Italian cyclist lauded in outback cemetery

Although Italian cyclist Leo Beretta lived far from home in the dusty mining town of Coolgardie, he was so esteemed among locals that an eight-foot granite memorial was raised in his memory. Beretta died when he was training at the Coolgardie Recreation Reserve.Cycle racing was the world’s most popular and lucrative sport at the turnContinue reading “Italian cyclist lauded in outback cemetery”

Jockey predicted his own death

Jockey John J Evans had a premonition that he would not make it through the day of racing at Coolgardie on August 11, 1901. He was right. His mount, Arthur, refused to rise at the first obstacle in the first race of the second day of the sixth Coolgardie Cup, the hurdle. It crashed intoContinue reading “Jockey predicted his own death”