The good, the bad and the glamorous converged on Adaminaby races to see a feast of local talent on the track, with four Monaro horses winning, and a full stable of guys and gals in fashions on the field.
The icy winds that have hit the area in the last week held off for a little while as the meeting was held without a hitch after last year’s unfortunate hail storm cut the meeting short after just race one.
Instead, the sun shone through as trainers and bookmakers enjoyed competitive racing with Courtney Gravener taking out three races with some spirited and brave riding. Patrick Scorse helped Canberra’s Barbara Joseph, the Baroness of Bombala, win another Snow Goose Adaminaby Cup with Darts Away in the closest of finishes, adding to her Bombala Cup win last month.
Aspiring young trainer Becky Byrne of Cooma did her dad Kevin proud by taking out race three with Certain Riches, with Courtney Gravener aboard. Cooma trainers also took out another three races.
Fashions on the field attracted huge interest with $3000 in prizes, and one male entrant thinking if he drank from his boot it might give him the edge with the judges – but it wasn’t to be – the milder types winning the category.
The Meekatharra function room hosted a number of parties with large plates of delicate sweets on each table. The Rainbow Pines park at Old Adaminaby also had its own tent this year with a contingent from Nowra enjoying the day including ‘Clint Eastwood’ (we assume he was the good out of this year’s “Good, Bad and Glamorous’ theme).
The bus in and from town was popular, and the Snow Goose Hotel, which sponsors the main race, put on some music and some fun in the park after the races. The track was in perfect order after some good rain in the last month. Some eastern Monaro graziers lamented how well the Adaminaby district looked compared to other parts of the Monaro. Snow had fallen in the area only a few days previously.