News

Country Championships Hit Town

11th Mar 2015

Sydney Racing - by Bernard Kenny - Tuesday, 10 March 2015

The $19.4million The Championships at Royal Randwick on 4 and 11 April has expanded this year to include the inaugural Country and Provincial Championship Series.

The Championships body established the Country and Provincial Championship Series to promote and support racing in NSW Country and Provincial areas. The Series covers all racing centres across NSW and opens the opportunity for all horses, trainers and owners to win the Championship Grand Final and savour the excitement and glory of ‘Championship Gold.’

The Country Championship Series comprises eight qualifying races across all NSW Country Racing Regions with seven carrying $100,000 in prizemoney and the eight race a Championship Wild Card event carries $50,000 in prizemoney. The Championship Final offers $300,000 total prizemoney with $100,000 to the winner and all horse must be trained by a registered country trainer from 27 September 2014.

The Country Championships qualifying races are all Class 5 Set-Weight Plates with 59kg allocated to Class 5 horses, 57.5kg for Class 4 and 56kg for Class 3 or below and restricted to horses that have had fewer than 21 race starts. In all Country Championship races fillies and mares receive a 2kg allowance and there are no allowances for apprentices.

The Final will comprise the winner and second placed horse in each of the seven regional heats and a wild card event with the 16-horse field race to be run at Royal Randwick on Saturday 4 April. It is an Open Set-Weight Plate with 59kg allocated to Class 6 and above, 57.5kg to Class 5 and 56kg to Class 4 and below.

Binalong Road ridden by Hugh Bowman and trained by Mack Griffith of Mudgee is already on the ‘Road to Royal Randwick’ with a four length victory in CDRA Country Championships Qualifier at Bathurst on Sunday 1 March. The second placed Our Last Poet, trained by Brett Thompson of Gulgong, also qualifies for the Series Final.

Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing proudly announced an exceptional betting turnover with the NSW TAB posting an extraordinary 55% increased turnover on last year’s Bathurst Cup meeting. The Corporate Bookmaker’s turnover rose 60% on last year and the Interstate TAB increased some 59% also on last year.

Sheza Gypsy, trained by Michael Byers of Taree defeated Explosive Scene to win the second Championship race, the MNCRA Country Championships Qualifier 1200m on Friday 6 March at Port Macquarie. The Country Series travels to Tamworth on Thursday 12 March for the Hunter & North West Qualifying race over 1400m, followed on Sunday 15 March with the Wagga Wagga Southern Districts Qualifying event of 1400m.

Two Country Championship series events are staged Friday 20 March with Grafton conducting the Northern Rivers Qualifying race of 1400m and Goulbourn hosting the South-East Qualifying event over 1400m. The Dubbo Western Region Qualify race of 1400m will be run on Sunday 22 March.

The Championship Wild Card of 1350m at Muswellbrook on Sunday 29 March is open to horses who missed qualifying in the previous seven qualifying races and gives them a second-chance to make the Country Championship Final of 1400m at Royal Randwick on Saturday 4 April.

The Provincial Championship Series Final will be contested over 1400m on Saturday 11 April, at Royal Randwick. The 15-horse race field will comprise the first three placegetters from the qualifying race, with an option for the highest benchmark fourth placed horse to substitute a non-starting qualified horse.

The Championship Final will carry $300,000 total prizemoney with $100,000 to the winner. Horses Class 6 and above are weighted 59kg, Class 5 with 57.5kg and Class 4 and below 56kg, with a 2kg allowance for fillies and mares and no apprentice allowances.

The five Provincial qualifying races will each carry $100,000 in prizemoney with horses Class 5 and above allocated 59kg, Class 4 receiving 57.5kg and Class 3 and below 56kg. There is a 2kg allowance for fillies and mares and no allowances for apprentices.

Sure and Fast, trained by Bede Murray of Conjola, won the initial The Provincial Championship Qualifier over 1350m at Wyong on Thursday 5 March, from Selectify with Radical Impact in third to qualify for the Provincial Finals.

The Provincial Series follows with three 1400m races each at Kembla Grange on Friday 13 March, Newcastle on Wednesday 18 March and Hawkesbury on Thursday 26 March. The Series qualifier reverts again to 1200m at Gosford on Thursday 2 April with the Series Final to be run over 1400m at Royal Randwick.

Texan cowboy Robert Murphy launched the ‘Racing and Grazing’ giant barbecue, entertainment and well-dressed competition at Bathurst by feeding over 2000 racegoers. Robert and his daughter Lynzey are the highly popular stars of Channel 7’s My Kitchen Rules as Robert prides himself as a ‘BBQ aficionado.’

English racing personality Francesca Cumani, an ambassador for The Championships, joined Robert and Lynzey at Bathurst and she will be attending various Country and Provincial Championship meetings throughout the series.

Francesca Cumani joins The Championships for the first time this year and is a respected Channel 7 Sports commentator. She is part of the Cumani racing dynasty in Europe, having experienced all facets of the thoroughbred industry and is a regular on Britain’s Channel 4 Racing.

Will and Steve stars of Channel 7’s My Kitchen Rules will join Francesca at Wyong for the inaugural running of the Provincial Championship Series on Thursday 5 March. Francesca and ‘Fast Ed’ Halmagyi, star of Channel 7’s Better Homes and Gardens, will be at Newcastle for the Country Series on Wednesday 18 March.

Samantha Armytage, co-host of Channel 7’s Sunrise breakfast program, will be special guest of Goulburn’s Country Championship on Friday 20 March and Nic Westaway, star of Channel 7’s Home and Away, will be guest at Dubbo’s hosted Country Series on Sunday 22 March.

The successful connections of each Country and Provincial Championship Final winner will be awarded the highly impressive The Championships trophy featuring a horse pave set with over 2,000 emeralds, featuring 140 black diamonds in its mane and hooves, with pink argyle diamond eyes. The trainer and jockey of each winning horse will receive a miniature version of this trophy.

Acclaimed Sydney jeweller Nicole Cerrone’s use of emeralds was derived via playwright David Williamson using the name Emerald City for his 1987 play about Sydney. In the movie classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the famous yellow brick road leads to The Emerald City.