David Gilbert
ANOTHER BOX TICKED OFF
WITH this column having its annual winter hiatus last week, plenty of water has flowed under the bridge in the interim.
Belated congratulations must go to local apprentice Jacob Opperman on riding his first winner at Flemington on Saturday, July 16.
Any young jockey has a dream of winning a race at Flemington and/or Randiwck, the respective homes of racing in Victoria and New South Wales.
After winning his first race at Sandown recently, our teenage hoop stepped up to the plate by scoring on It’s True ($3.80 fav.) in a BM 70 race over 1800 metres at Flemington.
Of even more significance was the fact it was the final race of a series for apprentice jockeys and the moment was not lost on the teenager.
“It’s good to win a race at Flemington, especially with it being a race solely for apprentices,” Opperrman told the waiting media post race.
He gave the favourite a charmed run in behind the leader before taking the lead at the 400-metre mark and then hanging on to win in a photo finish
Opperman is two thirds of the way through his three-month stint with Flemington trainer Matthew Ellerton.
URGED TO ATTEND
ANYONE remotely interested in the future of harness racing, both locally and at state level, should make the effort to attend a meeting at 11am this Sunday morning in the club bar at the Greenwald Paceway.
It is no secret harness racing in South Australia has seen far better days and is currently struggling big time.
This industry forum will give participants the opportunity to have their say and hear the latest updates.
Harness Racing SA officials will provide a short presentation followed by a question and answer session.
The aim of the gathering is to exchange productive ideas and collaborative discussion on industry topics such as programming, ratings, prizemoney, wagering and horse population.
A barbecue lunch will follow and Mount Gambier Harness Racing secretary Maxine Milich would appreciate a RSVP for catering purposes.
Glencoe trainer Barry Finnis made the trip to Ararat last week, a worthwhile exercise when the four-year-old filly True Blue Rose won the 1790-metre NR pace.
The $13 chance ran home strongly from mid field for driver Jayson Finnis to win her third race this year – her other two victories being here at Mount Gambier.
NEARLY A CLEAN SWEEP
THE Bordertown Racing Club’s July meeting, originally scheduled for Sunday, July 17 was moved five days to the following Friday due to prevailing wintry conditions and the state of the track.
It was an excellent move by Racing SA to keep faith with owners, trainers and jockeys to postpone the meeting rather than abandon it completely.
Coming into the final race last Friday, female jockeys had won all seven races and it was Adelaide jockey Paul Gatt who prevented a clean sweep from occurring.
Branxholme (near Hamilton) trainer David McCabe was glad the meeting eventually went ahead as he saddled up his first winner since April, 2016 when Lunatic ($21-$16) won the opening event.
It was also good news for young Hong Kong apprentice Nichola Yuen in the following event when she rode her first Limestone Coast winner aboard Giallo ($16-$7.50) for Horsham trainer Stephen Lenehan.
The Sue and Jason Jaensch trained Gigglon was amazing value ($6-$8) in the BM 68 handicap, and the seven-year-old gelding showed his class by sitting three wide and still proving too good.
Local trainer Peter Hardacre then had success in the 1300-metre maiden with the first starter Pick Me ($4-$5.50).
The three-year-old gelding looked to be in a hopeless position when still last at the 600 metres but a ride-of-the-day effort from Stacey Metcalfe enabled Pick Me to weave his way through traffic for a last stride victory.
Darryl Dodson and Kayla Crowther had their respective Limestone Coast 2021-22 trainer and jockey premierships in their keeping by race six and made a good thing of it when they combined to take out the 1000-metre 0-54 handicap with Comrade Bill.
At his second start this campaign, Comrade Bill brought off a decent plunge after being backed from $3.40 into $1.95 favourite.
The icing on the cake for trainer Sue Murphy’s annual Darwin holiday came when Hasta La Forente ($12-$14) returned to his best form at his third run this campaign to win the 2000 metre BM 64 handicap.
ENTRY A PROBLEM
THIS year is proving a somewhat difficult year for yours truly to gain entry to a race meeting.
The first hiccup was at Edenhope back in March when a dispute over vaccination papers led to a somewhat stirring discussion at the gate.
Entry to Fannie Bay Racecourse in Darwin recently for Northern Territory Derby day also proved another hurdle to negotiate.
Being of the older brigade, I left my credit card at the motel and went to the races with cash only.
The sign at the entrance (card only entry) had me on the backfoot immediately and quickly led to an animated debate with the gate attendant.
Silly me has always believed cash is a legal tender for any purchase in Australia – apparently not so.
I was about to tell the attendant where they could stick their race meeting when a good Samaritan arrived on the scene.
The blonde haired lady behind me in the queue kindly offered to pay my admittance with her credit card.
When I went to reimburse her the $15 she commented, “thank you but no, I can see you are a visitor and I want you to have an enjoyable day at the races.”
As it turned out, that was the only “win” I had for the entire day.
Strangely, once inside the track, cash was gladly received for food, drink and betting with both bookmakers and the tote.
The facilities at Fannie Bay have been upgraded enormously in the past decade, so much so they must be the envy of several other metropolitan clubs in Australia.
ANOTHER CASTERTON DRAWCARD
THE highlight of racing around Australia last Sunday was undoubtedly the performance of Elvison ($1.85-$2.30 fav.) in the Moredun Hill steeplechase at Casterton.
His effort to lead all the way with 74.5 kilograms on his back was exceptional and Elvison has now won all three steeplechases run at Casterton this year.
With four wins from six starts at the river valley course, Elvison is becoming a drawcard in a similar way fellow jumpers Burkhills Lane and Lazza were last century.
His connections now look at running the free striding jumper early next month in either the Grand Annual steeplechase at Ballarat or the Great Western steeplechase at Coleraine.
