12 Alfred Road: Now known as Moore Street, is the first road crossing in the steeplechase course. There was a road double there until 1999 when the reconstruction of the course proper necessitated the removal of the first fence of the double due to the camber of the course proper. The fence was replaced with one about half way between the old stand treble and Alfred Road. Al Garhood: The fence in Granter’s paddock carries the name of the only horse to have won two Grand Annuals (2010, 2011) and two Brierly Steeplechases (2008, 2009), and was inducted into the WRC Hall of Fame in 2024. Brierly paddock: When the new steeplechase course was laid out in 1872 it took in paddocks which were part of ‘Brierly’, andJames Granter’s paddock. By the end of the 1880s at least 150 acres of ‘Brierly’ had fallen into the hands of a syndicate which was likely to seek to sell that land to the highest bidder, possibly for housing. Prior to auction the WRC purchased that part of ‘Brierly’ which the steeplechase course traversed. After protracted and at times very tense negotiations, in 1899 the Racing Club purchased James Granter’s 15-acre paddock for £800. These purchases secured the unique Warrnambool Steeplechase course for generations to come. Buxton Bar: The bold front-runner Buxton secured the 1963 Brierly-Grand Annual double in dashing style. Keith Bullock, a member of a famous Western District racing family, trained Buxton and raced the gelding in partnership with his wife Enid. Corrigan Café: Tom Corrigan, an Australian Racing and WRC Hall of Fame member, was born in County Meath, Ireland and grew up on a farm at Woodford, north of Warrnambool. The merry little Irishman with the distinctive handlebar moustache was as much respected for his unquestionable integrity as he was admired for his skill as a jockey. His many wins at this course include four Grand Annuals. Corrigan’s death following a fall at Caulfield in August 1894 provoked a huge outpouring of grief as Melbourne came to a halt to farewell a true idol of the turf. Cox’s Hill/Cox’s Hill double: The highest point in the steeplechase course draws on the name of a Mr Cox, who once owned the paddock behind Granter’s paddock. Foxboy Bar: Foxboy scored a stunning win in the 1997 Grand Annual, giving trainer John Wheeler (a WRC Hall of Fame inductee in 2025) and rider Brett Scott their first win in the Annual, to complement Foxboy’s win in the Brierly two days earlier. Galleywood Bar: After the local hero Galleywood cleared the last fence in the 1986 Grand Annual and charged to the line race caller Bryan Martin hailed him as “Lazarus, back from the dead”. Two years earlier Galleywood had crashed at the last fence and in a “Kingston Town Can’t Win” moment course broadcaster Bill Collins foreshadowed the worst as the local hero lay motionless on the track. Galleywood’s other wins here include the Brierly Steeplechase in 1983 and 1986. WHAT’S IN A NAME?
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