The Tamworth Harness Racing Club welcomed the news this week that their longstanding $25,000 Listed Classic Golden Guitar Final has had a prize money injection.
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It will now offer $50,00 and has been elevated to Group 2 status.
The Golden Guitar race deserves the recognition, due to its longevity alone. It is part of the Tamworth HRC January racing carnival, and has attracted many a fine horse over the years. It's recognised as the most prestigious harness race in the North West.
Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson, the racing minister, said the announcement shows that regional racing keeps going from strength to strength.
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"We want our regional racing scene to continue to grow, which is why this investment in Tamworth's Golden Guitar harness race is so important," he said.
Myself and the rest of the Tamworth HRC board - Joyce Walsh, Graham Moon, Scotty-Jon Welsh and Nicholas Walsh - are ensuring that the club continues to flourish.
After being awarded the HRNSW Award for New Innovation (promotion/marketing) last year, the Golden Guitar being made a Group 2 race is further indication that the club is moving forward.
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LAST week's Tamworth harness meeting saw a pleasing result, with the whole program taken out by local horses!
Dean Chapple - who is currently leading the driver's premiership at Tamworth - had three winning drives: Kudos Bert (his own stables), Onahi Delight (Tony Missen stables) and Joey Tee (Richard Williams stables).
Crystal Tiara, trained and driven by Tamworth HRC director Scotty-Jon Welsh, was a standout. The mare paid $21 for the win, in taking out the Johns Auto Service Kevin & Kay Seymour Ladyship Pace.
Raced by Rod and Di Hazell, Crystal Tiara notched her first win for the Hazell's Farm & Fertilizer owners.
"She put in a good run last week," Welsh said.
Crystal Tiara came into the 1980-metre race off a third to Coppice the week prior. With Narrabri pacer Capital Cullect (Chris Shepherdson) leading the field, Welsh had Crystal Tiara racing four back in the outside running line and made his move some 600m from home.
Crystal Tiara had a two-metre win over Capital Cullect.
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CLINTAL Do looked more than impressive in taking out the $50,000 Redcliffe Gold Cup, in Redcliffe, Queensland, last Saturday night.
A winner of many feature races in the North West, Clintal Do is trained by Richard March and was driven by Lola Weidemann. The mile rate was 1min 59.1sec for 2613m.
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HARNESS enthusiasts once again enjoyed a 10-race program at Tamworth on Thursday.
The new national handicapping rating system will be in effect for the July 11 and 25 meetings.
