Australia Day was the forerunner to the running of the Walcha Cup prelude which is put on every Year by the Armidale Jockey club.
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The Armidale Jockey has been a staunch supporter of the Walcha Cup meeting for as long as I can remember and in recent years have developed the Walcha Cup prelude meeting.
The meeting this year fell on Australia Day which ensured a good crowd would be present on the day.
Walcha’s interest centred on quite a few races with the second race on the card having two local horses.
Former Walcha lass Melanie O’Gorman recently took out a trainer’s licence and had her first winner in Massacre.
Massacre raced in second place until the 400 metre mark, taking the lead at that point and racing away in the straight to record a win that was the mark of a very talented galloper.
Finishing second in that race was the Tim, Jane, Ted and Tig Fenwicke’s Swift Pins.
The run by Swift Pins would have been an encouraging sign for her owners particularly running second to a galloper that is certain to go onto bigger things.
George Woodward had a mixed day with Playmate finishing third to former Walcha mentor Ken Martin’s Go Dragon.
Playmate raced close to the lead for the major part of the trip but the run of the day was by Go Dragon who came from third last on the turn to blow them away in the run to the post.
George’s other success came in the shape of Tish Boom. Tish Boom’s run was encouraging also with that horse coming from fifth on the turn to finish a very nice second.
The Walcha Cup prelude was the race of the day and perhaps the most surprising in regards to winners. The win by Miss Caitlyn couldn’t have been more impressive.
Miss Caitlyn has been racing her way through the classes and even though she won the Glen Innes Cup, was not given much hope by the learned punters.
Miss Caitlyn raced in second place after settling, taking the lead before the turn into the straight and virtually kicked their brains in scoring by four lengths.
If she gets in well on the weights then she will be hard to beat here particularly if she races close to the lead as she did at Armidale.