{"id":246378,"date":"2019-10-21T12:35:21","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T02:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=246378"},"modified":"2020-07-16T11:23:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T01:23:18","slug":"rain-washes-out-spring-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/10\/21\/rain-washes-out-spring-races\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain Washes Out Spring Races"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathryn Mawhinney, Tansey, and Abby Pollard, Tablelands, were supporting the “Spring Florals” dress theme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 21, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wondai’s big Caulfield Cup Day race meeting was cut short on Saturday afternoon when a storm dumped rain and hail on the course.<\/p>\n

A small shower passed across the grounds before Race 1 but this was nothing compared with what happened immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n

The first drops began to fall as the horses crossed the line.<\/p>\n

This was followed soon afterwards by pelting rain, small hail and strong winds which sent punters scurrying to find shelter.<\/p>\n

Stewards decided to delay the start of Race 2 in a bid to allow the weather to clear.<\/p>\n

But a subsequent inspection of the course revealed a number of washouts around the perimeter and a significant amount of surface water on the track.<\/p>\n

After taking into account the extent of remedial work that would be required to make the track suitable for racing – and a forecast of further thunderstorms – it was decided at 2:20pm to abandon the rest of the meeting.<\/p>\n

South Burnett Race Club secretary Chris Nettelfield said there would be no opportunity to re-schedule the Wondai Cup, which was the main event on the five-race card.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It just doesn’t get run this year,” she said.<\/p>\n

On the bright side, most of the crowd that had come to Wondai for the races stayed to watch the running of the Caulfield Cup and The Everest meetings on Sky-TV.<\/p>\n

“We had the betting ring and TAB operating, the bar was open and food was available,” she said.<\/p>\n

Final figures for the day have not be tallied yet but at one point, organisers were weighing up whether to re-stock the bar.<\/p>\n

Even the Fashions of the Field went ahead after a short delay …<\/p>\n

Winners were Rebecca Jane, Sunshine Coast (ladies);\u00a0 James Cullinane, Chinchilla (gentlemen);\u00a0 Jeff and Andrea Eagle, Brisbane (couple); Harry Fryer, Wooroonden (boys) and Amelia Dalton, Cushnie (girls).<\/p>\n