Local wins, bumper crowd and historic dead-heat headline race day

Words and Image: Jeff Hanson/Dusty Hooves Media

Narrandera Race Club kicked off its winter carnival on Saturday, hosting an electric eight-race program in front of a record LW Peacock Memorial Race Day crowd.

On a day when the spoils were shared among local trainers, a trio of Wagga conditioners and several travelling Victorians, there were plenty of memorable storylines.

Bloomfield opens new season with a win

Local trainer Shane Bloomfield kicked off a big LW Peacock Memorial Race Day by winning the opening event with Prince Of Love.

Raced by Peter Knight, Prince Of Love had Brendan Ward in the saddle and started a $5 chance before leading throughout and holding on for a 1.33-length victory in the Griffith City Volkswagen & Narrandera Signs Maiden Plate (1000m).

Bloomfield, son of the late Peter Bloomfield, a former jockey-turned-trainer, is making his own mark in the Southern Districts, recently enjoying success with the likes of Cayman Island and Kenny's Swans at Wagga.

Anthony Craig lands a breakthrough result

Another Narrandera trainer, Anthony Craig, landed a well-deserved victory when Carry On Lizzy won the Mawson's Concrete & Quarries 1600m Class 1 Handicap.

Given an exceptional ride by apprentice Ella Bent, the 4YO Showtime mare hugged the rails before scoring by 0.76 of a length.

Originally an emergency, the Narrandera galloper only gained a start following scratchings and started a $5.50 chance.

A 19-start veteran, it was a rewarding training performance, with Carry On Lizzy having just her second start for Craig.

Burnet makes history with a dead-heat

Wagga trainer Darrell Burnet, who brought a team of 10 runners to Narrandera on Saturday, etched his name into the club's history books in the Vale Brian & Joan Bashier 1400m Maiden Handicap.

Stablemates Oubaitori (Quayde Krogh, $6) and Russian Gangster (Brodie Loy, $1.85 favourite) could not be separated, dead-heating for victory.

It was a bittersweet result for owners, with both gallopers losing their maiden status while sharing the prizemoney.

Regardless, Burnet achieved a feat that may never be repeated at Narrandera — training both runners in a dead-heat finish.

Beasley and Dwyer share the spoils in split feature races

Due to overwhelming acceptances, Saturday's program was extended to eight races, resulting in the feature event being split into two divisions.

The first running of the Chemsave Narrandera Pharmacy LW Peacock Memorial Cup was taken out by the Danny Beasley-trained Screen Spirit (Pierre Boudvillain, $3).

The 3YO Brazen Beau gelding, raced by Hong Kong-based connections, produced a dominant performance to score by almost two lengths.

One race later, the second division of the LW Peacock Memorial Cup was won by the Don Dwyer-trained Tomanado(Sairyn Fawke, $7).

A three-time winner heading into Saturday's contest, the Seymour-based galloper proved too strong, defeating his rivals by 2.39 lengths.

Of the remaining winners on the program, Craig Widdison prepared Majestic Reward (Brendan Ward, $7) to win the Narrandera Ex-Servicemen's Club 1000m Class 1 Handicap.

The Michael Travers-trained Roullottie (Pierre Boudvillain, $10) made every post a winner when taking out the Bendigo Community Bank 1400m Benchmark 50 Handicap.

Ron Stubbs also enjoyed success as Savahay (Ella Bent, $2.50) powered home to claim the second division of the Bendigo Community Bank 1400m Benchmark 50 Handicap.

Club news

The $500 members' draw did not go off on Saturday, with Kathleen Foster's name drawn at 3pm.

Unfortunately, Kathleen was not on course, meaning the draw will jackpot to $1,000 for the Narrandera Cup meeting on Sunday, July 12.

It's not too late to become a member. Reach out to the club via Facebook or Instagram to receive a membership form.

The committee also congratulated the ground staff, who produced an outstanding racing surface and presentation for the club's first meeting of the year.

Despite recent rainfall, Narrandera raced on a Soft 7, with numerous trainers and jockeys praising the condition of the track.

Narrandera Race Club remains on standby to host any pop-up meetings should the need arise.

Attention now turns to the upcoming Bendigo Community Bank Carnival, which includes a golf day at Narrandera Golf Club and the Narrandera Cup Calcutta at Narrandera Ex-Servicemen's Club on Saturday, July 11, before the club's feature race meeting on Sunday, July 12.

To stay up to date with all things racing in Narrandera, follow the Narrandera Race Club on Facebook and Instagram.

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