March 29, 2016
Nanango Race Club’s Easter meeting drew a bumper crowd on Saturday.
The meeting’s theme was “Royalty, Vintage, Lace and Pearls”, and more than a few patrons took the opportunity to dress up for the occasion.
There were lace and pearls aplenty to be seen trackside, as well as even the occasional bowler hat.
There were also plenty of visitors, including members of an MG car club who motored up from the Sunshine Coast to take in a day of country racing.
Others came from Brisbane, Toowoomba, Caloundra and the North Burnett, happily rubbing shoulders with locals who’d elected to avoid heavy holiday traffic and spend the long weekend at home.
Saturday’s meeting also saw two new improvements unveiled at the track: a pair of portable metal grandstands that gave patrons additional elevated seating to watch the races; and eight new wooden benches prepared by the Nanango Men’s Shed, which provided extra seating in the club’s under-cover area.
Both seemed to draw a lot of favourable attention from the patrons, who made use of them as the day progressed.
At times the overcast weather looked like it would deliver a cloudburst so it seemed the extra sheltered seating would be necessary.
But as things turned out, the clouds held off delivering their payload until evening.
This meant patrons were able to enjoy a pleasantly dry day at the track under the scudding clouds, and jockeys and their charges enjoyed a safe and incident-free meeting.
In the betting ring, there was considerable interest in a number of highly fancied runners, but favourites only won the final two races.
There was also interest in Nanango’s pair of Hannahs: Phillips and English.
Apart from being sentimental favourites with Lee Park regulars, both jockeys are performing well in this year’s premiership contests, and have been very much in form the past few months.
Punters who backed the duo were rewarded with a win from Phillips in Race 4 aboard Favourite Shadow, and two placings from English in Race 2 (Squeemi) and Race 4 (Canid).
But the jockey who stole the day was Jason Hoopert, who secured a first and three thirds from his five rides.
The Nanango Race Club’s next outing will be its Autumn Race Meeting on Saturday, May 28.
Racegoers who want some action earlier can attend the South Burnett Race Club’s Anzac Day meeting at Wondai on April 25, or the annual Burrandowan Picnic Races on May 14.
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Results
Race 1 – Glendalough Brangus Stud Maiden Plate (800m)
1. Marrew Mia (6) – Jason Hoopert
2. Abstain (8) – Bruce Powell
3. Man Overboard (1) – Wayne O’Connell
Time: 0:46.00
Margins: Long neck x 1/2 length
Race 2 – Thorps Jewellers BenchMark 60 Hcp (1000m)
1. Turbo Teddy (3) – Montanna Sawa
2. Squeemi (2) – Hannah English
3. Rocking Connection (8) – Jason Hoopert
Time: 0:57.24
Margins: 1 1/2 lengths x 3/4 length
Race 3 – McDonalds Kingaroy QTIS Maiden Plate (1200m)
1. Pick Of The Pubs (1) – Leeanne McCoy
2. Diamondine (9) – Matthew Powell
3. New Moon (11) – Jason Hoopert
Time: 1:09.95
Margins: 6 lengths x 1 neck
Race 4 – CROW-FM Benchmark 50 Handicap (1200m)
1. Favourite Shadow (1) – Hannah Phillips
2. Wylie (3) – Fiona Jervis
3. Canid (6) – Hannah English
Time: 1:09.15
Margins: 1 length x 2 3/4 lengths
Race 5 – Curtain Racing Class B Handicap (1600m)
1. Rathgibbon (6) – Fiona Jervis
2. Tiverton (5) – Shaun Bayliss
3. Excellent Star (3) – Jason Hoopert
Time: 1:35.45
Margins: Short neck x 2 1/2 lengths
- View videos all all five races on the Nanango Race Club’s YouTube Channel
