February 28, 2015
by Ross Stanley
The Kumbia Race Club will have a turn at staging one of Racing Queensland’s lucrative Celebrate Country Series contests in a fortnight’s time.
The feature race – a $10,000 open handicap over 1200 metres – will also serve as a Joyce and Morris “Boy” Reed memorial event.
The Inverlaw farming couple, who passed away last autumn, were life-long residents of the district and staunch, industrious club supporters.
The origins of their association goes back to “Boy’s” father Morris, a founding member of the Kumbia Race Club who trained gallopers, served on the committee and was a race starter across the South Burnett in the early 1900s.
Boy, who rode at Kumbia as an amateur jockey, also successfully trained thoroughbreds, was a committeeman and long-term judge.
His lifetime of racing at Kumbia spanned 92 years and 9 months.
Joyce also loved horse-racing, was a Kumbia Race Club regular for more than eight decades. participated in ladies committee activities and assisted with race-day catering.
March 14’s meeting is an ideal opportunity to celebrate the marvellously sustained roles played by these pioneers of racing in the area.
The six race card will be enhanced by the Best Dressed Lady and Man and the Kumbia Belle competitions.
An added spectacular to the hoof races are some challenges for those who are fleet of foot.
The Kumbia Gift, an open sprint contest for the guys and the Kumbia Kash Kow for the girls, both carry a healthy winner’s purse of $150 and there will be children’s races for all ages.
More information is available by contacting Race Club Secretary Wendy Mathews on (07) 4163-7200, President Brian Lenihan on (07) 4164-4155, or by accessing the race club’s Facebook pages.
Bookings for the return bus transport ($20, including admission) that leaves Kingaroy at 11:00am on race day can be made at the Carrollee Hotel on (07) 4162-1055.
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Bits And Bridles
- Eidsvold, which along with Doomben, Toowoomba’s Inner track, Bluff, Warwick and the Gold Coast suffered a wet weather cancellation last weekend, is apparently now scheduled to operate a replacement program on Ipswich Cup day, June 13, a date that clashes with Kilcoy and the Sunshine Coast.
- South Burnett trainers have gone in diverse directions this weekend with James Curtain, Norma King and Glenn Richardson saddling up charges at Chinchilla, Blackall and Thangool respectively.
- Meanwhile Deagon conditioner Ian Livingstone and his apprentice Mel Cox, a duo well known in the South Burnett, struck instant pay dirt on Thursday’s wet surface at Kilcoy when the debutant Written Tycoon filly Blooming Tycoon ($12) scored in the half-mile maiden for two-year-olds. The bay is a great grand-daughter of Copperama, winner of the 1981 VATC Thousand Guineas and QTC Marlboro (now J J Atkins) Stakes.
- After brushing the rail and becoming unbalanced, Livingstone’s other runner, Cast Out, finished handy fourth in the Arthur Gray Class 1 (800m).
- The small team is in good form. Faultless Dancer took out the Bangalow Cup at Ballina in early February for Cox. Two runs earlier the Zaha mare had won over the mile course at the Sunshine Coast for Michael Hellyer in BM 90 company at 16/1.The last ten assignments the yard has undertaken have yielded three wins, a second, two thirds and two fourths.
- Rookie Jed Hodge, who first sported silk at Nanango in mid January, has really picked up the bit. After his breakthrough success at Bundaberg on Enough is Enough on February 8, he landed a double at Roma last weekend for trainer Bevan Johnson. All up his 11 career engagements thus far have created a 3:0:3 form line.
- Work is expected to be completed this weekend on the second phase of the Australian Racing Board’s new Track Rating System for the RISA database. This implementation relates to new track conditions for Sand and Dirt track surfaces.The development is long overdue as the previous usage of the term “good” to cover these types of going was totally misleading. Under that scheme, the star Creeker Red Seas from the 1969-71 period would have shown as having scored 15 times on good surfaces. During his time on the track, his only pick up on grass was a minor placing on a holding track at Doomben. This innovation will assist South Burnett punters because the non-turf performances recorded at Wondai, Gympie and Bundaberg will now be more accurately described.
