The Road to Jericho by Bill Gibbins

How the race name for the Guaranteed Start races came to be ~ The Road to Jericho

Words by Bill Gibbins

“ When we wanted to have a similar theme to all the guaranteed start races, ” The Road to Jericho” just seemed to say it all. Then one night I said to my wife, I reckon the Good Samaritan was on the road to Jericho, when he befriended the man who had been bashed, robbed and left to die by the roadside.

Sure enough, after consulting Wikipedia, he was on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, a distance of some 22km. Jerusalem is some 3,000ft above sea level and believe it or not, Jericho is 800ft below sea level. The road winds down through the hills, with an abundance of places to ambush the unsuspecting traveler.

I thought what better memento for our winners than to have a depiction of this scene. I commissioned out trusty resident artist Bill Wood to the task and the result is before you today. The original will be on permanent display in Warrnambool, and each Road to Jericho winner will receive a limited edition print. Good Luck to all of them on their own particular road to the Jericho Cup.”

Below shows a photo of the framed prints for the 2020 and 2021 Guaranteed Start Race ~ The Road to Jericho at Mt Gambier Racing Club