Hannah Leu, from Haly Creek, and Rosanna Allan, from Bell, provided stylish service in the dining hall for the Burrandowan Picnic Races High Tea

May 17, 2016

AgForce was a race sponsor … South Burnett branch president Carolyn Stone and SE Regional manager Sarah Due

Burrandowan Races is over for another year … with organisers toasting the best crowd they’ve had at the bush track in a decade.

Picnic Race Club secretary Carolyn Stone told southburnett.com.au that takings were still being counted but she believed at least 1700 people had come through the gate.

The camping area adjacent to the track was turned into a mini-city, packed with campervans and tents.

The morning started with the traditional clay target shooting.

The High Tea in the hall was a highlight, with guests being served tea and treats on the finest bone china, some belonging to Carolyn’s great-grandmother-in-law.

(She reported it all made it back home in one piece!)

Three special people were also presented with Life Memberships of the Burrandowan Picnic Race Club.

Former Nanango Race Club president John Lee was honoured, as were past Burrandowan club president Mark Phillips and his wife Heather.

In the evening, the barbecue pit and live music until midnight topped off another big day at the races.

Burrandowan Picnic race Club president Brendan McCormack, left, awarded life memberships of the club to John Lee, from Nanango; and Mark and Heather Phillips, from the Gold Coast
Narelle Peltz and Holly Burns, 3, from Dalby, were enjoying watching the horses in the saddling ring
Cr Ros Heit and Deb Dennien,
from Kingaroy
Sandy Trevor, from Greenbank, and Jan Prentice, from Hatton Vale
Students from the Kingaroy State High School concert band entertained from the balcony
Race club secretary Carolyn Stone and president Brendan McCormack
Cr Kathy Duff and Kristy Frahm,
from Proston
Helen Treherne, from the Gold Coast; Annie McGill, Ironpot; and Jules Entwistle, from Kumbia, were helping out by selling Burrandowan Races merchandise
Mayor Keith Campbell and wife Marion with Kayleen Freeman, from Coolabunia
Judy Crawford’s JC Catering team were working hard behind the scenes … from left, Pam and Jaimie Jones, from Murgon; Judy and Mickayla Crawford, from Kumbia; and Ngaire Jiggins, from Wattle Grove
The high tea in the dining room was very popular … and quite posh!
Jaime Lasker, from Toowoomba; Lindi Pott, Burrandowan; and Cath Fairbairn, Burrandowan, were helping customers at the hamper, picnic blanket and wine bar
Kingaroy trio Gerard Nixon, Brooke Griffin and Chantice Trenerry were enjoying the very warm autumn sunshine
Sue Gibbs, from Hervey Bay, with Jane Mason, Chelmsford; Craig Yarrow, Kingaroy; and Rosie Schmidt, Kingaroy

* * *

Best Dressed Contemporary Lady Priscilla Sangster, from Brisbane, was presented with her prize by Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson
Best Dressed Contemporary Lady runner-up Nicola Weber, from Toowoomba

Fashions Of The Field

Even more important than the racing for some visitors to Burrandowan is the Fashions of the Field competition, staged on a special catwalk adjacent to the dining hall.

A special guest compere for this year’s event was Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson, who was enjoying her first ever Burrandowan Races (although she probably wasn’t enjoying being lobbied by all and sundry about the tick line and vegetation management laws!)

Prizes were awarded to the Best Dressed Couple, Best Dressed Classic Lady, Best Dressed Contemporary Lady and  Best Dressed Gentleman.

Guest spotters wandered through the crowd from noon to invite suitably dressed entrants to take part in each category.

There was also a special prize, donated by Clovely Estate wines, awarded to a trio of visitors for their efforts to brighten everyone’s day with their colourful outfits.

Susan Mercer, from Clovely Estate, presented a special prize to colourful trio Isaiah Woods, Jacob Page and Chantal Woods, from Kingaroy
Classic Lady winner Verelle O’Shanesy, from Kingaroy
Classic Lady runner-up Lucy Fleming, from Brisbane
Best Dressed Gentleman winner Sam Grimes, from Brisbane
Best Dressed Gentleman runner-up Jae Clarke, from Nanango
Kingaroy gents Corey Burton and Gene Dalton enjoyed playing to the crowd in the Best Dressed Couple competition
Best Dressed Couple winners … Barclay Bassett and Amelia Bogunovich, from Roma
Best Dressed Couple runners-up .. Dylan Crowther and Gen Yates, from Brisbane
Part of the large crowd gathered to watch the Fashions of the Field competition

* * *

Cr Kathy Duff presented a silver bracelet to Race 4 winning jockey Stephanie Lacy, who stepped in for Hannah Phillips on board Spice Of Life … Cr Duff explained that her grandfather John Patrick Duff won a bracelet at the very first Burrandowan Races in 1922; he presented it to a woman he met at the races, Dorothea Mortimer Evans; the couple were married a few years later
Jockey Hannah Phillips … possibly the only South Burnett resident who didn’t have a good time at the Burrandowan Races

An Unlucky Jockey

Everyone had a great day at the annual Burrandowan Races on Saturday … the punters, the organisers, the fashion aficianados; everyone, that is, except Nanango apprentice jockey Hannah Phillips.

Phillips originally had a full card of five races booked.

The day started badly for her when she was overweight for her ride in Race 1, Chance To Dream. Veteran jockey Lyall Appo picked up the slot.

In Race 2, Phillips was aboard equal favourite, top weight Captain Clayton trained by her father Barry. Her mount bumped another shortly after the start and subsequently ran last.

In Race 3, Phillips failed to claim her full weight allowance for her ride on Media Savvy, which also didn’t run a place.

After this race, she was examined by QAS paramedics and stood down from her remaining rides.

Stewards fined her a total of $400 for the weight issues in Race 1 and Race 3 and told her she would require a medical certificate prior to resuming racing.

To top off what was had become a spectacularly awful day for Phillips, her booked ride in Race 4, Spice Of Life, then greeted the judge in first place.

The winning jockey who had secured the ride, Stephanie Lacy, was presented with a silver bracelet by Cr Kathy Duff as part of a Burrandowan racing tradition.

Hannah will be wishing she had just stayed at home …

* * *

Rustic Play (Todd Banks), on the inside, takes Race 2 by a nose from Monte Lago  (Corey Bayliss)

Results

Race 1 – Hot FM 89.1 / O’Reilly Nunn Favier Surveyors / Patron’s Cup Class B Handicap (1000m)
1. Music Scene (1) – Leeanne McCoy
2. Dr Quincy (2) – Amy Van Der Sanden
3. Jill’s Shadow (4) – Hannah English
Time: 1:01.07
Margins: 1 1/4 lengths x 1 1/4 lengths

Race 2 – 4SB 1071 / AGL Energy / Ken Mills Toyota Benchmark 60 Handicap (1000m)
1. Rustic Play (5) – Todd Banks
2. Monte Lago (8) – Corey Bayliss
3. Nador (9) – Lyall Appo
Time: 1:00.44
Margins:  Half head x 1 1/4 lengths

Race 3 – Clovely Estate / AgForce / BGA  QTIS Maiden Plate (1200m)
1. Cash’s Reject (1) – Leeanne McCoy
2. Psycho Said So (8) – Amy Van Der Sanden
3. Markover (4) – Corey Bayliss
Time: 1:10.24
Margins: Nose x seven lengths

Race 4 – SBRC / South Burnett Directions Open Handicap (1200m)
1. Spice Of Life (1) – Stephanie Lacy
2. Le Max (4) – Melody O’Brien
3. Writtenintherain (2) – Leeanne McCoy
Time: 1:09.76
Margins: 1/2 head x 5 1/4 lengths

Race 5 – CROW FM 90.7 / South Burnett Times Burrandowan Cup Benchmark 50 Handicap (1600m)
1. Tiverton (10) – Ian Coombes
2. Italian Queen (6) – Pietro Romeo
3. Ibelieveicanfly (7) – Amy Van Der Sanden
Time: 1:48.42
Margins: Head x head

Tiverton (Ian Coombes) edges out Italian Queen (Pietro Romeo) and Ibelieveicanfly (Amy Van Der Sanden) in the closest finish of the day to take home Race 5, the Burrandowan Cup
Race 1 sponsors Jamie Ferguson (HotFM),  Howard Cutler and Brett Trace (ONF Surveyors), and Andrew Downes (son of patron Grahame Downes) with winning trainer David Reynolds, from Dalby (second from right)
Race 2 sponsors Neil Cooke (AGL Energy), Deb Gillespie (4SB) and Helena Orel (AGL Energy) with winning trainer Harry Richardson, Toowoomba (at left)
Race 3 sponsors Brett Heading (Clovely Estate), Robbie Masters (BGA), AgForce SE Regional chairman Nev Galloway and SE Regional manager Sarah Due with owners Shirley and owner/trainer Geoff Schrader, from Jandowae, (at left)
Race 4 presentation … Tanya Dionysius and Leith MacMillan, from the Lady Bjelke-Petersen Private Hospital, SBRC economic development officer Sharyn Garrett, Cr Ros Heit (at back), Cr Kathy Duff and Mayor Keith Campbell with Spice Of Life strapper Matt Gleeson and winning trainer Matt Kropp, from Toowoomba
Race 5 sponsors Will Hunter (SBT), Gayle Kratzmann (CROW-FM) and Cr Ros Heit (CROW-FM) with winning connections Matthew (with Tiverton, left), trainer Bob (centre) and Christopher and Jack Murray (right)

  

 

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