A LARGE field of horses but small crowd characterised the Gunbower Harness Racing Club’s Pacing Cup on Sunday.
While other meets have struggled for entries in recent times, Gunbower attracted 80 horses across its eight races.
“We are very pleased with the number of horses and it was fantastic to have capacity fields in the last five races,” club president, Roger Brereton said.
“The crowd is down a little bit but everything else has worked perfectly and the new VIP area has been very successful.”
Brereton said there had been plenty of positive feedback about the track and facilities.
“We top-dressed the track last week and it has come up really well so everyone is very pleased with its condition,” he said.
Harness Racing Victoria board member, Elizabeth Clarke also commented on the condition of the facility.
“I congratulate the committee on the presentation of the facility; it is absolutely magnificent,” she said.
“This club depends so much on volunteers so their efforts need to be acknowledged.”
One of two feature races, the Gunbower Family Hotel Gunbower Pacing Cup, was a hotly contested affair, with Bad Boy Brad passing the post just ahead of Pepe Bromac.
The horse was trained by owner Dianne Giles from Melton and driven by her partner, Lance Justice.
“It’s the first time we’ve been to Gunbower and we decided to come up because we thought the long track would suit our horse,” Giles said.
“We got lost on the way here but the trip has definitely paid off and we will be back.”
The other feature race, the Cohuna Car Sales Bill Poxon Memorial Gunbower Trotters Cup, produced a clear winner, with KD Muscles coasting to victory ahead of Aleppo Sunrise.
Trainer Andy Gath, also on his first visit to Gunbower, praised the event for its professionalism.
“The committee has done a great job to put on an excellent day,” he said.
In other results, Midaswell claimed the KL Cooke and Sons Lindsay Pollock Memorial Trot; Monash took out the Gunbower Butchery and Abattoirs Three-Year-Old Pace; and Plain Baby won the Stanton Insurance Brokers Vicbred Platinum Mares Sprint Championship second heat.
The MVP Feeds Vicbred Platinum Country Series E second heat went to Top The Ace, while Bernies Idol won the Mawsons Pace, and Drayton won the Easy Ride Sulky Gunbower Club Pace.
