Sport
30 November, 2023
Christmas Cup races are big hit in Kilcoy
The Kilcoy Race Club drew a big crowd last Saturday afternoon for the club’s annual Christmas Cup race day, as attendees came from all over south-east Queensland.
Five gallop races, mini trots and Fashions on the Field (FOTF) ensured there was plenty of activity.
Among 100 competitors, FOTF winners were Renee Innes (female) and her partner Beau Zorko (male), along with Jenni Carseldine (local), Zavier Zorko (junior) and Barbara Thompson (millinery).
Kilcoy Race Club chairperson Con Searle said the biggest attraction was the contingent of jockeys who drove mini trotters in one of the mini trot races.
“All the jockeys reported that it was fun and (that they) want to participate in meetings to come,” Mr Searle said.
As for the gallop races, Mr Searle said it was gratifying to see jockey Paul Hamblin ride the winner of the Christmas Cup.
Mr Searle said he had “great respect for him as a jockey and a trier”.
After doing his apprenticeship in Queensland, Hamblin had some weight problems and then moved to Victoria and South Australia where he rode in the jump races with plenty of success, before returning to Queensland a couple of years ago.
Hamblin’s victory last Saturday was one of four occasions when the favourite emerged triumphant.
In the opening 1500m race, the Girish Goomany-ridden and Vishan Venkaya-trained Papal Miss won by just half a length in the field of 12, after being in seventh place with 700m remaining.
After this race, the track was upgraded from a Soft 6 to a Soft 5 as conditions were overcast, while the occasional drop of rain proved inconsequential.
Mr Searle said afterwards that the “weather was beautiful and not the summer heat we had last year”.
Race two was 800m, with the second-favourite winning by a whopping four lengths while the favourite came a disappointing fourth in the field of six.
The winning horse, Gavilan, was ridden by Nozi Tomizawa and trained by Tony and Maddysen Sears.
Race three was 1900m and was the scene for Hamblin’s moment of glory while the winning horse was Kneze, trained by Amanda Park.
Kneze was in fifth or sixth place for much of the time before winning by 0.8 of a length in the field of 11.
The final two races were 1200m, with a field of eight followed by a field of 12.
The Ian Livingstone-trained and Lilli Barr-ridden Roman Reign won by five lengths, before the Paul Jenkins-trained and Trudy Thornton-ridden It’s Hells Bells won by 1.5 lengths.
The chairman of stewards, Kym Daly, said the jockeys and trainers gave big wraps on the track and how much it had improved over the past few years.
He thanked the committee and track manager Mark Williams for the effort to raise the track to one of the best in country Queensland.
