About us.
The continued legacy.

The founding of the Club commenced in 2012 with a small group of initiating enthusiasts, some of whom now form part of the Committee, engaging in discussions with contacts in Melbourne.

The establishment of the Club further developed with other members of the Committee becoming involved; the appointment of Major General Guy Watkins as President and invitations being sent to founding Members in early 2013. Culminating in the inaugural Club event in the Long Room at Lord’s on 16 July 2013.

The Committee welcomes the support of founding Member Jim McGrath who had been involved in an earlier attempt to establish The Carbine Club in London. We are proud to now be a permanent affiliate of The Carbine Club movement worldwide.

The original Carbine Club was founded as a Luncheon Club in Melbourne in 1961 and commemorates by name the most famous racehorse in Australian history.

Since then The Carbine Club has itself become something of a legend. There are thriving clubs in every State and Territory of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Vanuatu and now London.

Members of the various Carbine Clubs are all bonded by two simple but significant affections; sport and good fellowship. Because of its name and origin, The Carbine Club has always had strong links with racing. Members have traditionally been drawn from all the important sporting constituencies as well as from business, industry, the law, politics and the media.

From its first inception, The Carbine Club has been unique in providing opportunities for princes, governors, prime ministers and business leaders to meet in friendship and in special surroundings with sporting legends, both past and present.

Carbine was born in New Zealand in 1885 and raced there as a two year old winning all of his five starts. In 1888 he was sold to the Australian owner Donald Wallace and was put in training with Walter Hickenbotham, near Melbourne, who continued to train him through the remainder of his racing career.

In total Carbine ran forty-three times for thirty-three wins, six seconds and three thirds. The only time he was unplaced, he suffered a very severe split hoof during the race. Of his thirty-three wins no less than thirty were in Stakes races – now known as Group or Black Type races. He was a very versatile and exceptionally tough horse who raced successfully over a variety of different distances; at the 1989 Sydney Carnival he ran five times in the week winning four races and coming second in the other; the next year he won all five!

Not surprisingly he very quickly became a national favourite with race goers and punters, but his finest hour came towards the end of 1890 in the Melbourne Cup. Despite carrying top weight and being badly drawn near the wide outside of a record field of thirty-nine runners, he still managed to win in a record time whilst, almost unbelievably, giving away 53 pounds to the runner up !

In 1891, still in Australia, Carbine was retired to stud but then in 1895 he was sold to the Duke of Portland to stand at stud at Welbeck Abbey. He proved to be a most successful sire, and sire of sires, and his influence as a stallion is still recognized in today’s top thoroughbred pedigrees. His descendants include such famous sire names as Danzig, Nearco, Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Nasrullah, Nijinski, Royal Palace and many others.