By DAVID NAGEL
PAKENHAM Racing Club begins its final season at the historic Racecourse Road track on Sunday with the 56th running of the time-honoured $30,000 M.J. Bourke Hurdle to be run over 3200-metres.
The club’s signature hurdle race honours one of the true icons of the club, Michael J Bourke, who, along with his brother Hugh, donated the land that the current racecourse sits on.
The Bourke family has had long ties with racing and Pakenham and it is this legacy that has played a pivotal role in the club’s efforts to thrive and head into the future.
Nominations for this year’s jumping feature include two-time Warrnambool Cup winner Hissing Sid, the Bill and Symon Wilde galloper has had almost 12 months away from the track after winning a hurdle race at Sandown at his last start.
Keen competition is sure to come from Mark Webb’s exciting seven-year-old gelding, Another Legend, who has scored two convincing wins at both starts over the jumps.
Another Legend strolled to a six-length win at Ballarat before backing up with a two-length win at Coleraine at his most recent outing.
The son of Song of Tara looks the testing material on Sunday.
The PRC will also remember Herb O’Neill and Jeff Spencer, two individuals who made huge contributions both to Victorian racing and the club.
The $20,000 Jeff Spencer Memorial Maiden Hurdle (3200m) features nominations from the Robert Smerdon barn, with Arch Fire and Earn McCracken both primed for an assault, while jumps training genius Eric Musgrove has Encosta Rica and Shivers Regal lining up for the big race.
The club is also hosting a reunion for retired jockeys, keeping with the theme of the day, and so far the response has been very good.
Admission to the reunion is $77 for all Club and AJRA members and $88 for guests and includes a racebook, three-course meal and premium beverages. For information about the event and bookings, contact the Club at (03) 5941 1207 or by e-mail to h.conn@pakenham.countryracing.com.au.
