Peter Hibberd, The Buloke Times
The after-party of the running of the bet365 Donald Cup was very good, but it would not compare to the party held by the Symon Wilde stable from Warrnambool after three winners at the Donald Racing Centre, including successive Donald Cups.
Last year’s winner was Glassey Miss; this year, it was Mister Me. Enjoying the party will be jockey Dean Yendall, who also had executive Cup wins, this being his sixth Donald Cup. Dean is known for his opinions in racing, but he is one of the “best” jockeys in country Victoria.
In the Cup race, he was able to find the lead and simply controlled the race from then on. Although challenged strongly in the home straight, he was able to hold the opposition off to beat Extra Elusive and Chartres. The time of the race was only marginally outside of the track record held by the locally-owned Vungers, the Cup winner in 2020.
The win in the Cup completed a big day for the Wilde stable with three winners, and jockey Jordan Childs combined with the stable for two of those wins.
Another stable which had a good day was Paul Preusker’s from Horsham, with two winners. Both of these were ridden by Paul’s apprentice jockey, Ryan Houston.
Results
Race one: The winning strike rate at Donald would be amazing for trainer Patrick Payne. Bold Soul, ridden by Harry Coffey was only having its first race start, but was supported from opening odds of $13.00 into $5.00. It sat back in the field until the final bend, where it went on to win convincingly.
Race two: The first of Symon Wilde’s winners. Sevillana sat outside the short favourite, Fields of Jenni. Both horses duelled from the 600-metre mark, but Sevillana proved too strong.
Race three: The distance maiden of 2200 metres was won by Kodiak Bear for the Wilde stable, giving Jordan Childs his second winner. Although a maiden race, the win of this horse shows enormous potential in distance events. The time was just outside the track record.
Race four: Paul Preusker’s first winner of the day was the very well-supported Hot Suspect. It had a nice trail in the race, Ryan made his move at the top of the straight and under hard riding was able to win, defeating No Matter What and stablemate of the winner, Bruno Stars, which was very unlucky.
Race five: Having its first run since June proved no problem for Miss Milhous. Trained by Archie Alexander and ridden by Thomas Stockdale, it sat outside the leader in the run and won with ease. Very well supported to start at $6.50, this horse is part-owned by a big owner in harness racing, Yabby Dam Farms Pty Ltd.
Race six: The Cup.
Race seven: Stawell trainer Dane Smith has a hidden talent that trainers statewide have realized. Horses with barrier and racing problems are sent to him to try to fix. In July at Donald, Skylark won a race when trained by Harry Dwyer. After the win, he said he had serious barrier problems… enter Dane Smith who worked on the horse at his third start since retraining and a victory again at Donald with Melissa Julius in the saddle. Dane’s partner, Heidi, part-owned a winner at the Geelong meeting, Flying Pharoah, so they also had a great day.
Race eight: The ride of the day award went to apprentice jockey, Ryan Houston, riding the very well supported Longtimedreaming. Early in the race it was four back on the fence, gaps gradually opened up at the 300-metre mark and it came around the leaders to score a very good win. This completed the double for Paul and Ryan.
In conclusion
The Wilde and Preusker stables are big supporters of this club, so well done to them on Donald’s biggest day. Retrospective of the first race, the track was upgraded to a good 3.
Chairman’s thanks
At the presentation, chairman Jack Alexander said thanks to the club’s sponsors, not only on Cup day, but throughout the rest of the year. Track manager, Lachlan Holmes-Brown has done a fantastic job. The committee and volunteers for all their work, and finally, club manager Penny Penfold for another fantastic effort in the promotion of the Donald and District Race Club’s feature race meeting.
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 21 November 2023.
