The nomination deadline for the  Capricornia 3 & 4YO Classic race of $50,000

2017 has been extended to 31st October, 2017.

Fee of $275 inc gst is payable to Rockhampton Jockey Club, by that date.

Horses eligible are those Yearlings that were paid up for the 2017 CYS 2YO Classic from the 2016 Sale.

Rockhampton Jockey Club phone number is 07 4937 4000

By Darryn Nufer

CAPRICORNIA’S racing industry leaders were given a glimpse into control body Racing Queensland’s crystal ball this week and most were impressed with what they saw.

RQ chief executive Eliot Forbes and his executive leadership team delivered a two-hour seminar in Rockhampton on Thursday as part of the organisation’s Regional Roadshow tour.

The key message Forbes reinforced was that RQ has “a new board, a new management team and a new outlook focussed on growth.”

“Our job is to sell racing it’s not just governance and regulation. Recognising that responsibility is the key and then we have to deliver it,” he told a gathering of industry representatives at Callaghan Park.

Forbes said the new RQ board’s vision was to connect people through the thrill of racing and its mission was to be Queensland’s favourite sport and Australia’s best racing jurisdiction.

The rank and file punters might deem those ambitions “bold” considering RQ would by its own admission concede it has some ground to make up to achieve their objectives.

But the thing I took away from Thursday’s seminar was an understanding that behind the scenes RQ is taking positive steps forward in a bid to grow racing in this state.

What has been publicly noticeable in recent times is RQ’s advancement of racing information, content and promotion not only on its website and social media platforms which were once stagnant but also through the emergence of its “Puntersland” social media channel.

And the good news is there is more to come.

In the near future RQ will roll out a new-look website with more modernised multi-media features.

It will also release an RQ APP (computer program that is designed for use on mobile phones) which will be a great tool for owners, trainers, punters and racegoers in general.

So what does all of this mean in layman’s terms?

Hopefully more eyes on Queensland’s racing product which leads to increased betting turnover which leads to increased race prize money.

Not to mention more enjoyable experiences for owners racing horses in Queensland and people venturing to any of the state’s 132 race clubs for a day out.

I’ve only scratched the surface here with the happenings inside the corridors of power at RQ.

On Thursday Forbes also revealed that RQ had commissioned economic consultants to compile an impact report which highlighted what racing in Queensland had injected into the economy during the 2016 financial year (FY16).

“The last time this was done was in 2009,” he said.

“It’s about making sure we’re armed with the best available information heading into an election,” Forbes added.

The report says $1.2 billion was pumped into Queensland’s economy by the racing industry in FY16 and it provided 9546 full-time equivalent jobs statewide.

In our region (Fitzroy) alone, the industry contributed $37.5 million to the economy and gave full-time equivalent employment to 310 people.

Let’s hope the politicians are reading.

In another snippet of good news to come out of Thursday’s seminar, Racing Queensland indicated it was looking at boosting prize money for support races on the feature days of next year’s Rockhampton Winter Racing Carnival.

“If we do, it’s got to be recurrent,” Racing Queensland’s Col Truscott said.

11 Sep 2017
Champion sprinter and five-time Queensland Horse of the Year, Buffering, was one of four new inductees elevated into the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame at the 2017 UBET Queensland Thoroughbred Awards in Brisbane on Saturday.

Buffering joined champion trainer Peter Moody – of Black Caviar fame – champion jockey Ken Russell, and racing associate PJ O’Shea as the latest champions of the sport to be permanently written into the history books.

The inductees were chosen by an expert panel of judges comprising of members of the media and Queensland racing officials.

Hall of Fame Inductee (Horse) – Buffering

Career starts 54: 19-9-8 – Prize money: $7.28 million

The “iron horse”, prepared by champion Brisbane trainer Robert Heathcote, amassed more than $7 million in prizemoney after he was purchased for just $22,000 at the 2009 Magic Millions QTIS Sale.

“The Buff” saluted seven times at Group One level, with his career highlights including two Moir Stakes’ (2014 and 2015) and two Winterbottom Stakes’ (2013 and 2016).

His crowning glory came in 2016, when he captured the imagination of the public in taking the Group One Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night.

Hall of Fame Inductee (Trainer) – Peter Moody

Group 1 wins: 56

Peter Moody’s career took him all the way from Western Queensland to Royal Ascot. A three-time Victorian Metropolitan Trainers’ Premier, Moody was guided by the likes of Tommy “TJ” Smith, Colin Hayes and Bill Mitchell, before opening his own satellite stable in Brisbane.

His first individual Group One success came with Amalfi in the 2001 Victoria Derby, after which he moved his operation to Victoria full-time. Moody will best be remembered for preparing champion sprinter Black Caviar, as she captured the imagination of the entire country en-route to 25-consecutive wins (15 at Group One level).

Hall of Fame Inductee (Associate) – PJ O’Shea

Patrick Joseph O’Shea and Eagle Farm Racecourse both began their existence in 1865. Affectionately known as “PJ”, O’Shea bred and raced horses for more than 35 years in Queensland.

Treasurer of the QTC in the early 1900s, O’Shea was also a well-known owner, racing the likes of Syce Lad, Loganius, Sheila’s Lad, Canning Queen and Lady Buzzard.

His legacy in racing lives on with Queensland’s top weight-for-age staying race, the PJ O’Shea Stakes, named in his honour.

Hall of Fame Inductee (Jockey) – Ken Russell

Russell dominated Central Queensland racing in the 1970s, chalking up 500 winners in the central districts before relocating to the Gold Coast. He quickly earned the moniker the ‘King of the Coast’, winning the Gold Coast premiership four times before relocating to Brisbane where he won the Metropolitan Premiership.

He then moved to Sydney and went on to win races including the AJC Doncaster, AJC Spring Champion Stakes, George Ryder Stakes, QTC Oaks, QTC Cup, QTC Derby and the SAJC Goodwood.

12 Sep 2017
Racing Queensland (RQ) will host a new weekly meeting with track managers from across the state, following a successful workshop held in Brisbane last week.

Members from RQ’s infrastructure team were joined by a range of track management experts to meet with representatives from the Gold Coast Turf Club, Brisbane Racing Club, Sunshine Coast Turf Club, Cairns Jockey Club, Townsville Turf Club and Ipswich Turf Club.

RQ General Manager of Racing Simon Stout said a wide-range of topics were discussed, with a view to developing and implementing best practice strategies for the maintenance of racing surfaces.

“Topics included sand profile tracks and their requirements, material testing and sub-surface stability, benefits of aerating, turf management, soil biology and plant nutrition,” Mr Stout said.

Track managers have described the experts on hand to speak at the event as “first-class”.

“Feedback from the workshop has been extremely positive, which has led to RQ facilitating a new weekly teleconference for all TAB racecourse managers, starting this week,” Mr Stout said.

“It will provide an avenue for track managers across the state to tap into each-other’s knowledge base and help them collectively recognise trends that influence track maintenance.”

RV_Author Racing Victoria Staff@RacingInsider 12 September, 2017

Racing Victoria (RV) Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, has today announced a change in policy around the re-handicapping of the BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) winner in the Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).
The policy change considers the performances of Caulfield Cup winners over the past 40 years, and is designed to reinvigorate the iconic link between Australia’s two premier handicap races.
After an extensive review of Melbourne Cup results, the RV handicapping panel has determined that the winner of the Caulfield Cup will not be re-handicapped in the Melbourne Cup if they have already been allocated 56kg or more for the Flemington feature.
Furthermore, should the winner of the Caulfield Cup be weighted at less than 56kg in the Melbourne Cup, the quantum of any penalty issued will not take the weight of the horse higher than 56kg on the first Tuesday in November.
Analysis shows that just one of the last ten Melbourne Cup winners had competed in that year’s Caulfield Cup, namely the Bart Cummings-trained Viewed in 2008. In the decade prior, a total of seven Melbourne Cup winners had run in the Caulfield showpiece prior to their triumph.
Over the past 40 years, eight Caulfield Cup winners have subsequently carried more than 56kg in the Melbourne Cup and none of them have managed to finish in the first three placings, with only three recording a top ten finish (please refer to the full list at the bottom of the release).
In making the announcement at the release of weights for the 2017 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups at RV, Carpenter said that the change in policy had been reached in consultation with the hosts of the two races, the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) and Victoria Racing Club (VRC).
“This is the first time since 2010 that the handicaps for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups have been released on the same day, and we were keen to reinvigorate the famous link between these two great Australian races,” Carpenter said.
“There has been much debate around the impact the prospect of a weight penalty in the Melbourne Cup has had in dissuading connections from competing in the Caulfield Cup, and our analysis shows that there is indeed evidence to support this.
“In announcing today’s change of policy, I want to ensure that people understand that any horse given 56kg or more in the Melbourne Cup will by definition already have a well-established performance profile.
“History shows that in the past 40 years, no horse has been able to complete the Cups double carrying more than 56kg in the Melbourne Cup. Gurner’s Lane (1982) and Might and Power (1997) both carried 56kg to victory and won narrowly, with the second-placed horses carrying more in the weights.
“In saying that, it is entirely appropriate to consider issuing an additional penalty to a progressive or emerging stayer further down the weights in the Melbourne Cup if successful in Caulfield’s premier race.
“The same logic will be applied to any other race where the winner is liable for a re-handicap after the release of weights. Ultimately, in issuing a penalty, the handicapping panel believe that the quantum of the penalty itself is less important than where it takes the horse in the weights scale.”
Over the past four decades, 30 Caulfield Cup winners have lined up in the Melbourne Cup 17 days later, with five carrying a penalty and winning.
The mighty mare Let’s Elope carried 51kg to victory in the 1991 Melbourne Cup, Doriemus won in 1995 carrying 54.5kg and Ethereal triumphed with 52kg in 2001.
The only other dual winners were Gurner’s Lane and Might and Power, both of whom won with 56kg on their backs. The pair, two of the greats of the modern era, won by narrow margins and in both instances carried less weight than the horses finishing second, Kingston Town (59kg) and Doriemus (57.5kg) respectively.
When nominations were released today for the 2017 Melbourne Cup, five horses were allocated 56kg or more. Of that quintet, Hartnell, Almandin, Admire Deus and Humidor are also nominated for the Caulfield Cup.
ENDS

Congratulations to the Executive on their re-election for the upcoming year.

Our President, Ross Shannon, meets regularly with Industry Representatives and Racing Qld, have a voice, be heard, be informed – join us at Queensland Trainers Association.

Click here to Become a Member today!

 

Due to unforseen circumstances, the AGM and Monthly Meeting set down for Sunday 3rd September has been transferred to 10th September.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Lyn Sullivan, Secretary

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A reminder that our Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday, 3rd September starting at 10am.  This will be followed by our normal Meeting.