Sport
22 October, 2024
Mungery Picnic Cup and Dubbo races
Colin Hodges reports on Mungery Picnic Cup and Dubbo races
Mungery Picnic Cup - Raced October 6
His father Ben Pollock rode in the famous Grand National at Aintree, and now 19-year-old English-born Arthur Pollock, riding Pacific Warrior for his mother, Scone trainer Nikki Pollock, has won the cup at the centenary meeting hosted by Mungery in central west NSW. Arthur Pollock, who emigrated to Australia from England with his family in 2011, was riding at his first meeting since May 2024, when he won the Boolooroo Moree Picnic Cup on Peak Road for trainer Peter Sinclair.
Celebrating 100 years of racing at Mungery, a big crowd on Sunday witnessed a very good ride by Arthur Pollock to win the 1750 metres QUBE Agri Mungery Picnic Cup on Pacific Warrior. In what eventually proved to be a winning move, Pollock dashed his mount to the lead from the heavily backed $3 favourite Dancing In The Sky well before the home turn, and Pacific Warrior ($3.20) then held off the strong finishing Cafe Award (Leandro Ribeiro, $5.50) to win by a length, with more than two lengths to the third-placed Nevada Showgirl (Todd Bailey, $8.50).
Completing a double for Nikki Pollock and Arthur Pollock, One Command ($2.40) won the 1200 metres Listers Machinery Class B Handicap by two lengths from the leader Parnassus (Zara Lewis, $6) and Keep Ya Promise (Izzy Neale, $2.30 fav.).
Trained at Cobar by Wayne Prisk, Mr Pointer ($4.40), ridden by Narromine-based Ricky Blewitt, led throughout to win the feature sprint, the 1000 metres Don Barling Memorial Trophy Handicap from Billy Bent Ear (Leandro Ribeiro, $3 equal fav.) and Anini (Todd Bailey, $3.80). Winner of 19 races and placed 43 times from 155 starts, the gallant 12-year-old Billy Bent Ear finished gamely to be beaten a half-length.
Purchased recently by Gilgandra jockey Zara Lewis to become a show jumper, the five-year-old mare Night To Remember ($13) prevailed by a neck after a length-of-the-straight battle with Kingsway (Izzy Neale, $3.20 equal favourite), with the other equal favourite Too Casual (Arthur Pollock) finishing third. “I was planning to take Night To Remember home after today for show jumping but will probably now leave her with Forbes trainer Peter Kirby for a few more starts,” said the winning jockey Zara Lewis.
Dubbo trainer Connie Greig, who is likely to play a big role at the Coonamble Cup TAB meeting next Sunday with numerous starters in the $50,000 Picnic Championship Final, had a winning double at Mungery with Real Salty and Rebel Love. Given a perfect run behind the leader by Leandro Ribeiro, Real Salty ($2.80 fav.) won the 800 metres Vantage NSW/Reesys Crushing Class Three Handicap from Redline (Zara Lewis, $3) and Individualist (Todd Bailey, $3.50). Running third turning for home in the Anning Earthmoving Class B Handicap, Rebel Love (Leandro Ribeiro, $6.50) finished best to score by a length from impressive debut maker Unreliable Critic (Arthur Pollock, $2.10 fav.) and A Tender Lady (Zara Lewis, $8).
---
Dubbo - Raced Sunday, September 29
Hollywood scriptwriters could not have bettered what transpired at Dubbo on Sunday when Gallant Star and Sneak Preview won the feature races. David Ringland, who owns Gallant Star in partnership with former Test cricketer Kerry O’Keefe, has long been involved with Dubbo Turf Club and very much wanted to win the XXXX - Vincent Gordon Flying Handicap, a memorial race for the former manager of the club, whom David greatly admired.
A prime candidate for the $2 million Kosciusko at Royal Randwick on October 19, the Brett Robb-trained Gallant Star took on and defeated an outstanding field in the $75,000 feature sprint over 1100 metres. Settled midfield by Tyler Schiller, Gallant Star ($3.20 favourite), when allowed more rein in the straight, looked every bit a very classy galloper, winning by a length from the Cameron Crockett-trained Lonhro’s Queen (Ashley Morgan, $4.20), which ran on well to cut the speedy stablemate Custo (Jake Pracey-Holmes, $7) out of second place.
There were incredibly emotional scenes when jockey Kody Nestor returned to a wildly cheering crowd after nine-year-old gelding Sneak Preview won the $150,000 Dubbo City Toyota-Gilgandra Toyota Dubbo Gold Cup, not the reception normally expected for a $71 outsider in a feature race. Only a fortnight before Dubbo, Kody Nestor, after a lengthy time out of the saddle, had made a comeback to ride a Maiden Handicap winner, The Answer Man, at a non-TAB meeting at Collarenebri in the northwest of the state. To then produce such a brilliant ride in a 16-horse field against a top-flight line-up of jockeys in a major country race was truly remarkable. Positioned further back than midfield and saving ground near the inside, Sneak Preview gradually worked into the race but was briefly blocked for a run in the straight. Keeping his mount balanced, Nestor drove Sneak Preview through a narrow gap, and the veteran galloper responded gamely to win by a neck from High Dandy (Alysha Collett, $9), with Hollywood Hero (Ashley Morgan, $5) a length away third.
For Kody Nestor, the wheel had gone full circle, as he had ridden over 600 winners and then become a trainer at Dubbo, with Sneak Preview one of his best performers, with several wins, including the Western Racing Association Country Championship Qualifier at Coonamble in 2020. The following year he stepped aside as a trainer, and Sneak Preview was transferred to Queensland to become the winner of several races for trainer David Vandyke. Recently, Sneak Preview came back to Dubbo to be trained by Peter Nestor, the uncle of Kody Nestor. Widely regarded as a master trainer, Peter Nestor, who has prepared a host of top gallopers, has also recently made a comeback, and the big group of owners, including Mick Nestor, the father of Kody and brother of Peter, are thrilled to have their horse back home again.
High-profile trainers and jockeys from the country and city were in big numbers at Dubbo. However, a local galloper, Taormina Sailor, won the opening event, the 1000 metres Stridyl/Australian Turf Club Foundation Country Boosted Showcase Maiden Plate. Trained by Myron Cooper, owned by his wife Corrine Cooper, and well-ridden by their daughter Angela Cooper, Taormina Sailor, against a 14-horse field, started a $41 outsider despite some good runs during the initial campaign. Racing in the leading three, Taormina Sailor broke clear in the straight and won by nearly a length from Now Voyager (Ashley Morgan, $5.50) and Trust A Kitty (Siena Grima, $31).
