By HARRY CLARKE
LEGGY gelding Miralie will likely line up at Taroom in three weeks time after the 7-year-old’s blistering win in the 1100m Wambo Cup run at Warra on Saturday.
Jandowae trainer Geoffrey Schrader was elated his top weighted runner managed to beat an open field to notch up the horse’s fifth career win, bringing his total prize money above $58,000.
Schrader and his mate both own a 50 percent share in the horse purchased from Victoria. He’s by top sire and double Cox Plate winner So You Think, out of Danehill mare Merlene.
“I said to the jockey (Hannah Phillips) to just hang on to him and when the time comes let him go,” Schrader said.
“When he got into the straight I’d thought he hung on enough. It was a good win.
“He’s a big horse. He’s easy to work with and he travels well. We’ll give him a blow for at least couple of weeks and probably run him again at Taroom.”
The Wambo Cup was a frustrating race for apprentice jockey Jasmine Cornish, who rode the Stephen Kirkwood trained Misslleers to second place.
Cornish (pictured) had been praised by the race caller following the previous race after claiming her 15th win for what was described as her “very successful early career” in the saddle.
But Cornish, whose parents are both former jockeys now based in Beaudesert, was frustrated the coveted “double” has still eluded her.
“I’m still waiting for a double! I just keep missing out by a nose,” Cornish said.
“It’s just been by the smallest smidgeons in three cup races in the last three weekends.
“But of course I was very happy with the race 3 win (on 5-year-old gelding Shame Job).
“They (trainer and owners) wanted to me to go forward and jump and run but they went a bit too hard early. So I sat in behind them I pulled wide and went around them, and he just did it easy.”
Warra’s annual race meeting in July had been rained out but the rescheduled date was clearly a success. It was chock-a-block trackside as hundreds of punters from across the district gathered for the classic bush race day.
The racing was hotly contested and plenty of those who were placing bets were seen celebrating wins as the horses passed the post.
But the real winner on the day was whoever is currently farming the thriving oats crop inside the race track.
So high was the crop that nobody watching the racing could even see the horses until they rounded the turn and hit the 200m mark.
“You can only see their heads bobbing along,” trainer Geoff Schrader said.
One punter said everyone was lucky the horses didn’t pull up mid race to have a feed on the impressive hay field.
As always the fashions of the field was a crowd favourite.
Stealing the show were the ladies in the Classic division.
Skyela Kruger from Westmar claimned first prize while Verelle O’Shanesy from Jandowae was runner up.
“I was very, very surprised to win. I put this together a little while ago but was worried I wouldn’t get to wear it here when the first meeting got cancelled,” Ms Kruger said.
“So I was happy to be able to put it together today. I tried to stick with a little bit of vintage, decided to throw a fanny pack in there for a little bit of fun.
“The millinery is made by Hats By Helen in Gympie.”
Fantastic article! Thank you.