Coursing this week brought us the 2026 Benalla Cup and Gary Brett Memorial at Lang Lang after the meeting was transferred from Longwood.
While the weather was certainly on the chilly side, the action on the track soon warmed things up, with some impressive performances across the day.
In the Benalla Cup, Starbright Hud for Victor Millington continued his outstanding form, staying undefeated across all three events so far this year with a strong win over Rattlin’ Bones for Don Rhodes in a close final.
The Gary Brett Memorial was taken out by July She Lied for Andrew Paraskevas, defeating Is He Lucky for Paul Hammerstein in 16.74.
Congratulations also to Strop (event 3), Crackerjack Ralf (event 4), Sheikh of Tweak (event 5), One More Button (event 6), Two Feathers (event 7) and Heard Your Words (event 8), who all broke through for their first coursing win.
Run of the day went to Mt. View Rupee, who struck some trouble getting out of the slips in his first attempt, but bounced back brilliantly to improve by 10 lengths and put in a gallant performance in the semi-finals.
A big thank you goes to the wonderful Lang Lang volunteers, who stepped up and made themselves available for this extra day of coursing, and to the trainers who supported the change of location.
Coursing returns to Lang Lang on Sunday 7 May for the opening week of the 2026 Victorian Derby and Victorian Oaks. There will also be consolation events for dogs defeated in round one of both the Derby and Oaks, along with the supporting events of the Werribee Cup and JN Smith Memorial. As a reminder, any dog or bitch born after 1 March 2024 is eligible to compete in the Derby and Oaks.
Be sure to get your nominations in early, with nominations closing at 8.30am on 4 June.
