Peter Hibberd, The Buloke Times

Even though the Donald and District Race Club has not raced since its Cup meeting in November, over the last two weeks, the grounds have been very busy with race trials. 

A total of thirty-three trials have been held with horses coming from all parts of the state.

On Wednesday, two of the state’s leading jockeys, Billy Egan and Harry Coffey, both declared the track in perfect condition.

These trials are used by trainers to ascertain the fitness of horses and to give unraced horses the experience of near-race-day expectations.

These trials are also for the up-and-coming apprentice jockeys. These young jockeys have to ride in these trials before being given a licence to ride in races. One of these jockeys is Thomas Spillane, a 25-year-old who is indentured to the Lindsay Park Stable (Hayes). He had three rides at Donald and is very near his first official race ride.

Of the seventeen trials on Wednesday, on a good 3-rated track, there were some very impressive wins.

Ten Commandments from the Paul Pruesker Stable, Special Envoy trained by the Waterhouse and Bott combination (a 7-lengths winner), and Picaroon trained by Tom Dabernig, all showed they are ready for their next race day assignment.

Three horses of the unraced brigade showed a lot of potential, those being, from the Patrick Payne Stable, Abdication and Signor Bill, and Furrina from the Tom Dabernig Stable.

This 2-year-old is very well-bred with exceptional bloodlines.

The next Donald meeting is on Saturday, May 11, featuring the Weirs IGA Donald 2-Year-Old Classic.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 22 March 2024.