Merlin Commemorates The Historic ‘Jericho Cup’

The Jericho Cup is an Australian community horse race held at the Warrnambool Racing Club in Victoria. It is a historic event which has been part of Australian rhetoric for generations.

The race originated way back in 1918, approaching the end of the First World War. In Palestine during this time, the Australian Light Horse were planning a major offensive against the Turkish Empire.

To ensure the enemy did not anticipate a pre-emptive attack, a race meeting was organised on the eve of the battle.

The race was called ‘The Jericho Cup’ which expanded almost 5 kilometres through the desert sands. The winning horse was named ‘Bill the Bastard’, – considered today Australia’s Greatest War Horse. Bill was raced by an Australian First Nations horse handler, come jockey, Jackie Mullagh.

Within twenty-four hours of this ‘ruse’ of a race, the Jericho Cup, Chauvel’s corps were then positioned almost 65 kilometres behind the now disorganised Turkish armies.

This battle, the battle of Megiddo, became one of the most successful operations during the war, thanks to the Jericho Cup race.

Merlin honouring our war heroes

The annual Jericho Cup honours Australia’s heroic servicemen for their fearless deeds during World War I, and the success of this battle. In 2022, Merlin was a sponsor of the iconic Jericho Cup.

At Merlin, we aim to honour, and show our support for, Australia’s heroic servicemen for their fearless deeds in the Middle East and Turkey during World War I.

It was a wonderful day on Saturday, November 27th, 2022 at Warrnambool Racing Club, commemorating the Jericho Cup.

Merlin is committed to supporting families, local businesses, and the broader community. We are proud to be a part of such a meaningful, Aussie event.

To learn more about the annual Jericho Cup, please visit http://www.thejerichocup.com.au/.

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