By Gavin Stubbs
On an afternoon that once again saw plenty of on track action, jockey Matt Corbisiero must be wishing there were more meetings to come at Woolamai as the popular rider finished with a double on Saturday afternoon. It was the final meeting for the picnic racing season at the Bass Coast track and Corbisiero made the most of opportunity with wins on Cranbourne trained horses Show Bella and Barley Mo.
The first race of the afternoon was taken out by Delightful Spirit, who scored comfortably and is starting to build a strong form line for Mornington trainer Peter White. This was win number four and the horse should progress through his classes next season. Race two provided a ripper finish as promising sprinter Ten Times led the field everywhere except the finishing line, narrowly denying Mornington trainer Rebecca Waymouth a training double.
With Ten Times carving out furious fractions from the outset and looking a certain victor turning for home, jockey Caitlin King on Heres To Saturday had other ideas and bided her time before setting about intervening with her own agenda. When the gaps opened up with 100metres to go, Heres To Saturday pounced on the lead to score narrowly in the in the shadows of the winning post.
The third race on the card saw Matt Corbisiero bring up the first of his winning double, with Show Bella getting the judges nod in a three way photo. The John Rattle trained mare broke through for win number one at start ten, with the mare taking all of Corbisiero’s considerable experience to navigate a victory path. Race four proved fruitful for Bendigo jockey Toby Lake, picking up the ride on the Cranbourne trained You Wan Sum and guiding the 4year old to the easiest of wins. Lake, who has been riding in superb form, had his mount positioned on the pace throughout and the result appeared to be never in doubt a long way from home.
The fifth on the programme saw a return to form for former Woolamai Cup winner Keep Happy. Trained at Mornington by Rebecca Waymouth, mum Debbie was entrusted as usual with the race day reins and decided to remove luck from the equation by employing catch me if you can tactics from the start. It worked a treat as Keep Happy led rivals a merry dance out in front, despite being challenged by rivals on numerous occasions.
Class became a deciding factor and Keep Happy was able to hold sway up the home straight and hung on to score by just under a length. There are few more passionate people in racing than Keep Happy’s trainer Bec Waymouth and the victory was well deserved for connections. The day’s final event went to another Cranbourne trained horse, Barley Mo. A Woolamai track specialist, this was four wins in a row for Barley Mo and brought up the second leg of Corbisiero’s riding double.
While hot and windy conditions prevailed throughout the day, it failed to detract from a quality six race card. The Woolamai Trainer and Horse of the Year awards went right to the wire, with Rebecca Waymouth and Troy Kilgower from Sale dead heating for first place in the trainer’s title, while Barley Mo was able to seal the Horse of the Year for connections by winning the last race. Consistency with their horses has become a hallmark for both trainers and the win is a credit to their respective stables.
Trainer Rachael Cunningham has done a terrific job of producing a picket fence form line with Barley Mo and can look forward to further wins with the 6year old mare. The Woolamai Jockey of the Year title went to Courtney Pace, with the Bendigo rider able to add further silverware to the mantelpiece after another stellar season.
There have been many highlights from the Race Club’s six meetings to date with dramatic finishes and near dead heats common. The lowlight has been two occasions whereby riders have fallen with disaster being narrowly and fortunately averted. Prize money has risen across the board, field numbers are strong and sponsorship from local businesses continues to thrive.
While the picnic racing season still has several meetings to go at other tracks, Woolamai can lay claim to another highly successful year which is due largely to its volunteers. Race club secretary Bev Carmichael summed it up perfectly, saying: “We are delighted that the planning, ideas implemented and hard work has come to fruition.
“This is reflected in our racing which goes from strength to strength and crowd numbers continue to rise. Already we are looking forward to the next picnic racing season.”
