It was overcast, but the rain held off and the track was good for the King Island Beef Race.
The King Island Beef Producers Group sponsored the race day and the food and beverage event in the Williams Brothers Post pavilion was a sellout, with 115 packages sold.
An extra race was added to the meet, making it an eight-race card with five gallops and three harness races. It was ladies’ day on the track, with six of the eight winners and three place getters being female trainers.
The imported horses have settled in for their Island holiday and are still a threat to locally owned and trained horses. Bill Hayes, trainer and stable from NSW, placed early in the day, but the imports are still to show full form.
The ‘Ballarat Connections’ mainland trainer syndicate purchased, sponsored, and transported horses to King Island for a second year and had their first wins. They tallied two wins, a second and a third on the day. Their first win of the season was in Race 4 with (Andrew) A Noblett Racing’s Southern Jewel, sponsored by Tile Importer, trained by Rowan Hamer, and ridden by Codi Jordan. The McEvoy-Mitchell ballot draw, four-year-old grey Wholesome came in third.
Their second win was in Race 7 with Prophet’s Reign, which is trained by Andrew Bobbin Grampian Racing, sponsored by Ladbrokes, Casey Hyde local trainer and clerk of course, and got home by Craig Atkinson. Prophet’s Reign was followed in closely by Inarius, locally trained by Ian Johnson for Ciaron Maher Racing sponsored by Kia Australia and ridden by Codi Jordon.
Whether this is a true reflection of the field is questionable, as the race started with only three runners.
The Tom Wilshire Memorial, sponsored by the Payne family, was won by Disclevaboy to the delight of the connections: Muir, Fowles, Hely and Clemons. Patron of the King Island Racing Club Robbie Payne reflected on the generational continuity of the Memorial through his mother Judy (dec), the present generation and hoped the next generation will continue the legacy.
Visiting harness trainer Tammy Langley (Brighton) and driver Dylan Ford won and interstate team Tiarne and Jorja Rusten placed so the journey to King Island was worth it.
The remaining race meets are:
Boxing Day
Tuesday, December 26
New Year’s Eve Cup Day
Sunday, December 31
King Island Recreation Day
Saturday, January 13
Maritime/Miners Rest Cup
Saturday, January 20
Southern Air Fly-in Day
Saturday, January 27
BEEF
DAY
RACE
RESULTS
16
DECEMBER
RACE 1
1st FILLENTINA T: ROBERT KEYS J: KELVIN SANDERSON
2nd CUBIC T: BILL HAYES J: THOMAS DOYLE
3rd DELIGHTFUL DODGER T: BILL HAYES J: CRAIG ATKINSON
RACE 2
1st SQUAZEEMOTO T: TAMMY MUIR J: MS CODI JORDON
2nd LIKA MOSH T: JIM TAYLOR J: MS HANNAH LE BLANC.
3rd 5 AXELBATCHFOLEY T: JIM TAYLOR J: JAMIE GIBBONS.
RACE 3 HARNESS
1st LOU LOUS GOLD T: TAMMY LANGLEY D: DYLAN FORD
2nd CHASIN FRANKIE T: Peter jakowenko D: ADRIAN COLLINS
3rdJULEPE SANDS T: SHANE KEELER D: DAMIAN SPRING
RACE 4
1st SOUTHERN JEWEL T: ROWAN HAMER J: MS CODI JORDAN
2nd LINDRUM T: JIM TAYLOR J: MS HANNAH LE BLANC
3rd WHOLESOME (NZ) T: ROBERT KEYS J: THOMAS DOYLE
RACE 5
1st DISCLEVABOY T: TAMMY MUIR J: MS CODI JORDON
2nd MISS BONDI T: DEB MONSON J: THOMAS DOYLE
3rd CIANNA T: CASEY HYDE J: CRAIG ATKINSON
RACE 6 HARNESS
1st STONY THE SPY T: TAMMY LANGLEY D: DYLAN FORD
2nd IMHOOKED T: SHANE KEELER D: SHANE KEELER
3rd BABYFACE QUINCE T: DARRYLE RUSTEN D: JORJA RUSTEN
RACE 7
1st PHOPHETS REIGN T: CASEY HYDE J: CRAIG ATKINSON
2nd INCARIUS T: IAN JOHNSON J: MS CODI JORDON
3rd MR BROADWAY T: JIM TAYLOR J: MS HANNAH LE BLANC
RACE 8 HARNESS
1st MARGARET’S CLAN T: TAMMY LANGLEY D: DYLAN FORD
2nd PAWNBROKERS LAD T: SAMANTHA KEELEY D: DAMIAN SPRING
3rd WHO’S WATCHING NOW T: SHANE KEELER D: SHANE KEELER