They even had an actual gong for The Gong.

By the time Illawarra Turf Club chief executive Peter De Vries gave it a good ceremonial strike - after the horses had stepped out on track - it was clear, this was anything but an average Saturday afternoon at Kembla Grange.

This was history in the making.

A $1 million prize pool and a stand-alone Saturday meeting, at the end of the spring carnival, ensured the top trainers made the trek.

And while the Melbourne Cup might still elude Australia's biggest name Chris Waller, he made The Gong his own, finishing first and third.

The race itself lived up to the occasion, with a herculean Mister Sea Wolf lumping every bit of the top weight to hold off a desperately unlucky Mark Newnham-trained Quackerjack.

Waller's Star Of The Seas got the bob for third, ahead of Military Zone - part-owned by Wollongong man Gareth Foye - who showed he belongs in Group company with a super-impressive fourth.

Quackerjack was enormous. Rachel King may as well have ridden the four-year-old gelding via Berkeley after daringly pushing forward from barrier 11.

But at least three wide the entire trip, the move almost proved a masterstroke when matching motors with James McDonald's mount in the straight, only to fall agonisingly short.

The winning part-owners Peter and Patty Tighe have seen bigger race days with the great mare Winx, but they celebrated just as much with other connections in the mounting yard.

And as much as Mister Sea Wolf will be remembered in folklore as the first horse to take out Kembla Grange's rich new race, Quackerjack's performance becomes the stuff of legend in building the event's reputation.

Glen Boss was suspended for overuse of the whip on Star Of The Seas, perhaps also ruing the difficulty in negotiating a path past the fading leader Jonker as his rivals rolled on.

READ MORE: Waller stable dominates as Mister Sea Wolf claims inaugural running of The Gong

There was something special about the atmosphere, something rarely seen away from the big stages like Royal Randwick.

The only thing missing was a South Coast hope of our own to cheer, after Gwenda Markwell's Archedemus was sent to the paddock and Robert and Luke Price's Cuban Royale was well backed as $3.90 favourite, but struggled in the Benchmark 88, the consolation race before The Gong.

In contrast, Newcastle trainer Kris Lees had four runners in the inaugural The Hunter (1300m) last week.

Still, with a record crowd of more than 6000, The Gong made a big noise and has reinvigorated racing in the Illawarra.

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