A LATE CHANGE OF DATE LANDS COLERAINE RICH STEEPLECHASE

COLERAINE Racing Club will have the honour of hosting the richest race at a non-TAB meeting in living memory when horses contest the $60,000 Great Western Steeplechase on Saturday.

In what has been a major boost for the Club, the initially abandoned Coleraine Cup meeting on 27 September found a new date and the race card has been boosted by two feature jumping races.

Coleraine Racing Club Manager John Donnelly said the surprise at finding a replacement date for the washed out race meeting had been surpassed by the quality of racing on the program.

“Sometimes you think you’ve copped a bad blow and then things turn around to make it a sensational blessing,” Donnelly said.

“When I left the course last Sunday it was just 9 degrees. On Saturday we’re racing on the same day as three Group 1 races in Melbourne.

“We’ll have plenty of televisions on-course showing all the great racing action from around Australia to compliment the eight-race card of live racing action, including the last two jumping races of the season.”

As well as the rich $60,000 Great Western Steeplechase over 3500m, there will be a $20,000 Open Hurdle race over 3300m.

It is fitting Coleraine is able to cap off the jumping season. On the outskirts of the town is a statue of noted amateur horse rider and poet Adam Lindsay Gordon, whose famous poem `On the Fields of Coleraine’ detailed one of Australia’s oldest jumping races.

Donnelly assured that the racetrack was in fantastic condition, with the timing of the downpour the only downfall to the Club hosting its meeting two Sundays ago.

“It was the correct decision to call the meeting off because of the amount of surface water, but this track dries quickly and two days later we conducted trials on the track,” Donnelly said.

Coleraine Racing Club will still have a great day of activities including kids’ entertainment and live music playing all day.

“We’ve realigned things and have a large marquee that people have booked into. With the great spring racing on, we hope the loss of two weeks ago could be a great blessing for the Cup meeting, the Club and the town,” Donnelly said.

Country Racing Victoria Chief Executive Officer Scott Whiteman said it was fantastic Coleraine was able to still host its Cup meeting.

“It is a great endorsement of the Club’s support of jumping racing, with the two feature jumping races programmed at the venue within the heart of the sport’s most passionate supporters,” Whiteman said.

For more information about country race days this spring visit www.countryracing.com.au.