FRESH from a hugely successful Golden Guitar Carnival, the Tamworth Harness Racing Club (THRC) has little time for a rest.
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Next Thursday’s Summer Raceday looms large for the club, chairman Terry Browne said.
In fact it’s a busy month for the club after January’s Golden Guitar Carnival ran 29 races over three days with more than 300 runners.
Tamworth races three times in February as well, starting with next Thursday’s Summer Raceday, the February 18 Joan Bullock Memorial meeting and then the February 25 End Of Summer Raceday.
It all follows the monster January where the THRC had the Pub Group Gold Nugget, Golden Guitar Heats and Pryde’s EasiFeed Golden Guitar Final meeting.
“It was a great success,” Browne said yesterday.
“It was a massive month for us.
“We had the Gold Nugget and then 11 races on the Golden Guitar heats day meeting and another nine races on Golden Guitar Final night.
“It was one of the best fields ever assembled here and then Cyclone Kate (winner) goes and wins the Goulburn Rose on Tuesday as well.”
The John McCarthy-trained-and-driven mare arrived in Australia with seven wins to her credit in New Zealand where she was trained by Gareth Dixon.
McCarthy told The Leader after her Golden Guitar Final win the NZ owners had sent her to Australia because she was only about the fourth or fifth best filly in NZ and to have more chance of success here.
After winning at Bathurst at her first Aussie start, she has since clocked a race and track record Golden Guitar heat win, a Golden Guitar win and Tuesday’s Goulburn Rose.
She has now won four from four in Australia, franking her Golden Guitar win as a great launching pad a la Mach Beauty after his 2013 Golden Guitar win for Shane Tritton.
“He went on and won Group 1s for Shane Tritton,” Browne said.
“Hopefully she does the same.
“But it’s also great to see the bigger stables (like the McCarthys) come to Tamworth.”
It all adds to the increasing lustre of the Golden Guitar as well as the state of the Tamworth Paceway track.
The facelift it received last year saved the Tamworth club, and the industry, at least three race meetings including the Golden Guitar night.
“The track was sensational,” Browne said.
‘“It poured rain during some of the races but the track, if anything, got faster on the night.”
He said the club was looking forward to continuing the Golden Guitar success through this month before it does have a rest and the Carnival Of Cups winds its way through Armidale, Narrabri and Inverell during March.
“We then come back in April for races like our Derby and Oaks,”Browne said.
Nominations for next Thursday’s Summer Raceday at Tamworth Paceway close at 9.30m today.
