By Michael Esposito
IT WAS a neat coincidence that the first horse to win on Werribee’s re-furbished and re-opened racetrack was called Major Event.
The four-year-old gelding gave jockey Jamie Mott and trainer Russell Cameron the honour of winning the first race in Werribee in three years, in front of a bumper crowd of 3500.
It was only a standard country race meet, with no feature race, but it had the feel of a major event, with locals and visitors alike flocking to the new Werribee track.
Susie Simonovic, a Werribee resident, was one such racegoer who is thrilled that racing has returned to her town.
“It’s absolutely fantastic for the community, it’s almost like a reunion coming here, catching up with people from around the town,” she said from the cheery Tigers Clubhouse marquee.
Port Melbourne women Melani and Naomi came to the meet for a hen’s day, and it proved the perfect venue for a celebratory gathering, particularly with the weather as splendid as it was.
“We wanted to support local country racing because we think it’s important for the community,” Melani said.
Naomi added: “Everyone here is lovely, it’s very laidback, it’s not so pretentious, it’s quite nice.”
The only other time they had been to Werribee before was to visit the Open Range Zoo.
Werribee Racing Club CEO Jeremy Crawford said the meet was the biggest test before the Werribee Cup on 18 March.
“It was probably what we were expecting. We didn’t want too many more given it was a test day, but it was certainly more than the minimum we wanted,” Crawford said.
“Having all of the resources open was a good idea. We had every bar open and included temporary bars in there, so we certainly serviced all of the public and the attendants really well.
“We had just a couple of minor things with utilities, but you don’t find that out until you use them, but we had plumbers and electricians on hand.”
The track came up with hardly any damage after the eight-race meet. A full renovation will be done on the turf tomorrow, and is expected be completed in five weeks, in time for children’s day on 29 January.
Throughout the day jockeys Luke Currie and Ryan Maloney both won two races. Maloney’s second win came on the Bart Cummings trained horse Tamanu Park in the 2000m 0-72 handicap, while Currie’s second win, on Greg Eurell-trained Freelander, won in a photo finish from Perfect Kiss and favourite Edge of Time.
Maloney also snared two other places on the day.
