothing wrong with the inside of the track.

“I had the best run in the race you could ask for.

“He only had to win and that’s what he did but I thought he’d put another couple of lengths on them.

“I’m rapt to win it because I’m originally from here (SA) and I was first apprenticed to the master Pat Barnes.

“Now that I’m near the end of my career it’s nice to be able to ride in some of these races.”

Murray Bridge-trained horses Williamsburg and Bamyan Buddha dead-heated for third in the Gold Cup.

Adelaide stables captured the main support races on the card, with The Stalker winning the Reg Nolan Flying over 1200 metres and Churchill Rose winning the Andrew Mills Gifford Hill Guineas.

While the weather impacted attendance at the races, the Murray Bridge Racing Club reported that more than 2000 racegoers attended the showpiece meeting.

General manager James Tzaferis said hospitality and marquee bookings were strong.

“We obviously can’t control the weather but it was still disappointing to wake up to some pretty miserable conditions on Saturday morning, which I’ve got no doubt impacted people’s decision to attend the races,” Tzaferis said.

“We are lucky that we have some brilliant facilities inside the Bridges Event Centre, as well as some of our other spaces on track that allowed racegoers to enjoy a day trackside protected from the elements.

“The racing was fantastic and there was a great mix of winners from Murray Bridge, Adelaide and Victoria.

“Hopefully we can take some momentum into the race day later in October, Family Fun Day in early December and Christmas Cup Day in mid-December.”

• More photos: Social photos: Gold Cup 2026

Murray Bridge Basketball Carnival attracts hundreds

Eighty-eight teams and more than 450 players have taken part in the annual Murray Bridge Basketball Carnival over the long weekend.

More than 200 games were contested at the Unity College gym and Murray Bridge Showground, with Murray Bridge Bullets under-12 girls and under-16 girls teams taking out their respective divisions.

Events like this can't take place with out the support of an army of volunteers who made sure the event ran smoothly.

So whether you were coaching, scoring, supervising courts, working in the canteen, setting up, cleaning up, officiating, supporting from the sidelines or helping behind the scenes — you played an important part in shaping an amazing weekend.

Murray Bridge Bowling Club's ladies' four take the win

Murray Bridge Bowling Club Ladies have had a successful day at a recent Mannum Bowling Club invitational fours tournament.

The team of Maxine Stasinowsky, Helen Lindner, Judy Zadow and Janelle Traeger finished first, winning all four games.

In second place, the team skippered by Murray Bridge's Denise Menzies and including players Janine Logan and Barb Herbert, with Geraldine from Mannum BC making up the four, came in second with four wins and only one shot down.

Summer soccer and walking football kick off

If you're looking for more round ball action, head to the Murray Bridge United social media pages and register for the seven-a-side summer comp that will get underway on October 21 at their Beatty Terrace grounds.

This year's calendar will include regular men's, women's and junior competitions plus men's, women's and mixed walking football and an all-abilities competition for para athletes keen to give it a go.

Wednesdays will host the senior teams and Thursdays the junior competitions.

• More information, register: Call 0411 057 039 or email registrar.mbufc@mail.tidyhq.com.

Send your sports reports to, or express an interest in sponsoring this weekly feature by contacting, jane@murraybridge.news.