A REGIONAL thoroughbred trainer has welcomed news the Scott Group of Companies Mount Gambier Gold Cup will be staged in early December, claiming it could pull one of the largest crowds in the history of the prestigious provincial racing event.
The Mount Gambier Racing Club has announced the gold cup will be held on Friday, December 1, which is likely to be a twilight meeting.
The club will bring forward the 2018 cup to allow the $3.3m overhaul of the waterlogged track to get under way next year.
It will be the first time the event will be held in summer and two gold cups will be staged in one year.
According to the club yesterday, the Fashions on Field event will feature in the cup and interest in marquees is already strong.
Yahl trainer Peter Hardacre – who is a rising talent in the regional racing sector – yesterday praised the decision to hold the cup later this year so the track redevelopment could get under way.
“The change of the gold cup date to summer will be very intriguing to see how it will be accepted,” Mr Hardacre told The Border Watch yesterday.
“With it being in summer, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is the biggest crowd for many years given the good weather and the twilight meeting.
“I’m a little bit excited to see the response from the general public for that meeting.”
He said the distance of the gold cup was yet to be released by racing officials.
“We don’t know if it will be the traditional 2400m,” Mr Hardacre said.
“It may be a bit tricky for the local trainers to have their horses ready in time and to set up their horses for that particular race.”
He said the track’s surface would be harder and the cup would now be raced in just 16 weeks.
“You usually need to get some lead-up races to get their fitness up to reach that distance,” the regional trainer said.
“If the distance is shortened, it will open up a lot more opportunities.”
He said the redevelopment of the track was a crucial project that must go ahead given it was affecting the growth of the regional thoroughbred racing sector.
“Once the new track is in, it will let us race all year round,” Mr Hardacre said.
“At the moment, our operation nearly shuts down for three months of the year because there is no local racing.”
Mr Hardacre revealed he still had to pay staff and ongoing costs during the Glenburnie Racecourse winter shut-down.
“We have to keep a whole industry going when we are not getting any income from race meetings,” he said.
“There is nowhere to race unless we travel long distances to race our horses.”
Importantly, he said the inside training tracks would remain open during the lengthy rebuild.
“We can still train at the racecourse while the upgrade is happening,” he said.
