By Casey O’connor
IT’S time for punters to sharpen their pencils, pins, read their stars, order their once-a-year form guides from newsagents and follow their chosen method of selecting their Melbourne Cup fancy.
The Melbourne Spring Carnival has already served up a delightful entree of racing.
The sensational win of Jameka in the Caulfield Cup set the stage for another amazing carnival, however it was the sheer brilliance of another wonder mare – Winx – that has stolen the hearts and imagination of seasoned punters and sometime racing enthusiasts with her breathtaking win in last Saturday’s Cox Plate.
Unfortunately, unlike a group of local racing enthusiasts who were on track, I had to settle for watching history unfold in the warmth of my lounge room.
I have been privileged to be there to watch So You Think win the Cox Plate – one of the jewels in racing’s crown – and saw the mighty Black Caviar in the flesh as she blew fields away on several occasions.
I felt privileged to be at Randwick last year when this champion mare put away the Epsom field in style.
All of those wins were nothing compared to the stunning win of Winx on Saturday, as she warmed the hearts of frozen race goers on the coldest of days to claim back to back Cox Plate wins. Simply awesome.
We will not see the mare again this spring after Chris Waller confirmed she will be spelled and set for more autumn riches and perhaps a tilt at a third Cox Plate.
The sensational Cox Plate Day will be a hard act to follow at Flemington on Derby Day, Saturday and the main event Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday.
Sacred Elixir heads the Derby betting while history awaits James Cummings if he can salute with either of his hopes – Good Standing and Prized Icon – in a race his grandfather Bart made his own.
Look for a good run from Valadero from the all-conquering Waller camp.
On Tuesday, Caulfield Cup winner Jameka heads the Cup fancies along with Hartnell, who may have had time to recover from the windburn he received after Winx shot past him in the Cox Plate. I’m leaning towards Exospheric which means you can possibly put a line through it.
Good luck with your selections as we saw last year horse racing allows dreams to come true for the true believers and this week we have been left in awe of the pure power and magic of another magnificent animal.
Casey
RAIN FAILS TO DAMPEN SPIRITS
STANTHORPE Golf Club hosted visitors from Tenterfield, Warwick, Toowoomba and as far north as Maryborough, and many points in between joined a big contingent of local golfers for the Stanthorpe Open weekend.
Unfortunately, the wet weather disrupted play in the 4BBB stableford on Saturday but could not dampen player’s spirits. Conditions were much improved on Sunday when the single events were played.
A good field braved the conditions early on Saturday morning but as conditions deteriorated and the rain became heavier, many players abandoned ship.
There were a few true mud-larkers who persisted. Wes Smith and Hayden Smith proved to be the best navigators returning a score of 45 points taking out their second win in best ball events in just a few weeks. Swimming through the conditions to take second place with a score of 43 points was the team of Rob Reeves and Keith Allen.
Sunday morning the rain abated as the sun peeped through allowing for vastly improved conditions for the single.
In the men’s Open stroke event three players returned the lowest score of 76 for the round. James Haining, a visitor from the Gailes Golf Club, had the best of the countback to take the top honour the best score of the Open. A countback was also required to determine the golfer with the best nett on the day. Luke Beilby from Inglewood had an anxious wait before learning he had been awarded the prize for his score of nett 68.
In the A Division of the Open, Geoff Hinze (Warwick) collected best gross score and Mark Peters (Goombungee) best nett 69. In B Grade, Alan Kerr with 85 had best gross score while Aaron Simmers collected the nett prize for his score of 68. Nino Capuzzo (Goombungee) recorded lowest gross score of 91 and John McLennan (Laidley) the best nett score (69) in C Grade.
The ladies played a single stableford event in a very competitive field. The overall winner with 34 points was Neta Thouard. There were also three divisions decided in the Ladies competition. Rachael Hendry (31), Jennifer Sparkes (33) and Rosemary Fawdon (34) each won their respective divisions.
Runners-up in divisions were Kay Webb (27), Madeline Jarman (31) and Lorraine Evans (31).
Pro-pins and pin shots and long drives were awarded during the day and mention must be made of the men’s winner, James Haining. Haining generously sponsored the pin shot at three which was won by Ken Hines (Tenterfield). Another noteworthy result was Darryl Boekholt’s win in the accuracy drive. Boekholt not only had the longest drive but also the straightest, finishing right on the line.
Overall, despite the weather intervention, the Open weekend was declared a great success. The Stanthorpe club and hardworking and slightly frazzled organisers were extremely grateful to the large number of players who travelled so far to participate.
The support of sponsors Maddie’s Gift Gallery, who have been involved in the Open for many years and the City Golf Club who have been sponsoring Open golf days in the region for a number of years contributed greatly to the success of the weekend.
The Club would like to thank Jim Grassick for representing the City Golf Club during the presentation. A special thank you to the club members who volunteered their time both before and during the carnival. Greenkeeper Bill once again presented the course in magnificent order and drew plenty of very positive comment.
This weekend it is back to normal golf competition on Saturday with a Two Ball Ambrose sponsored by M & D Auto Parts scheduled. This event has been held for a number of years and is gaining in popularity. Members and visitors are welcome on the day and the event will have a shot gun start at 11.45am with registration by 11.30am.
On Sunday, Inglewood Golf Club will host the replay of the Inglewood Open. For those players who have arranged bus travel the departure time from the Stanthorpe Clubhouse is 7.30am. Departure time is a 7.30am from the clubhouse. A reminder to players – don’t be late, it’s a long way to walk.
BOWEN AND DUDGEON WINNERS
SUNDAY dawned a much better day for shooters on the Inglewood Sporting Shooters range and much better conditions for those competing in the Practical Shooting Comp and Action Pistol.
Winner of the Practical Shooting competition was Iain Bowen who outscored placegetters Jason Lewis and Peter Russell.
Stephanie Dudgeon took the honours in the Action Pistol competition relegating Jason Lewis into another second place with Glen Small taking third place in the shoot.
Sunday the club is holding a working bee which will be followed by pistol shooting once the tough stuff is done.
It is that time of the year when thoughts turn to Christmas preparations and our diaries start to fill with Christmas party dates. The club have set down this year’s Christmas party shoot for the weekend of 10-11 December. At this time, it seems likely Open Day will be held on the 11th and all and sundry will be welcome to join members and experience the chance to fire pistols, rifles etc.
A word of warning for all moving around the range and elsewhere – snakes are on the move too, so be careful.
SPOTLIGHT ON CLIFTON RACING
ALL eyes were on the Clifton Racecouse last weekend as the club celebrated the running of the 2016 Clifton Cup. Despite the rain, the track was in good condition for the five race card, and a good crowd supported the annual event. Beaudesert trainer Greg Cornish and jockey Sarah Drake combined to win the Pacific Seeds/Pershouse Rural Clifton Cup with Clangoranda. The six-year-old gelding started at $11 despite a good fourth at his last start in Lismore, and in a tight finish defeated Chilli Beach who backed up after a good second in Stanthorpe the previous weekend and Red Bohemia.
Oakey trainer Patrick Sexton got his day off to a good start winning the first, the Emerald Grains Class B with Kavalong. The four-year-old Raheen Stud bred gelding made light of his 60kg impost beating Man Over Board and Burketown Larrikin by four lengths. It was the first leg of a race to race double for Sexton who won the next race – the PB Agrifood Benchmark 65 with Squeemi. Apprentice Jed Hodge claimed 2kg on the mare who started at $6 and in another tight finish got the nod ahead of Reddamour and Rhiateen Road.
The third event, the Ray Bunch QTIS Maiden Plate was won by the lightly raced Penny A Pinch. Having only her third race start, the mare backed up a recent second at Wondai with a solid one length win over equal favourites Sequoia Miss and Sir Bam for her connections trainer Sheree McEwan, owner Mrs J Simpson and apprentice jockey Michael Shrapnel.
The final event on the five race program the Clifton Real Estate Felton Produce Maiden over the 1580m journey saw another tight finish. Oakey-trained galloper Sakan snatched a narrow win over more fancied rivals Major Bo and Put the Rope Away bringing the curtain down on another successful country cup meeting in the region.
BUSY WEEK FOR MALLET ENTHUSIASTS
IN recent Association Croquet games, Pat Schnoor and Heather Widderick teamed up and defeated the pairing of Effey Russell and Val Shephard 26-10. In this game, Schnoor played very well and had two breaks of four. Meanwhile Grace Howard and Val Richards defeated Andrea Denkewitz and Carol Verwey 13-9. Grace Howard led the scoring with a break of five hoops in a row.
Several of the Golf Croquet crew were unavailable for games this week. With nine players available, one player was forced to play to balls. In the first round Justin Liddy and Judy Locke scored a 7-5 win against Liz Ellway and Dianne Wren. Justin and Liz both played well and each scored four hoops while the remaining group played Triples.
Elaine Brown, Marian Castles and Val Fancourt went down 6-7 in a very close game, defeated by Teresa Pyne and John Castles.
In the second round of games Elaine Brown and Judy Locke took on Marian Castles and Liz Ellway in a game that finished in an eight all draw.
John Castles, Dianne Wren and Val Fancourt scored 11 hoops against their opponents Justin Liddy and Teresa Pyne six. John Castles was in excellent touch in this game scoring eight hoops in an exceptional effort.
ALMOST CRICKET
STANTHORPE cricketers finally got on the ovals last Saturday after a delayed start to their season, only to have the opening games thwarted by the weather.
The game between Valleys and Wanderers looked to be very evenly matched before rain interrupted the game. Wanderers’ batsmen were handling the conditions and the score was 4/106. Adrian Hill had scored 56 runs while Damian Anderson had taken two wickets before play was abandoned.
Souths and Tenterfield also opened their season and Souths were confident of a win after bowling their opponents out for 86. A likely win was stymied by the heavy rain.
With both games abandoned mid-afternoon all four teams have started their season with two points apiece.
COW OF A MYSTERY
NOT exactly sport but how many animal lovers around Stanthorpe noticed the disappearance of Camembert Jones, the white cow which used to reside on the lawn outside the Southern Downs Vet premises.
The mysterious disappearance of Ms Camembert has been revealed. There has been no sinister kidnap nor has misfortune become the bovine. In fact, I hear she will be back shortly after a cow of a makeover. Keep your eyes open for the transformed bovine who is set to reclaim her position of influence – a cow with a totally moo look. She’s sure to brighten up your day.
BILLYCARTS HIT THE BORDER
A LARGE crowd of supporters lined Glen Lyon Street in Wallangarra on Sunday as the Border Billycarts hurtled down the course after the events scheduled for Saturday were postponed due to the heavy rain.
Plenty of racers graced the starting line in a wide variety of carts some we have seen at previous billycart events in the district and some new interesting and ingenious designs.
The celebrity races early in the day set the tone for racing throughout the day with plenty of good fun and close racing. SDRC Councillor Yve Stokes was in sync with her machine outgunning the Tenterfield Deputy Mayor and Member for Southern Downs, Lawrence Springborg, who proved he’s up for any challenge.
The Border 1000 Open Challenge was a hotly contested event. After some very solid form in the heats and semi-finals it was Warwick visitor Cyril Brown in the flashy number 25 red cart, who claimed the major prize.
The Wallangarra and Tenterfield Police mounted their own State of Origin challenge and the Border Post and Free Times went head to head in the Media Challenge. The NSW Blues, unlike their football team, were able to nail a win setting up another cross-border rivalry.
At the wheel for the Free Times in the Media Challenge was intrepid snapper Terry West, while the Border Post left their chances up to a clearly nervous Liana Turner. After some tips from the experts the pair were loaded away in their respective carts and faced the starter. A little like Lawrence Springborg earlier in the day, our Terry had a few wobbles at the start while the Border Post staffer exploded off the start and was never headed. Despite their early anxiety, the pair were full of smiles after the race, ready to have another go declaring it as much fun as it looks.
Winner of the junior Border 1000 as well as the 12-15 Year age group was Sidney Hollingsworth.
After results of the recent billycart event held in Warwick were collated, Cr Stokes presented the Southern Downs Billy Cart Inter Town Challenge Cup to Ballandean. The Ballandean State School will display the trophy for the next 12 months. Accepting the trophy on behalf of the Ballandean School and community was Michael Simpson and his cart racing daughter Lily.
Lily who has been billycarting for three years is earning a winning reputation – following successes in recent events she won two categories on Sunday – the 5-7 Years and also the 8-11 Years.
After the rain interruption on Saturday, event organisers were thrilled with the numbers of cart racers and spectators who supported the event on Sunday. Roll on 2017 – I hear plans are already in place to modify many of the carts while our very own snapper may take that long to come to terms with his defeat and is already talking strategies to avenge his defeat.
CONDAMINE NOTCH UP ANOTHER WIN
MARYVALE Condamine batsmen and bowlers showed plenty of class in their win over Allora at Slade Park on Sunday.
On a pitch slightly affected by Saturday’s rain, captain Andrew Ryan chose to bat first, hoping to get some movement out of the ball on a drying wicket in the latter stages of the game.
In a good batting display that extended right down the order, Maryvale set their opponents a 223 run target after openers Dave Walker and Jason Steketee set the platform with an 83-run partnership. Steketee and Rob Lindsay topped the Maryvale batting both scoring 55 runs.
Best with the ball for Allora were Luke Cullen and Sean Bryson – each bagged a pair in tough bowling conditions.
Allora started their innings in convincing fashion and at drinks were on target with the score at 2/64.
Luke Cullen took 2/33 and Sean Bryson 2/44 for Allora. The fall of the wicket of Cam Masters swung the game in Maryvale’s favour. The handy number four was batting aggressively when he was dismissed.
One of the highlights of the game was the impressive catching of Maryvale youngster Will Gordon who is quickly earning a reputation as one of the safest fielders in the Warwick competition.
Gordon’s good fielding backed up the efforts of the bowlers. Dave Walker was on the spot with the new ball taking 2/18 in his six overs. Lindsay Gordon and Tom Bourke broke the back of the Allora batting finishing with 3/10 from four overs and 3/12 from five respectively.
In the end it was a classy all-round performance by Maryvale dismissing Allora for 111 to win by six wickets.
COLTS CONTINUE WINNING FORM
IN a rain interrupted game in Allora on Saturday, Warwick Hotel Colts continued their impressive start to the season with their fourth win from as many games defeating Railway Hotel Rascals by 11 runs.
Colts set Allora a big run chase as they piled on 260 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their innings. It was a good performance from the Colts batsmen headed by Fraser McVeigh, who finished the innings 52 not out. He was well supported by good performances from Kev Poole (50), Nick Inmon (47), Geoff Thorley (35) and Taegan Inmon 21 not out.
Cameron Peterson caught the attention of the fielding side smashing the first four deliveries he faced to the boundary on his way to an entertaining 18.
When rain forced play to be abandoned in the 22nd over, good bowling performances from Colts had Rascals struggling at 8/142.
Best bowling figures came from Sean McKendry and Cam Peterson who each claimed three wickets.
With totals revised, Colts hung on for a well-deserved 11 run win.
RAIN CAUSES CONFUSION
WHEN rain forced play to be abandoned in the game between Redbacks and Sovereign Animals on Saturday, there was some confusion over who had won the game. Sovereign Animals were chasing the Redbacks’ score of 155 after Morgan Gilchrist top-scored with 44 on the Queens Park synthetic.
Best of the bowlers in Sovereign’s innings in the field was Scott McCulloch who bagged five wickets in an eight over spell.
In reply, Sovereign Animals batsman Glen Doyle was on 21 with the score at 7/95 when rain forced play to be abandoned. Star Redbacks footballer Tyhe Clarkson showed he’s not too dusty with another type of ball taking four wickets for 29 runs helping Redbacks restrict their opponents score. Sam Waterford also bowled well taking three wickets for 29.
Players left the field after 21 overs and initially the game was awarded to Animals, however a review of the association rules determined Redbacks had claimed their first win in the competition with more runs on the board in the 21st over than their opposition.
All Warwick cricketers now have a weekend off to enjoy all the highlights of Warwick Rodeo weekend.
HARD WORK BRINGS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ARCHERY is one of those sports which many of us push to the back of the queue, unless it is Olympic competition with gold medals on the line.
However, a young Stanthorpe sharp-shooter, Nysha Willaton, has given us all a good reason to show more interest in the sport after she won a world championship in her age group at the recent Wold Championships held in Wagga Wagga.
Over 550 competitors from England, Wales, Scotland, Estonia, Germany, Hungry, India, South Africa, Namidia, USA, New Zealand and Australia converged on Wagga Wagga for the 2016 World Field Archery Championships. The competitors ranged across junior and senior ranks competing in a variety of disciplines.
After her impressive performance, 16-year-old Nysha now has her sights set on the 2018 World Championships in Johannesburg and is hoping her hard work in her chosen sport will allow her to travel the world competing.
In the meantime, she is the star member of the Granite Belt Bowmen Club.
