THE Port Macquarie Cup - scheduled to run on Friday, October 6, is set to have a major boost in prizemoney as part of significant funding increases announced by Racing NSW (RNSW) for a number of key country feature races.
Prizemoney for the five key country feature races – the Port Macquarie Cup (Friday, October 6), Goulburn Cup (Sunday, November 26), Wellington Boot (Sunday, April 8, 2018), Tamworth Cup (Sunday, April 29), and the Wagga Wagga Town Plate (Thursday, May 3), will be increased to $150,000.
RNSW has also expanded the schedule of Showcase race meetings from 40 to 45 for the current season, upgrading five country carnival race days to a minimum of $30,000 in prizemoney per race. At most of these meets there will be a race which will carry prize money of $40,000 for horses which have not won a race and are domiciled and trained in the NSW country area.
Another initiative from RNSW is an increase of the number of country TAB meetings to be conducted in the current season from 645 to 664.
Meanwhile, at the Randwick meeting, which includes the inaugural running of the much touted “The Everest”, another highlight - the Anniversary Highway race – has been introduced to the program on Saturday, October 14.
As The Everest meeting coincides with the launch of the Highway country races back in October 2015, the Anniversary Highway race is to celebrate the success of the Highway race series. Worth $200,000, the Anniversary Highway is for horses that have started in a Highway Handicap and are still prepared in a country region.
Racing NSW has also expanded the schedule of Showcase race meetings from 40 to 45 for the current season, upgrading five country carnival race days to a minimum of $30,000 in prizemoney per race.
Streak on
IT MAY have only been a nose difference between first and second at the finish, but the Ward camp at Louth was rocking after the races when several of its camp members had a vested interest in the Louth Cup winner, Streak On.
Recently being transferred from a Victorian stable to Sue Grills at Tamworth, Streak On had previously won across 1900 metres at Geelong, Victoria, on its synthetic track in July, which prompted bookmakers to boost the mare to favouritisim for her 2000 metres dirt track cup win.
Connections of Streak On - which included Mark Ward, “Waimoa”, Condobolin, his nephew, Scott Waters, “Bundilla”, Tamworth, and mates, Riley Gibson, “Lone Oak”, Tamworth; Eathon Watts, Tamworth, and Tom Henry, Ebor, celebrated into the following day and evening.
Another connection and happy Ward camper, Wagga Wagga conditioner, Chris Heywood, also felt Louth success, when his Zariz mare, I’ll Tell Ya, easily won her maiden race, while his Myboycharlie gelding, Monsoon Charlie, had a second.
Treble for Zariz
MUCH travelled Hawkesbury apprentice, Chelsea Ings, went from a nose second, aboard Sword Fighter, in the $12,000 Louth Cup (2000 metres), to win the $45,000 Narromine Cup riding A Magic Zariz the following day in a memorable weekend in racing for the 22-year-old earlier this month.
A Magic Zariz is trained at Coonamble by Cecil Hodgson who prepared a winning double at the Narromine Showcase meet, also winning the Jack Walsh Memorial Plate with Pedro’s Zariz.
Racing a fine form, winning the XXXX Cup at Mudgee, before finishing third in the Cattleman’s Cup at Warren, A Magic Zariz was bred and is raced by long-time industry participants, Walter and Leone Prout, Gilgandra, also life members of the Gilgandra Jockey Club.
The Coonamble family of Sandra Finn and four children were celebrating the win of Pedro’s Zariz, and at the same time missing late husband and father, Peter Finn, who died about 12 months ago.
Now a winner of seven races, A Magic Zariz and Pedro’s Zariz are by prolific winner-getting sire, Zariz, who stands at the Lamont family’s Kooringal Stud, near Wagga Wagga.
While represented with a late season Sydney stakes winner, when Shiraz won the ATC Winter Challenge, Zariz (a grandson of Storm Bird) sired a winning treble at Narromine – A Magic Zariz, Pedro’s Zariz, and also the Gayna Williams’ trained five-year-old Noel’s Gift.
Aussie first for Frankel
WHILE great northern hemisphere racehorse, Frankel, scored a Group winning double at Deauville in France recently, he was represented with his first Australian-foaled winner when Merovee won at Newcastle.
Trained by Chris Waller at Rosehill, Merovee was the most expensive of five yearlings by the undefeated Galileo horse, which sold in Australia in 2016.
This is also good news for broodmare owners considering using Frankel’s stakes winning three-year-old brother, Bullet Train (by Sadler’s Wells), who stands at John and Helen North’s Bowness Stud, Young.
The first foal of dual Group 2 winner, More Strawberries, the three-year old bay colt sold from his breeder John Singleton’s Strawberry Hill Stud, Mount White, and was knocked down to Chris Waller Racing for $1.6 million.