The ponies donned their antlers and tinsel for the pre-Christmas races at Greenwald Paceway on Sunday evening.
The colourful line-up glittered away from the start of the Gull Family Handicap with Run Jemma Run & Joshua Micallef holding the early lead from Willow & Abbey Gull. The pair looked promising at the top turn while the backmarkers began to rapidly gain momentum.
Down the straight an over eager Minty (Matthew Shepherd) broke stride, as Pumpkin (Emma Greenfield) & Marmalade (Jackie Barker) passed the field & fought for the lead.
Chasing The Stars & Grady Hutchesson tried hard but they were unable to make ground on the leaders.
In a show of speed & skill Pumpkin & Emma Greenfield took the win from Marmalade in 2nd place & Chasing The Stars in 3rd place. They were followed by Run Jemma Run & Willow, with Minty being relegated for excessive galloping.
|
RACE 1 GULL FAMILY Disc Hcp. 600m | ||
|
No. |
Pony |
Driver |
|
1 |
Pumpkin |
Emma Greenfield |
|
2. |
Marmalade |
Jackie Barker |
|
3. |
Chasing The Stars |
Grady Hutchesson |
|
4. |
Run Jemma Run |
Joshua Micallef |
|
5 |
Willow |
Abbey Gull |
|
6. |
Minty |
Matthew Shepherd |
|
|
Time:1.31.4 |
1m-1m-2m |
Pumpkin and Emma Greenfield returns to scale after winning the Gull family handicap.
Race 2 sponsored by Gambier Print was another fierce contest with the backmarkers dominating the race.
After the whistle Willow & Run Jemma Run tussled for the lead only to be overcome by the faster ponies in the straight.
Minty trotted well, driven superbly by Matthew Shepherd to pass the field & hold on to her lead. The pair hit the line in front of Marmalade while Pumpkin struggled with her new handicap coming in 3rd. Willow, Run Jemma Run & Chasing The Stars finished not far behind the placegetters.
One Christmas pony continued to shine later in the evening. Marmalade, led by Jackie Barker, had the honour of bringing Father Christmas onto the track to the delight of all the boys & girls.
This was followed by the drawing of The Pony Trot Christmas raffle. The $100 voucher from Five Star Seafoods was won by The Dive Shop, while the $50 voucher from Badenoch’s Bay Road Butchery was won by Wendy Richardson. The 3rd prize was a $30 voucher from Bev’s Salon won by B. Winterfield. Thank you to everyone for their support. The proceeds will be used to assist pony participants to attend the inaugural South Australian State Championship Finals at Globe Derby over Easter.
|
RACE 2 GAMBIER PRINT Disc. Hcp. 600m | ||
|
No. |
Pony |
Driver |
|
1 |
Minty |
Matthew Shepherd |
|
2. |
Marmalade |
Jackie Barker |
|
3. |
Pumpkin |
Emma Greenfield |
|
4. |
Willow |
Abbey Gull |
|
5 |
Run Jemma Run |
Joshua Micallef |
|
6. |
Chasing The Stars |
Grady Hutchesson |
|
|
Time:1.32.7 |
3m-1m-1m |
Matthew Shepherd (MINTY) takes the lead from Josh Micalleff (Run Jemma Run) and Abbey Gull (Willow).
Matthew Shepherd driving Minty to a win in the Gambier Print Disc.Handicap