• PHOTO: A slice of the crowd heads to the rail at the Country Championships.
IT WAS the fourth time a Country Championships Qualifier had been held at Coonamble and a large good-spirited crowd made their way to the Coonamble Racecourse on Sunday 12 March for the event.
The day was hot and humid for the most part, with racegoers seeking the shade in between the eight races – except when the fashions took to the catwalk.
With clothing, jewellery and hats for sale in the market stalls, parade organisers Eliza Walters and Angela Thompson rounded up ten local fillies to showcase a selection of outfits atop a runway supplied by Coonamble Shire Council.
“We were trying to bring something different to the day with race day fashions and casual wear, we wanted to support the smaller businesses in our region so we invited them from here and next door,” said Mrs Thompson.
“In the end the businesses who came on board were Lazy Sunday, Ruby Maine, Jade Boutique and Blue Illusions from Dubbo, Lou Webb Designs (Warren), MyBanks (Gulargambone).”
Local models – Marg Garnsey, Bev Davidson, Imogen Pawley, Jacinta Murray, Tahnee Cullen, Georgia Kennedy, Steph Ryan, Treen Lefebvre, Shanae Murray, Jemma Fitzgerald, Trin McCallum, Tilly Howarth and Isobel Thomson were urged along by guest MC Maz Saunders from Carinda.
“We had a great response from the fashion houses who participated,” Mrs Thompson said.
“They all said they’d be happy to return, and we were delighted with the response from the crowd.”
In the main fashion event, generous sponsors had upped the ante on the Fashions on the Field prize pool and a trip to the Country Championships was up for grabs.
With around ten to fifteen entrants in each category, competition was fierce and presided over by independent judges Mr Scott Kennedy, RacingNSW, Mrs Bec McKay, Secretary Western Racing Association, Mr Kevin Anderson Minister for Racing, and Claire Kelly, Newhaven Park Stud major sponsors of the Country Championship series.
Master of Ceremonies Alexander Deans was undaunted by the huge field of contestants and encouraged and cajoled them and the crowd.
Winner of Best Dressed Lady was Michelle Meyers with Raquel Walsh from Coonabarabran as Runner-up.
Husband and wife team Adam Freeman (President of Coonabarabran Jockey Club) and Raquel Walsh took out the Best Dressed Couple in outfits created by Raquel.
Runners-up were local Jay Ewers and Josh Wrench.
This year John Hutton of Coonabarabran outdressed Tyler Cleary as the Best Dressed Gent.
The Miss Country Championships title went to local Rachael Buckley with Jess Skinner from Binnaway in second place.
The finalists from each of the four categories were then entered into the championship round, and Rachael Buckley was the excited winner of a ticket for two people to the Ballroom Luncheon at Royal Randwick for 1st April, Day One of the Championships, and two nights accommodation in Sydney.
This year’s sponsors of the Fashion extravaganza were Mink & Me, Jones Made, Ramble Flora, Leonard’s Store and Coonamble Cellars.
Upstairs in the Brian Fletcher Stand, the VIP luncheon hosted by Racing NSW saw a slightly cooler group of patrons enjoying airconditioning, cold beverages and a sumptuous meal prepared by Relish catering.
Among the special guests were Scott Kennedy, General Manager of Racing NSW, Bob Pavitt Chairman of Country Racing NSW and his wife Cheryl, Minister for Racing Kevin Anderson MP, Coonamble Shire Mayor Tim Horan, Deputy Mayor Ahmad Karanouh, Nationals candidate for Barwon Annette Turner and representatives of major sponsors.
Coonamble Jockey Club President Ken Waterford warmly welcomed the guests and thanked the sponsors.
“It’s a great honour for us to hold the event again,” he said. “And I mean it. It’s a great honour given to us by Country Racing NSW to have the opportunity to do it again.”
He outlined how sponsorship income was used to continually improve the facility, flowing on to the local community by providing a ‘wow’ venue used not only for races but for weddings, funerals, parties, luncheons and other community events.
Master of Ceremonies was Sports Reporter with ABC Western Plains and former Coonamble man Geoff Mann.
“Racing has such an incredible history, and an incredible place for bringing people together,”
He shared the story of an old jockey who explained “When you walk through that gate everybody is equal. It doesn’t matter how much money you do or don’t have, everyone is equal.”
“Horse racing and the horse industry, I just love how it brings people together from everywhere,” he said.
The weekend’s race meeting certainly brought a crowd – the town’s accommodation virtually fully booked and 80 people arrived at the Terminus Hotel for the Saturday evening Calcutta and Auction.
The total prize pool for the Calcutta was just over $16000, with first place getters snaring $11,165.
The local community were the winners in the charity auction with $22,400 raised to be split equally between the Coonamble Cancer Survival Fund and further improvements to the Coonamble Jockey Club amenities.
Prizes ranged from a toolbox to diesel fuel, generously-sized vouchers, livestock freight, and ticket packages to the All Aged Stakes Day at Royal Randwick, to the Chairman’s Room at a Penrith Panthers Home Game, to the Bathurst 6 Hour Race at Easter and VIP tickets to Day 1 of the Country Championships in the Grand Ballroom.
Back at the track a late storm did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm, with races proceeding uninterrupted and the crowd staying put to finish their day.
A minute’s silence was held ahead of the seventh race for former Jockey Club member Josh Browne and patron Stan Leonard.
Mr Leonard was involved in the racing and breeding industry for around 70 years and had a runner Raging Rush in the qualifier..
Mr Browne, who was tragically killed in a car accident on Sunday 19 February, was also part-owner in Watch Me Rumble,
It was not quite the fairytale finish for Watch Me Rumble (5th) or Raging Rush (8th) but former local trainer Clint Lundholm was a gracious and very excited winner of the Country Championships Qualifier race with Listen to the Band taking the race ahead of Brett Robb’s Sizzle Minizzle and another of Clint’s horses, Smooth Esprit.
Overall the day sustained the growing reputation of Coonamble as a hub of racing fun in the region.
“I’m so proud of our committee to jump in and work as hard as they do to put this event on again,” said Jockey Club President Ken Waterford.
“It’s not just for the Jockey Club and racing, it’s for the whole community.”