It all commenced on the first night of racing when Onedin Highlander was the only local contender in the $10,000 Pub Group Gold Nugget and took home the goodies.

Trained at Uralla by Mitch Faulkner, Onedin Highlander held on for a half neck win over Arrokeefe (Narissa McMullen), with Lurah – trained by Roy Roots Jnr in the Hunter Valley with local reinsman Tom Ison gaining the drive – a head away third. The gold nugget trophy went to Onedin Highlander’s owner Henry Campbell.

Six heats of the Prydes Golden Guitar were then contested on the second night of the carnival which produced six evenly contested finishes as well as a very close finish in the $25,000 Prydes Easifeed Golden Guitar Final.

Redbelly Jack, from the Xuereb stables in Sydney, was the favourite and did not disappoint, winning by a short half head over Tulhurst Santanna (Angela Hedges). High Rolling (Jack Trainor) was a head away in third place.

Another star was also revealed when Itz Georgiaonmymind won the $15,000 TAB Star Maker Three-Year-Old Pace Final by seven metres.

The finals night saw Dean Chapple have his best night at the track for a while in driving three winners. He won the Golden Guitar Consolation with Queensland visitor Certainlywillbe, for the Peter McKay stables, before winning the two Hazells Farm & Fertilizer Local Stakes with his own pacers, Right On with It and Rollon Chilli.

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Tamworth’s very own Maddi Simon showed she was a star in the making when she drove Mammals Rockstar to a win in the Tamworth Country Music Festival Pace. It was Maddi’s first drive in a race. Mammals Rockstar is raced and trained by her grandfather Len Simon.

What a week for Maddi, who turned 16 on the Monday before the meeting. Not only did punters gain $29.90 in return for the win but Maddi was gifted a Rio gig by Tamworth City Cup sponsor Garrards Horse & Hound.

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Friday night’s eight-race Tamworth meeting will see reinswomen competing in teal-coloured pants. 

From Thursday until March 11 more than 200 reinswomen across Australia and New Zealand are wearing teal-coloured diving pants to raise money for the Women's Cancer Foundation. Sixty-nine reinswomen in NSW are taking on the challenge, with a donation of $200 being made in each race during Team Teal 2018.