HighRacingCountry

THERE WAS A STRONG LOCAL CONNECTION TO THE RESULT OF THIS YEAR’S TAMBO VALLEY CUP AT SWIFTS CREEK.

Words: Chris West | Photos: Doug Pell

Gwennybegg Wins The Tambo Valley Cup

With only one fixture each year, the hard-working Tambo Valley Racing Club Committee Members and a dedicated team of volunteers prepare for months to ensure the success of their showpiece picnic race day at Swifts Creek Racecourse on Easter Sunday.

No stone is left unturned in preparing the track and on-course facilities for the big day, along with securing much-needed sponsors and selling advance ticket packages to club members and public patrons.

One thing the organisers can’t control, however, is the weather, which inevitably rests in the lap of the gods. But despite Easter Sunday this year bringing intermittent drizzle and an unseasonal winter chill to the air in the Tambo Valley, there was not one hint from anyone on course of letting the weather conditions impact on their enjoyment of the day.

The good-spirited crowd lapped up the racing action and trackside hospitality from start to finish, with the first of six races commencing at 1.10pm. Intervals between races were filled with a non-stop program of entertainment and fun including separate fashion competitions for men, women and children, along with foot races on the track, an Easter Egg Hunt for youngsters under 16 years of age, and even the chance for people to take to the microphone to provide their best rooster and crow calls, which raised the decibel levels across the course. Kids were also kept busy with supervised activities by Kelly Sports for much of the afternoon.

Many of the people in attendance were visitors to the High Country for the Easter holiday period, some of whom had preceded their day at the races by also enjoying the popular rodeo event in Omeo on Easter Saturday.

Members’ tickets were sold out in advance and all the food and beverage outlets were well patronised including the delicious barbecue fare prepared by the Swifts Creek Football Netball Club, along with The Big Red Food Van, WOW Espresso coffee outlet, and both the locally produced Tongio Honey and Nullamunjie Olive Oil displays.

The relaxed picnic atmosphere at Swifts Creek encapsulates the very essence of grass roots racing. None of the thoroughbreds contesting the races are going to be lining up at Flemington this Spring, but the modest form lines amongst the small fields does not deter the punters from having a flutter on their fancies with the on-course bookmakers or TAB facility. It’s all part of embracing the spirit of the day.

For many people, both young and old, picnic racing provides their introduction to the sport, not only for the attendees but also in some cases for the participants. It is not uncommon for amateur riders to begin their careers competing on the picnic circuit before progressing to the professional ranks.

One of the unique aspects of racing at Swifts Creek is that it can lay claim to having Victoria’s only privately owned track. The course is nestled between the Great Alpine Road and the Tambo River on a property owned by the Richardson family, who lease the section of land to the Tambo Valley Racing Club for a token sum each year.

A track circuit is prepared for the race meeting and the Club assembles in the necessary facilities to accommodate the horses, participants, officials, Members and public patrons. For the remainder of the year, after the temporary running rail is dismantled, the site resumes its normal role as a paddock on the Richardson family farm.

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“My late father Jack and mother Lenore bought the property fifty years ago. Our family is very community-minded and we were keen to continue the long history of association the race club has had with this particular piece of land,” Stephen Richardson explains.

“Swifts Creek is our community and the raceclub is part of that. Dad went on to become a Life Member of the Club and has a Memorial Race named in his honour at the raceday, so we continue to be closely entwined with the whole fabric of the Tambo Valley races,” he adds.

Sale-based trainers Reg Manning and Troy Kilgower, along with Bairnsdale-based Bob Triplow, cumulatively provided 16 of the 23 horses that contested the six races on this year’s card. Manning won the opening race with Mackong Fortune, whilst Kilgower fared one better with a double through Lucky Spinner in Race 3 and Angelsreach in Race 5.

The race Kilgower prepared Lucky Spinner to win was named in honour of Reg Manning’s late father Alec, who passed away in July 2019. Alec was an icon of Gippsland racing and a dominant force as a trainer at picnic meetings in the high country for decades. He lived north of Swifts Creek in Benambra for many years.

“My association with the races at Swifts Creek spans the entire sixty years of my life to date, and my dad’s involvement was even longer,” says Reg Manning, who is one of the Tambo Valley Racing Club’s current holders of Life Membership in recognition of his wide-ranging contribution to the annual race meeting.

Reg Manning and Troy Kilgower both saddled up runners in the day’s main event – the $7,000 Nullamunjie Oil Tambo Valley Cup over 1600 metres - but were upstaged by former local lass Georgie Boucher, who brought her in-form seven-year-old mare Gwennybeg down from Jindabyne.

Boucher had already trained Grosses Plain to win the second race on the program but was hopeful that Gwennybeg could complete a memorable double for her by taking out the Cup, which was run for the 127th time this year.

As if on cue, the sun finally poked through the clouds just before the main race as Gwennybeg was sent off as the $2.50 race favourite in the field of five runners, with apprentice jockey Jasmine Trenwith in the saddle.

When the barriers opened, Gwennybeg stood flat footed and missed the start by a conspicuous distance, but the inexperienced Trenwith didn’t panic and settled the mare at the rear of the field. When the field passed the winning post for the first time, Gwennybeg was still last of the five runners but steadily improved her position in the middle stages of the race.

By the top of the home straight, Trenwith had made considerable headway and was poised to take the favourite to the lead. It was evident that Gwennybeg was travelling far stronger than her rivals and the mare forged clear to a convincing one length victory over Manhattan Sting, with Golwen back in third. Both the runner-up and third placegetter were from the Troy Kilgower stable.

Gwennybeg’s success continued the remarkable start to Morningtonbased Trenwith’s riding career. The 24-year-old only entered the picnic riding ranks in January and the Tambo Valley Cup victory was already her fifth winner from just 13 rides.

The result provided a triumphant homecoming for trainer Georgie Boucher, who spent part of her childhood growing up in Swifts Creek. Boucher moved away to Woodglen near Lindenow as a teenager and later spent a period in Melbourne working at the stables of Moloney Racing after leaving school before eventually settling in Jindabyne, where she presently combines hobby training with managing the local mail delivery and co-owning a butcher’s shop with her partner Mick Flanagan.

“Having spent my early years in Swifts Creek, I have a really strong connection with the area. My family were good friends with the Richardsons, who own the track,” Boucher notes.

“Horses have always been a part of my life. I’ve held a trainer’s licence for about eighteen years, but this was only the second time that I’ve brought horses to compete at the Swifts Creek meeting. You always want to win your local races, and naturally make them a bit of a target due to the personal significance, so it was great to achieve that ambition by winning the Tambo Valley Cup. To do that this year was special enough, but coming away with a winning double on the day made it even better,” she adds.

Boucher purchased Gwennybegg two years ago for just $5,000 and has now won seven races with the mare. As horse and trainer headed back to Jindabyne with the Cup trophy, the crowd eventually emptied from the racecourse at the day’s end, with many visitors sure to already be planning to return next Easter.

But the ongoing success and longevity of the annual event would not be possible without the dedication and effort of all concerned at the Tambo Valley Racing Club led by President, Stuart Stagg, the Committee and many other individuals who make everything happen including Raceday CEO, Phil Cook. Members of several local families play a prominent role both behind the scenes and at the coalface of the operation, including the Richardson, Commins, Mitchell, Gallagher and Richards families, to name just a few.

The Club is appreciative of the generosity of all of its sponsors: Aeris Resources, bet365, Elders Bairnsdale, Nullamunjie Olive Oil & Pressing Shed Café, Nunniong Herefords, Tambo Angus, Omeo Rural and Hardware, Harcourts Bairnsdale, Daisie’s Hair Salon, TerryWhite Chemmart and Omeo Pharmacy.

As has become customary, a percentage of the proceeds from the race day will be donated by the Club to the Ensay & Swifts Creek Bush Nursing Association.

During the race meeting, the Tambo Valley Racing Club also acknowledged retiring race day official Bob McAdam with a fond farewell as he performed the role of starter at Swifts Creek for the final time. The long-serving McAdam has been starting races in the north-east region of Victoria for the past 32 years, having earlier commenced his career in racing as a Clerk of the Course.