David Gilbert
NEARLY two years ago, areas of East Gippsland in Victoria were burned and devastated by bush fires.
A week’s sojourn through that region and southern New South Wales saw yours truly stumble upon a very unique, once a year racecourse in dense forest which made the media headlines as it was in the path of the bushfire.
Arriving there is similar in some ways to arriving at Mindarie-Halidon racecourse, as you turn off the main road in the middle of nowhere and then proceed down an ordinary side road.
For starters, the Buchan and Gelantipy Race Club is not situated near either town, being 54 kilometres from Gelantipy and 13 kilometres south of Buchan.
Kel Murray, a racing friend of mine, once attended a meeting there and reckoned “it was like going back in time to the 1930’s.”
Being in rugged, hilly country, there was very little flat space to build a racecourse and the spot found was at Canni Creek, high up in the hills above Buchan, the home of both the race club and the local golf club.
The only non-wooden structures are the judges box, the running rail and the administration block.
Fire swept through the racecourse, burning the track and half of the winning post (pictured) but, amazingly, the buildings were spared.
Long-serving racing club secretary Ian Dunkley mused, “it was a pity in a way that the bar was not burned as it is very old and a new one would be a welcome addition.”
There was speculation the 2020 race meeting in February – shortly after the bushfires – would not proceed, but the local community rallied strongly and rain following the bushfire helped clear the track of ash and rejuvenate the surface.
“We ended up with a record crowd of 2,500 people which was amazing considering we normally get around 1,400 people,” Dunkley said.
Racing at Canni Creek is for amateur riders and part of the Victorian picnic circuit.
It is an undulating track with a downhill run from the 200-metre mark before dipping away to the turn out of the straight, which brought memories flooding back of the old Glenburnie track and the course at Downpatrick in Northern Ireland.
While the amateur riders have no problems with the Canni Creek track, I doubt very much whether it would get the tick of approval from the professional jockeys.
Apart from the dip after the winning post, the turn out of the straight is very sharp with a steep rise.
It would be a waste of time taking binoculars to watch the races there as the view is blocked for around 500 metres along the back section by thick trees.
The race commentator allegedly once used the phrase “the field is entering Sergeant Schultz country as I know nothing because I can see nothing.”
If, for some reason, you had to cycle back into Buchan after the races, it would be an effortless exercise as it is mainly downhill, especially the steep descent over the final four kilometres.
And, what a hidden treasure the little town of Buchan is.
It has to be one of Australia’s most picturesque and boasts the most magnificent setting at the bottom of the surrounding hills in a lush green valley, dissected by the tree-lined Buchan river.
Six years ago, the local pub burned down and the owner did not have the funds to rebuild.
The community chipped in by raising $250,000 to help the resurrection and it, along with the highly-recommended coffee shop over the road, are the newest additions to the Buchan skyline.
A trip to Buchan races on February 11 next year is now a priority high on my bucket list and passengers are welcome.
GOOD RUN CONTINUES
A DOUBLE at Naracoorte last Friday gave trainer Sue Murphy five winners on her home track in the past month, resulting in her zooming to the top of the 2022/23 Limestone Coast trainer’s premiership ladder.
Murphy book-ended the program a week ago with Hasta La Missile making it back to back wins, then the old timer Pewter returned to winning form in the final event after a run of outs of more than a year.
The old marvel has won 12 races for Murphy since arriving from the Chris Waller stable back in 2016 and defield a big betting drift ($9-$15) to swamp his rivals following a top Teagan Voorham ride.
Dominic Tourneur’s return to the saddle from injury continued in good fashion with a double to suggest another local title is not beyond him.
Minimay trainer and former Naracoorte Racing Club secretary Tammy Pretlove had her first winner for over 12 months when Fergie ($17) resumed from a six-month spell to take out the 1000-metre BM 54 handicap.
Bordertown husband and wife training combination of James and Lisa Dodgson notched their first winner of the local season when the well-backed Call It A Hunch ($4.60-$3.80) won the 1200-metre maiden.
The track was upgraded during the program from a Soft 5 to a Good 4, while crowd numbers were well below original expectations.
SAVED THE DAY AGAIN
THE Casterton Racing Club was due to race for the final time this year in mid October.
It is just as well the track has been well maintained since as the river valley course is currently the flavour of the month for staging transferred meetings.
Last Monday, Casterton saved the day for western Victorian racing for the fourth time this year when the Terang meeting was transferred at the last minute.
Casterton officials were given less than 24 hours notice to conduct the meeting and did so with aplomb despite the track being downgraded during the day from a Soft 6 to a Heavy 10.
Cold, showery conditions resulted in the smallest crowd I have ever seen at a race meeting in nearly 60 years of going to the races.
There were more scratchings than starters and the main reason was that stables from the other side of Terang were not keen on the extra two hours travel to Casterton.
However, that was good news for Mount Gambier trainer Wayne Walters who won the 2000-metre BM 58 high weight handicap with Fast Foils ($6).
The eight-year-old gelding, ridden by Darryl Hormer junior, made it two wins from his past three starts, scoring by the barest possible margin in a four-way finish.
Meanwhile, local apprentice Jacob Opperman had another city winner on the Morphettville Parks circuit last Saturday.
At his first ride for little known Laura trainer Bryan Holtham, Opperman got the chocolates aboard Heka Express ($15) in the 1400-metre BM 78 handicap.
PRE CHRISTMAS MEETING NEXT
CHRISTMAS is only a month away and the opportunity to get into the festive spirit will be out at Glenburnie next Friday, December 2.
It is the traditional pre Christmas twilight meeting and the club has been advertising extensively to promote the meeting.
There are plenty of packages available for group bookings and any enquiries can be directed to the club – website or phone 8725 4466.
Prior to that, it is Jericho Cup day at Warrnambool this Sunday for one of the biggest meetings of the year over the border.
DID NOT MAKE THE CUT
LAST Sunday’s local harness race meeting was abandoned after the club just failed to meet the criteria for the number of horses required to constitute a meeting.
Having meetings at Stawell, St Arnaud and Hamilton in western Victoria around the same time did not help the cause and we can only hope the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday night, December 14 gets the support required.
