Star Buyer hitting the line to claim the Cup on Sunday. Trackpix Racing Photography.
A great crowd gathered at the Gundagai Racecourse on April 6 to witness a strong nine-race card with the main event being the Gundagai Cup.
Any value hunters saw their pennies flushed away when Jeff Penza rode $1.65 favourite Kotashi to a comfortable win in a maiden field over the 1400m for trainer Matt Kelley.
Jockey challenge leader for the season Jean Van Overmeire continued his hot form with Christmas Star leaving his rivals run ragged in the second winning by over three lengths.
Reef Road for Tumut trainer Kerry Weir claimed second in the race at nice odds ridden by jockey Blaike McDougall. Weir was pleased with the runner-up run.
“He’d run a really good race in what I thought was a stronger maiden so I was a tad surprised at his price,” Kerry admitted. “We knew the favourite was gonna be tough to beat, he seemed to have a fair bit of class on the rest of the field so the fact he stuck close to them is a credit to Blaike and the horse.
“We’re not too sure what we’re going to do with him next, it’s clear he’s got a bit of talent about him so it’s now all about finding a suitable field for him to break his maiden.
“He’s only three years old and he got some pretty big wraps on him from Blaike after the race, he certainly seems a nice type, touch wood.”
Kerry’s other runners on the day included five-year-old gelding ‘Box of Crackers’ and three-year-old gelding ‘Just Be Tryin.’ Both runners were sent out at big odds and ran accordingly.
Kerry’s stable is as busy as ever with the majority of horses being three years old. He says that though young horses can be more challenging, the rewards and effort can be worth it.
“With younger horses, you have a chance to make an impression on them and to mould them as you see fit, and if you’re lucky enough you get your hands on a champion and you’re able to keep a hold of them,” Weir continued.
Penza and Kelley once again were at the top of the podium in the third with Ana Carolina under the light weight getting the nose down against Claire Lever’s Lucky Star.
Finally, in the fourth, the local’s favourite Billy Owen picked up his first and only win of the day aboard Doug Gorrel’s Sheridan Street over the 1000m maiden.
Billy spoke with the Times to give his thoughts on the day and break down how he felt the race went.
“We drew barrier 18 of 18, which certainly wasn’t ideal at Gundagai first starter at 1000m. Most of the time you’d be scratching but that’s how confident we were,” Billy said.
“We were confident that she could overcome the barrier draw. She’s a pretty fast filly. The plan was to be up on speed early and if she showed enough speed to lead we’d be comfortable doing that too, as it panned out she did show enough speed and we were able to get to the rail which is a big thing with first starters and she did the rest.
“It was a really smart win for a horse having their first start with all the circumstances that came with it, the barrier and the tight turning track, etc.”
Billy hopes to remain on the horse as long as he can. “I think I’ll be on it until it doesn’t get my weight. Two of the owners are Gundagai lads, Dave Tout and Marty Hay and with it being named after the Main Street I think it’s fitting to have it ridden by a Gundagai jockey,” he continued.
“I think it’s going to the paddock to have a little freshen up for a week and then there’s a Class 1 race on Wagga Cup day and depending on what she does there he’ll reassess and probably give her a spell through the winter and bring her back.
“I don’t think one of those highway races in Sydney would be out of her reach, but it is a long time between now and then.
“She showed enough for us to be confident that she’s going to give us a bit of fun in the future.
“She’ll always be on the pace I guess you could say. For instance, the other day if she had drawn soft in gates 2, 3 or 4, we would have just stalked, I wouldn’t have gassed her like I did and I think she’ll be a lot more electric the last 200 when she is able to be ridden like that.
“The other day we done what we had to do to win, but I do think she’ll be better just sitting off the first two or three in that stalking role and then being able to unleash her speed that last furlong.
“If I had to have an opinion right now I do think she’ll run 1400, but I probably couldn’t see her going much further than 1400, 1200 I wouldn’t worry in the world.
“When I got on her in the mounting yard she got on her toes a little bit and the strapper said ‘I’m glad she did that because she was falling asleep out the back in the tie-up stalls’.
“She’s a very professional little horse and the boys had to get a little bit behind her to get her into the barriers, but that’s just a first starter being a bit nervous, but she did everything else very pro-fessional and that makes my job easier.”
Race five and favourite backers continued a profitable day when a peach from Blaike McDougall saw Dupli Kate win at $1.95.
Finally, the bookies got one up when team Cahill combined with Railway Avenue to win the sixth, the six-year-old gelding still had admirers, getting home at $6.
McDougall continued his fine day with a win on favourite One Hard Lady for Donna Scott.
Finally, race eight was the penultimate of the day and it was time for the Cup. Tim Donnelly and Molly Bourke partnered on the Irish-bred favourite County Kilkenny who was first up after a 12-week spell.
It became evident as the race was being run that it wasn’t for the on-pacers which played perfectly into the hands of Ben Brisbourne’s Star Buyer who let down with an almighty finish to swamp the field and claim the cup.
Finishing off a great day of racing was trainer Gratz Vella with Damon Budler in the saddle of four-year-old gelding ‘Chasing a Quid’ who knocked over Luke Pepper’s well-tried favourite Keikoku.
President of the Gundagai Adelong Racing Club Jeremy Pearce was overjoyed with the crowd and the racing conditions on the day.
“Everything sort of played into our hands really well, we’ve got our new grounds manager who’s been here about 12 months and is doing a terrific job as well as finally getting a good day weather for the first time in about four or five years,” Jeremy said.
“I think the fact that winners came from all over the track is a key indicator of how good it was handling all the racing, we’ve had a few of the trainers and jockeys say to us that it’s one of the best country tracks around which is obviously something we love hearing.”
Looking ahead to the future James anticipates the annual Snake Gully Cup to be as big as ever.
“The last few years it would seem we’ve sort of hit our ceiling in regards to the crowd just with how many the town can actually accommodate, we have people booking hotels and caravan stays years in advance and even have people staying close in Tumut, Jugiong and wherever else they can that is close by,” he continued.
“The Hair of the Dog for a while has literally been that with the crowds dropping off from the previous day but in recent years we’ve really seen the crowd grow which has been awesome. Both (Snake Gully Cup and Heir of the Dog) are great days of racing and if we could get at least half of the crowd from the Friday to back up on the Saturday we’d see that as a great success.”
-Tully Potts
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