Peter Hibberd, The Buloke Times

Chartres won comfortably in what turned out to be a very fast run for the Bet365 Donald Cup.

The trainer Matt Laurie from Mornington completed a rare double with this horse, having won the Mornington Cup with jockey Harry Coffey and the Donald Cup with Tom Madden on Sunday. This was Matt Laurie’s first ever winner on the Donald track, having three runners for one placing previously.

As with all the races on the day, horses near the front had a distinct advantage with the very strong winds. Down the home straight, no horse was able to make up ground.

The Cup race was set up for a fast time, with last year’s Cup winner Mister Me away very quickly. Eventual winner sat behind the leader with Savoir Faire and Prince Eric in the leading group of horses. The rest of the field was well back and with the conditions, struggled in the home straight. Chartres took the lead at the 300-metre mark and came away for an easy win, defeating Savoir Faire and Prince Eric.

Results

Race one: Favourite punters got off to a bad start when the first winner My Zephyr won at the odds of $10.10. Trained at Geelong by Michael Shepherdson and ridden by Jake Noonan, it sat outside the leader all the way.

Race two: The Hayes stable had a big team of runners with She Flys winning, ridden by Daniel Moor. This again did not help favourite punters, starting at $12.70. The second horse, Seattle Hope, beaten by a small margin was very unlucky.

Race three: Punters were happy with the win of Crossover Kid. Still an inexperienced horse, did some things wrong in the race, but under strong riding from jockey Will Price, recorded a 1.25 length win.

Race four: The Hayes stable completed a double with the win of Excel And Fly, ridden by Declan Bates. It was able to lead and won comfortably.

Race five: This race was delayed due to a track inspection by stewards and jockeys between the 500m and 300m marks. The surface was declared safe for racing. Another Geelong trainer, Vince Malady had success with lady jockey Sarah Field. Starting at $3.90, it was very well supported by most punters.

Race seven: The blowout race for most punters was the Benchmark 64 race over 2200 metres. Angel Raider made it another winner for the lady jockeys with Alana Kelly riding. Paying $29.70, it sat behind the leader, moving out along the straight for a narrow win.

Race eight: The lady jockeys finished off an excellent day of racing with Linda Meech riding Flying Fuzz for a big win. Trained by Matthew Williams at Warrnambool, it was his only runner for the day, starting as the $2.50 favourite.

No on-course TAB

As from November 30, there will be no on-course TAB betting coverage at basically all codes of racing. The exception in will be metro or if clubs are prepared to cover the costs. This, I don’t think will happen.

Sponsorship

The club has a long list of sponsors, not only its Cup day regulars, but a long list throughout the year. Well done to all.

Thanks

At the presentation chairman Jackie Alexander thanked his committee, plus his sub-committees which have done a lot of behind-the-scenes work to put on the day’s Cup meeting.

Track curator Lachlan Holmes-Brown was commended on the presentation of the track in very difficult conditions. And as always, club manager Penny Penfold should be congratulated on another outstanding effort.

Highlights

• Cup-winning jockey Tom Madden – these overseas jockeys are able to judge the pace of all races perfectly.
• Very well behaved crowd, even though numbers were down marginally.
• Well done to the organisers of the school reunion for former DPS students from Australia wide; all in attendance had a great day at the races.
• A full report of trackside entertainment will be in Friday’s [Buloke] “Times”.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 19 November 2024.