Warrnambool Racing Club CEO John Green said it was great news the three local cup races to be run at Warrnambool had significant prizemoney increases.

“We’re confident that the Port Fairy, Woodford and Koroit cups will all have top fields,” Green said.

 The $35,000 for each cup should ensure that good quality horses take part in those races.

 “We’re are also offering a $10,000 Star Of The West owners’ bonus, with the winner being the horse that can accumulate the most points between the three cup races. The owners’ bonus should be a great incentive for owners of cup runners to enter in the three races.”

Green said the Port Fairy Cup meeting, to be run on Thursday, December 6, would also have a $2000 trainers’  bonus. “Last year was the first time that we’ve conducted a Port Fairy meeting,” Green said.

“The meeting was an outstanding success due to the great support we received from the business houses in Port Fairy and from the Port Fairy community.

“The trainers’ bonus for the Port Fairy meeting should ensure we get trainers entering plenty of horses for the meeting.”

Total prizemoney for the Port Fairy meeting is in excess of $170,000.

Meanwhile, Green said the club’s Oaks Day meeting last Thursday had been successful.

“Our crowd numbers were up six per cent on last year’s Oaks meeting and the on-course tote was also up six per cent,” he said.

 “We’re working hard to ensure our Oaks meeting is one of our feature race days.”

Warrnambool will race again on Thursday, November 22.

TRAINER Ciaron Maher will target Arohanui towards next year’s Warrnambool Cup after she won a $30,000 restricted race over 2025 metres under lights at Cranbourne last Friday.

Maher said he had a big opinion of the lightly-raced mare. “She goes really good,” he said.

“We’ll give her a break now and set her for next year’s Warrnambool Cup. She’s a big, strong mare.

“She’s collected prizemoney at each of her five starts and two of those have been wins. We’ll give her the rest of the spring in the paddock before getting her ready for Warrnambool.”

Maher said the four-year-old was bred to get over more distance as she was out of the handy staying mare Tiffany’s Best.

“She’ll stay all day,” he said. “We’ll have no problems with her running in races like the Warrnambool Cup which is over 2350 metres. Arohanui has another string to her bow — she loves wet tracks and with any luck we might get that sort of track at Warrnambool in May.”

WARRNAMBOOL trainer Patrick Ryan has played down the impressive win of his galloper Royal Entity in a maiden plate over 1900 metres at Geelong on Saturday.

Royal Entity won the $15,000 event by nearly five lengths but Ryan said the four-year-old was destined for a jumps career.

“He never beat much,” Ryan said. “It was a weak maiden. I’ve schooled him over jumps and he goes really good. I reckon he will make a handy jumper. I reckon I will kick off his jumping career in a race over at Oakbank at the Easter carnival.” 

WARRNAMBOOL’s training combination of Bill and Symon Wilde had a big weekend.

They were trackside at Flemington on Saturday to watch their promising three-year-old Gold Medals run third in the $150,000 Hilton Hotels Stakes over 1400 metres. More than two hours later Constant Force won the $30,000 Ballan Cup at Geelong.

The weekend finished on a high note for the Wilde stable, with underrated Full Peal winning the $75,000 China Bowl at Ararat on Sunday.

HONG Kong based jockey Brett Prebble scored his biggest Australian win last Tuesday when he won the Melbourne Cup aboard Green Moon.

The win was not the only one for the Prebble family last week. Wife Maree (Payne), a former handy jockey in her own right, part-owned Angelology which won a $15,000 restricted race at Warrnambool last Thursday.

Angelology has won six of his 11 starts. The four-year-old is trained by respected New Zealand mentor Kevin Myers.

APPRENTICE jockey Josh Cartwright was outed by stewards at Warrnambool last Thursday. Cartwright was suspended on a careless riding charge after his ride on Nordic Monarch, which ran third. His suspension started at midnight yesterday and ends at midnight on Sunday.

CHAMPION jumps jockey Steven Pateman has handed out an early tip in his bid to win a hat-trick of Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechases at the Warrnambool May carnival.

Pateman said he had put his hand up to ride 2012 Grand Annual winner Awakening Dream in next year’s feature jumping race.

“Awakening Dream is a freak jumper,” he said.

“His efforts to win this year’s Grand Annual were sensational. I can’t see anything there that could beat him at this early stage. I think Awakening Dream is a very underrated horse. I reckon why he’s so underrated might have to do with him being targeted at the one feature jumping race and then sent for a spell.”

Pateman’s 2011 Grand Annual winner was Al Garhood.

WHO TO FOLLOW:

DIAMONDS AT DUSK: showed a return to form with a fast-finishing second in the Ararat Cup on Sunday. Diamonds At Dusk’s two previous runs were disappointing on paper but the drop in grade helped his chances on Sunday. Should win in similar company in the near future.

LEICA VESSELL: slashing debut run to finish third in a maiden over 1600 metres at Ararat on Sunday. Leica Vessell is trained by in-form mentor Darren Weir. A win is not far away for Leica Vessell going on her debut effort.

PETER MOODY: had by his standards a disappointing four-day Flemington carnival but with his ability to place a horse right winners will soon be coming from the Moody stable.