There were 78,500 people at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day 1976. Those still living, hold indelible memories of their visit to the historic course on the day mother nature threw a tantrum.
“What was the name of that chestnut horse from Bathurst, the one with the big white blaze who won the Cox Plate a few years ago,” was a question asked by a veteran racing fan at a recent function.
Many race watchers were surprised when broadcaster David Fowler mentioned Spaceboy’s prize money tally immediately after the gelding cruised home in Saturday’s open sprint at Doomben.
Sally Taylor has only twelve horses in work at Coffs Harbour, but managed to win four races during the month of August. Egotistic (Jon Grisedale) got the ball rolling on August 15th with a Ballina maiden win.
Mark Minervini’s love affair with Randwick racecourse began when he was a race mad teenager growing up in Adelaide. He knew everything there was to know about local horses, but was also a regular listener to racing in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
I enjoyed an afternoon with a host of former jockeys in the Marscay Room at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. The stories and reminiscences flowed freely throughout the day, and in the manner of a good fishing yarn a few exaggerations emerged.
Todd Howlett ’s ability to find the right races for his horses paid off handsomely in the month of July. He travelled far and wide to land seven winners for the month beginning with the promising Tanglewood at Grafton on July 9th with Aaron Bullock in the saddle.
“I can always tell when he’s ready to run a big race,” said trainer Sara Ryan of Friday’s Coffs Harbour Gold Cup winner Attractable. “When he’s at the top of his game he’s a nightmare as he comes off the training track at Kulnura.
Some jockeys do nothing more than politely raise their whips or doff their caps as they return to scale on a Group 1 winner. Others look likely to execute a double somersault at any moment.
With five runners engaged at Doomben on Saturday Matthew Dunn elected to head north from his Murwillumbah base, while long time deputy Holly Julius made the long trek to Rosehill Gardens with lone representative Eaglemont.
Those of us who habitually check race results in NSW and the ATC will be familiar with the name of G.P. Vella - a trainer who places his horses carefully and makes the most of every opportunity.
It’s been one heck of a season for Dubbo based Clint Lundholm. With just over two and a half weeks remaining in the 2022/2023 year, Clint is sitting in 8th spot on the NSW ladder with 71 wins and 113 placings including two dead heats.
Firmly entrenched among my favourite racing memories are those of my first meeting with Ray Selkrig. It was late in 1965 and I was nervously setting up the broadcast gear in the 2GB box at Sydney’s Canterbury racecourse.
Tim Donnelly is one of many horsemen with a positive story to tell about the Inglis Digital Online Auction. The concept began modestly in May 2017 with one sale a month.
The smile on Scott Aspery’s face said it all as Uzziah snatched victory in the last few strides of Saturday’s Midway. For a Newcastle hobby trainer to saddle up a city winner is one thing. When you’ve only got two horses in the stable it’s something else again.
Rex Lipp is a trainer who waits for young horses to tell him when they’re good and ready for the serious stuff. Two year olds need to have a flashing light on their heads before the Toowoomba maestro will even consider an early campaign.
Followers of picnic racing look forward to a unique triple header in northern NSW at this time each year. The series begins with the Boolooroo Cup fixture at Moree, followed at fortnightly intervals by hugely popular meetings at Mallawa and Talmoi.
