March 3, 2018
Nanango Race Club officials breathed a collective sigh of relief last Saturday when their first race meeting of the year managed to avoid the rain.
Lee Park had received a drenching the night beforehand and with storm clouds threatening a repeat on race day, officials waited until Saturday morning to announce the meeting would go ahead as planned.
While it rained in many parts of the region that day, Lee Park remained dry until the last race had been run.
The two hundred or so spectators who braved the weather were treated to a relaxed meeting in pleasant late summer conditions, and jockeys and horses managed the soft track without incident.
That wasn’t to say precautions weren’t taken, though.
Because of the threat of rain – including an immense rain cloud that covered the skies around lunchtime – race club officials moved all the day’s races forward by 20 minutes.
They also shortened the last race by 30 metres to avoid water near the 1600 metre mark.
However by the time the second race had been run, blue skies erupted and things stayed that way the rest of the day.
The meeting’s fashion theme was “Floral Shirts, Floppy Hats and Floaty Dresses” and many people dressed to it.
Half a dozen were rewarded for their efforts with a bottle of Moffatdale Ridge wine by roving judges who mingled with the crowd.
Many children took advantage of free face-painting, while other guests were simply content to sit under the race track’s large awnings and watch the world go by.
Nanango Race Club’s next meeting will be held on Easter Saturday and it promises to be much bigger.
The meeting will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the resumption of racing in Nanango, and the race club are planning a big celebration to mark it.
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Results
Race 1 – Wellcamp Fabrications Maiden Plate (800m)
1. First Bid (2) – Hannah English
2. Paradiski (6) – Jason Hoopert
3. Stash The Silver (7) – Kelly Gates
Time: 0:46.73
Margins: 4 3/4 Lengths x 1/2 Neck
Race 2 – Bechley’s Transport Class B Handicap (800m)
1. Storm Anchor (7) – Rhiannon Payne
2. Good Gracious Mae (5) – Kelly Gates
3. Past Dark (2) – Hannah English
Time: 0:46.48
Margins: 3/4 Length x 1 Length
Race 3 – Nanango Bookmakers Association BenchMark 50 Handicap (1200m)
1. Ballina Bay (9) – Kelly Gates
2. Benovsky (6) – Hannah English
3. Hariir (5) – Cecily Eaton
Time: 1:12.61
Margins: 1/2 Length x 1/2 Head
Race 4 – Heritage Bank Nanango Open Handicap (1200m)
1. All Host (1) – Justin Stanley
2. Snuggle Pot (5) – Billie-Rose Derbyshire
3. Murranji (4) – Hannah English
Time: 1:11.63
Margins: 1 1/4 Lengths x 1 Neck
Race 5 – Ken Mills Toyota BenchMark 60 Handicap (1570m)
1. Endless Don (3) – Gregory Hayes
2. You Can’t Be (4) – Hannah Phillips
3. Marlahn (5) – Cecily Eaton
Time: 1:35.06
Margins: 1 Neck x 1 3/4 Lengths
- View videos all five races on the Nanango Race Club’s YouTube Channel
