By David Gilbert
EVEN before the crowd starts filing through the gates at Glenburnie this afternoon, the Mount Gambier Racing Club has already backed a winner.
Moving the Mount Gambier cup distance this year from 2400 metres back to 2050 metres has well and truly been justified with the biggest and best cup fields for years.
A capacity cup field with runners from as far afield as Ballarat, Warrnambool, Horsham, Strathalbyn and Murray Bridge coming for the cup to take on the best of the locals.
The only top local galloper missing is Royal Mile who was nominated for the $200,000 Golden Mile tomorrow at Bendigo but failed to make the final field.
The Victorian pair of Guizot and Irish Butterfly have good enough Melbourne form to be hard to toss, while Naracoorte trainer Sue Murphy’s representative Farooq has the right credentials to win despite a horror barrier draw.
Of the locals, the Wayne Walters trained Brigadier and Sebonna from the Peter Hardacre stable, are the best chances of keeping the cup in local hands.
Good bets on the program appear to be Picaroon (each way) in the Volcano Handicap, Merewether Beach (each way) in the distance maiden and Chill With Teejay in the 1200 metre BM 58 handicap.
HARNESS CUP TOMORROW NIGHT
HOT on the heels of the gallops gold cup is the big night for local harness racing tomorrow night at the Greenwald Paceway.
The calcutta for both the harness and greyhound cups will be held tonight upstairs in the balcony room at the Commercial Hotel from 8pm.
Royal Speech and Don’t Need An Excuse, who provided the quinella in the cup prelude last week, stand out as the pair to beat in the gold cup, with local driver Jayson Finnis (Royal Speech) looking to win his first home town cup.
At last Friday night’s meeting, Kromelite trainer Ken Dihm won his first race of the year when Bayside Victory ($51) pipped the hot favourite My Purple Patch by half a head in race seven.
Trainer Daniel Laird made the long trip from Colac worthwhile when Royal Apollo ($1.90 fav.) led all the way to win the final race.
Over at Hamilton on Monday, Allendale East trainer David Kemp was in the winner’s stall after the consistent pacer Yappa Courage ($8) regained his best form to win the NR 52-55 pace.
PASSING OF LOCAL TROTTING LEGEND
COL Gilmore, one of the greatest supporters harness racing in Mount Gambier has ever had, passed away last week at the age of 96.
Life at the club bar at the Greenwald Paceway, where Gilmour set up base on the same stool on race days with his mates John Spehr and Denis Howard, will never be the same again.
A clever local businessman in his own right, Gilmore loved sport.
He was a foundation member in the formation of the Borderline Speedway and was also involved with the Mount Gambier Aquatic Club in the days when they raced on the Valley Lake and out at Lake Leake.
But it was local trotting that was his number one sporting love.
Col only missed a meeting if he was out of town and was still a regular up until a month ago before succumbing to poor health.
He could still relate the days when the trots were conducted at Olympic Park (Margaret Street) which dates back to the 1950’s.
Around 20 years ago, Col raced the good pacer In The Queue with Spehr and Howard, trained by Doug Finnis and a winner of 37 races.
Every year, for 71 years, Col went to the Melbourne cup and in 2003 it so happened In The Queue was racing in the Maryborough cup on Melbourne cup eve.
Col was always a keen punter, especially back in those years and he went around the bookies ring at Maryborough and finished up out laying $500 each way at 20/1.
He derived much pleasure relieving the bookies of $13,500 after In The Queue, driven by Kevin Brough, flashed home to win in the final few strides.
It also proved to be a big windfall for the three passengers in the car, as they never had to outlay one cent for the rest of the trip.
When they arrived at the Palms motel in Footscray, Col was pleased to learn they had a safe on the premises as he virtually had money falling out of his pockets, and was not keen to take it all to Flemington the next day.
An extremely generous, kind hearted man, Col Gilmore was the legendary grandfather of local trotting and will be very sadly missed.
His funeral will be conducted next Friday (April 8) at 1.30pm in the crematorium at Carinya Gardens, while the final race at the Greenwald Paceway tomorrow night has been named in his honour.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: ESMOND “EZZY” THOMPSON
BEING Mount Gambier cup day, it is opportune to catch up with former top trainer Esmond “Ezzy” Thompson who won the cup 30 years ago with Volbema.
Thompson absolutely dominated the training ranks here in the 1970’s, winning the South East premiership on six occasions, including four successive years from 1975 until 1978.
He formed a great association with Ray White, the leading local jockey of the time, and “Ezzy” himself started out in racing as a jockey.
“I left school at 14 years of age and rode my first two winners, at the same age, at Millicent,” “Ezzy” recalled.
As for the best horses he trained, “Ezzy” nominated Playful Princess slightly ahead of the brilliant sprinter Steam Rally who held the track record for 1000 metres at the now defunct Victorian Park racecourse in Adelaide.
He vividly remembers the 1992 cup win by Volbema, trained by “Ezzy” for local owners John and Shirley Dohle.
“Bill Strigg rode him in the Blue Lake handicap on the Tuesday when he ran third, and he got off and told me ‘he won’t go the one and a half miles in the cup’ which was to be run two days later,” he said.
“Bill had a ride in the cup for Michael O’Leary so I got Wayne Hokai and I instructed him to make sure that Volbema did not race inside horses.
“Volbema was last with a lap to run and was still last at the 1000 metres before he circled the field so quickly that he was in front at the top of the straight.”
Volbema was never headed thereafter and went on the win with plenty to spare.
“Ezzy” was stable foreman for a short period for Bart Cummings at Flemington in the 1980’s before returning to Mount Gambier where he and his wife Nan have resided ever since.
Through the media, they still keep a close eye on everything happening in the racing scene, both locally and nationally.
COMING UP
Today: Mount Gambier gold cup (gallops); first race at 12.35 pm; proof of two vaccinations required.
Tomorrow night: Mount Gambier Gold Cup (harness); first race at 6.56pm; proof of two vaccinations required.
