October 29, 2022
Both Flemington in Melbourne and the Flemington of the Bush – namely Kumbia – stage their annual Cups on the first day of November.
This year will mark the 20th sponsorship of the Victorian event by Lexus.
But that effort has been upstaged by Huston Motors, the Kingaroy dealership that is putting up its supportive hand for Kumbia’s Cup for the 52nd time.
The purse of $14,000 is the richest for a Cup contest in the South Burnett this year.
And a bonus for the winner is a secured berth in the final of the $200,000 Country Cups Challenge at Doomben on December 3.
Racegoers preparing to go trackside should be aware of the following:
- Entry tickets can be booked online at trybooking.com and cost $15. The charge at the gate is $20.
- Bus transport can be booked by phoning Kingaroy’s Carrollee Hotel on (07) 4162-1055 or Nanango’s Fitzroy Hotel on (07) 4163-1506. Remember that seats sell quickly.
- The Fashions on the Field theme is “A Splash of Pink”. After the last race, there will be a Dash for Cash sprint for each gender sponsored by South Burnett Window Tinting.The winner’s prize is $100 with the runner-up to receive $50. If there is sufficient interest, there may be a contest for those who are over 50.
- Entry for the Fashion Stakes and the foot races is by a gold coin donation that will go to #pinkupyourtown, a project that provides local breast cancer nurses.
- Patrons interested in reserving undercover seats in the Wine & Cheese Bar area, ordering Platters or camping overnight should phone 0407-645-574.
- Cash out EFTPOS or ATM services are not available at the track.
- This year, the traditional Melbourne Cup Calcutta will be held at the
racecourse from 1:00pm on Sunday, October 30.
- There is plenty of room in the open space along the rail beside the straight beyond the grandstand to set up chairs and a pop up gazebo. But for safety reasons, dogs are not allowed.
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A Fascinating Feature
The 1400 metres starting point for the Kumbia Cup affords contestants a lovely long straight run to the first bend and so the race is often devoid of early pressure.
The topweight, the well credentialled Military Kings, will be saddled up by Warwick trainer Les Clarke.
The Hussonet gelding recently collected the Cup on his home ground in soft going before a nose defeat, with 59 kilograms, just down the road in the Stanthorpe Cup.
This time the bay has to contend with two kilograms more.
The veteran Kappy Chino has been in splendid form of late. Her jockey Leeanne McCoy landed four wins here back in the days when non-TAB programs on Melbourne Cup day were limited to four events.
Just over a month ago at Taroom, McCoy booted home Kappy Cino, Oakfield Target and Kingsford’s Own.
And a fortnight earlier at Nanango, she landed a double with Charged and Palentiful.
Palate, coming off an easy win on the dirt at Blackall, looks to go one better in the 2022 Cup.
The Better Than Ready mare was runner up last year.
Salazar, like Palate, will be sporting the omen pink colours. Most of the Deep Field mare’s first placings have been picked up on non-turf tracks such as Roma and Birdsville.
East Esplanade has enjoyed success at the track and distance.
The Poet’s Voice gelding won the Benchmark 50 Handicap over the same trip here last year.
The Toowoomba contender By The Law, a Clifford Park winner a fortnight ago, has scored five times over the metric seven furlongs journey.
Meanwhile, the Nanango team of Glenn and Hannah Richardson will head to the Gold Coast on Tuesday with Princess Marian, Brave Enough and Mr Brose.
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Clashing Cups Yield Surprises
Despite the scratching of Credenza at the start reducing this year’s Wondai Cup field to just a posse of four, the race was fascinating.
Although Not Liable led all the way for Lilli Barr, the quartet kept very close company for much of the trip.
The South Burnett Race Club’s feature attraction was up against the $20,000 Gympie Cup that was scheduled for just a week later over the same distance.
Both Cups were open company handicaps.
Given the dire forecasts and the fact that torrential rainfall was registered at nearby Tin Can Bay, the Gympie Turf Club was very fortunate to complete last weekend’s racing agenda.
The Saturday program was turned into a free admission phantom meeting, the Fashion contests were cancelled and the marquees did not operate.
The five event card was wisely rushed through in an early matinee time slot on the Sunday.
The Gympie Cup was a one act affair with The Carpenter (Kelly Gates, $6.50) hammering his hapless rivals to post a 14 length margin at the post.
The Rothesay gelding, prepared at Oakey by Terry Hall, is now unbeaten after two appearances on Gympie’s sand circuit.
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Bits And Bridles
- The official information on the Racing Australia website about last weekend’s Gympie meeting shows the track rating as “Fast Wet”. This wording is certainly outside the ten point national scale that ranges from a Firm 1 to a Heavy 10, but it does convey a more accurate summary. Describing the usual going on a dirt or sand surface as “good” is misleading. Wins on “good” grass tracks have no form relevance for places such as Wondai, Gympie and Gladstone.
- By the way, the old Albion Park sand course usually packed down when it rained. It made for a firmer surface and slicker times. ”Fast Wet” would have been an apt tag.
- Kilkivan based horseman Kym Afford enjoyed a change of luck at Gympie. His string had chalked up six placings since Mr Maharaj scored at Bundaberg two months ago. His charge Gossiaux, after a last start Wondai failure, sneaked through on the inside his three foes to prevail with three quarters of a length covering the field at the judge.
- Punters with black books should jot down the fact that Mr Brose, the Golden Archer gelding that trainer Glenn Richardson races with Peter Jackson, won for Alisha Donald at Gatton last Thursday on a Heavy 8. The key point is that the lightly raced five-year-old now has a 9:4-1-2 form line on rain affected surfaces.
- Retired jockey Lyall Appo delivered the Welcome to Country at the 2022 Racing Queensland’s Awards Night at the Brisbane City Hall. The Chinchilla postman was beside Pat Duff when the Deagon trainer’s induction into the RQ Hall of Fame was announced earlier this month. The pair share a geographical link to the Burnett. Wondai was the foundation of Duff ’s heritage while the Eidsvold born Appo is a proud Wakka Wakka man.
See you at the track on Tuesday!
