Racing in honour of 'Snow' Carrigan

Experienced jockey Daniel Northey rode the first two winners at last Saturday’s race meet at the Gunnedah-based Riverside Racecourse, while no other jockey or trainer had more than one victory.

There was success for favourites and outsiders among the seven races on the track rated a Good 4, with Gunnedah trainer Gavin Groth among the victors while there were also several nail-biting finishes.

Gunnedah Jockey Club spokesperson Will Norman said, “We were really pleased with how the day went.

“The crowd was well behaved, the racing was competitive and entertaining, and it was great to see so many people trackside.

“A big thank you to everyone who came along and supported the club.”

The opening 1300m race featured a field of just five, while the horse with the longest odds recorded a shock victory by a mere 0.1 of a length.

Trained by Les Roberts and ridden by Northey, Satin Dragon defied its starting price of $41.

Race two was 1000m, with the John Ramsey-trained and Northey-ridden Tipsy Miss winning by 0.61 of a length after being the favourite in a field of 10.

The second race was overshadowed by an accident involving the Ella Drew-ridden C’mon Donkey, with the jockey thrown from the horse and subsequently taken to hospital for precautionary x-rays while suffering an arm injury.

The accident forced the next race – the Snow Carrigan Memorial feature race – to be delayed by about 15 minutes.

In a field of nine while the distance was 1600m, the favourite won by a mere 0.09 of a length.

The victorious Trust A Kitty was trained by Cindy Monaghan and ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes, while various relatives of Clarence ‘Snow’ Carrigan were in attendance.

Fittingly, the winning jockey wore the blue-and-gold colours that were worn by the late ‘Snow’ Carrigan.

Race four featured the biggest margin between winner and runner-up, with fourth favourite Gerety finishing 2.05 lengths ahead of the second placegetter in the field of 12.

The triumphant trainer was Ridge Wilson while the jockey was Kody Nestor in this 1000m race.

The final three races also had fields of 12, with the favourite winning race five by 1.55 lengths while the distance was 1250m.

The winning horse, Chestime, was trained by Lou Mary and ridden by Deon Le Roux.

The second-last race was 1400m, with Geoff O’brien the successful trainer and Adrian Layt the jockey while fifth favourite Akauwheo won by 1.8 lengths.

After having placings from fourth to 12th, Groth had his moment of glory in the final race which was 1000m.

Ridden by Leanne Boyd, eighth favourite Powerstone won by 0.66 of a length.