Tuncurry-Forster Jockey Club president Garry McQuillan said he'd never seen such a line-up outside the men's toilets at their cup meeting last Friday.
"That is how big the crowd is, I would think a shade under 4000 people; they are wall to wall out there."
The joyous crowd witnessed Lady Evelyn - who finished second last year, put her best foot forward this year to take the Tuncurry-Forster XXXX Gold Cup at the Mid-North Coast track.
Trained at Newcastle by Jason Deamer, Lady Evelyn was supported trackside by a number of her breeders and part-owners which included Dennis McConnell, Penrith; Matthew and Lynette Dugan, Central Coast, and Allan Chiswick, Nabiac.
Now a winner of $200,000, the six-year-old daughter of Reset was ridden by hoop Andrew Gibbons who rode 137 winners last season which placed him fifth on Australia's most winningest jockeys last season.
"The voice of racing" the legendary now-retired race-caller Johnny Tapp, made the trip north from Sydney with wife Ann to be special guests trackside. John had the pleasure of presenting the winning connections the perpetual cup trophy.
A huge cheer went up from the crowd when Up The Stairs and jockey Adrian Layt returned to scale for local conditioner Terry Evans. The Tasmanian-bred gelding by now deceased Savoire Vivre, Up The Stairs won the Bellevue Hotel Tuncurry 1500 event.
Happy Gadfly makes his mark
EFFECTS of the drought eased last Sunday for Condobolin district farmer Mark Ward after his horse Gadfly impressively won the Racing NSW 2019 Showcase Picnic Championship Final at Dubbo.
The third running of the $50,000 event, the race is restricted to picnic gallopers who gained entry via a points score system earned from races contested around the State throughout last season.
Unsure whether Gadfly would run out the 1400 metres, his jockey Brent Evans rode a cunning race guiding the six-year-old along the rails around the turn and up the straight to win. This was clear of the Peter Sinclair, Moree, prepared Free Billy for second who hugged the outside rail down the straight, with Cooee March, trained at Griffith by Russell Hogan, third.
Cheering could be heard all round the track after Gadfly won, the gelded son of Smart Missile being raced in partnership including Ward and his long-time Trundle mate, David Simmons.
It was a local win all round in the $100,500 Dubbo City Toyota Dubbo Gold Cup when local hero's trainer Mick Mulholland and champion bush hoop Greg Ryan partnered Steamin' to win to rich feature of the day.
Ryan steered Steamin' up the inside running in the straight to win, from the Wayne Collison, Narromine, prepared Magic Over The Bay (by Magic Albert), and the Shane Edmonds, Inverell, trained Chivadahlii, third.
Tamworth conditioner Sue Grills made a worth-while trip to Dubbo when Under The Thumb (Falvelon) won the other feature the $50,000 Iron Jack Flying Handicap.
Hampton Court off the mark
ANOTHER son of Redoute's Choice - Hampton Court, is off the mark as a sire when his first crop Australian bred son Sirmaze won his maiden race at Hawkesbury earlier this month.
Prepared at Warwick Farm by Jason Coyle, Sirmaze was a $45,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale graduate. The three-year-old gelding had finished twice second at Kembla Grange at his previously two starts.
Standing at Spendthrift, Australia, in Victoria, Hampton Court was a Sydney Group 1 winner who was part-raced by his breeder John Muir of Milburn Creek Thoroughbreds of the Southern Highlands.
On the shuttle service to Spendthrift, Kentucky in America, in Kentucky, Hampton Court has also sired four winners in North America.
Vale Dane Shadow
DANE Shadow - a stallion acclaimed to have put the Gundy district breeding property Kitchwin Hills "on the map" died last week following long-term health battles at age 18.
He was a son of two champions his well-known sire the ironic Danehill, while his Centaine dam Slight Chance, won 12 races including six at Group 1 level.
A Sydney Group 3 winner himself, Dane Shadow burst onto the sire scene with early juvenile winners. He went on to sire a total of 332 winners (that won 1123 races) including Group 1 winners Red Tracer, Hurtle Myrtle, Shellscrape and Shadows In The Sun.
He regularly possessed a 65 per cent winners to runners sire record, his winners earning over $34.45 million.