TICKET holders who purchased a chance to gain a piece of action in The Kosciuszko - a race geared for country trained gallopers, were rewarded with a second draw into a new $700,000 event named The Four Pillars which was announced by Racing NSW (RNSW) last week.
The reward went to the purchasers - which numbered just over 260,000, of The Kosciuszko sweep-stakes tickets with 18 second chance prize winners becoming slot holders in The Four Pillars race.
These slot holders will win the right to nominate a horse in The Four Pillars, a race under the same terms and conditions as The Kosciuszko prize winners.
The Four Pillars will be run as a Benchmark 68 Handicap over 1500 metres with a field of 18, the race being added to the Golden Eagle raceday at Rosehill on October 30.
Similar to The Kosciuszko, prizewinning slot holders must receive at least 40% of the prizemoney for their selected horse.
The Four Pillars race is open to Midway Handicap eligible horses only and will replace the Midway race on the Golden Eagle program.
The Midway races - a $100,000 Sydney Saturday race RNSW introduced in July this year, are restricted to the small to mid-sized stables of Sydney or provincial trainers.
RNSW chief executive Peter V'landys AM said that The Four Pillars has provided a great second chance draw for The Kosciuszko ticket holders that has already helped make The Kosciuszko such a success in recent years.
"The race also provides Midway stables and their owners with a chance to race for exceptional prizemoney on one of Sydney's biggest days," said Mr V'landys.
Viewing the winning slot holders for The Kosciuszko (at Randwick on October 16) and The Four Pillars races on RNSW's website, the Southern Districts feature prominently with two and three tickets drawn, respectively, from connections of Wagga Wagga.
Virtual parades
THIS year's stallion parades - a festivity that industry participants look forward to each early stud season, had a big change.
Accommodation outlets in the Upper Hunter Valley book out from year to year during these parades, however Covid-19 "lockdowns" changed this landscape.
Coronavirus made it impossible for any "usual" on-farm parades, so the advent of the "virtual" parade became "real" via digital modern technology platforms which has mushroomed into a thriving business for video and technical operators.
Upper Hunter Valley stud's including Coolmore, Widden, Arrowfield, Godololphin, Vinery, Yarraman Park, Newgate, and Kitchwin Hills all have in-depth virtual parades "showing-off" the best attributes of each stallion in the hope that a horse will take a broodmare owners' fancy.
Victorian studs also provide a number of virtual parades including Spendthrift, Swettenham, Widden Victoria, and Leneva Park at Seymour.
Re-arranged meets
WHILE Collarenebri Jockey Club's annual cup meet was a casualty last Saturday, Covid-19 continues to cause havoc across the State's bush racing.
Other forth-coming community and or picnic meetings that have been abandoned includes Enngonia and Geurie this Saturday, Come By Chance and Grenfell (both Saturday September 25), and October meets at Pooncarie and Tabulam both on the second, and Mungery Sunday 3. But three additional meets have been added with a Non-TAB program scheduled for this Saturday at Warren, and picnic races at Wellington on Saturday 25, as well as a Non-TAB meet at Corowa.
Vale Desert King
DESERT King - the sire of three-time Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva, died at 27-years-old at Lauriston Park in Victoria last month.
The stallion gave his young Irish trainer - Aidan O'Brien, his first Group 1 winner in the National Stakes as a juvenile at The Curragh, before adding the Irish Two Thousand Guineas and the Irish Derby as a three-year-old. From 1997 Desert King shuttled irregularly from Ireland to Japan or to his owners Coolmore Stud's Jerrys Plains base, but settled in Australia from 2009. Makybe Diva is still Desert King's flag-bearer earning $14.5 million, but how can we forget Sydney favourite Desert War, a winner of 12 races, 10 a stakes level, six of them Group 1 races and $3m.