Moora Cup to run Saturday, Geraldton Ladies’ Day Sunday as Mid West race season begins

The Moora Cup is due to run on Saturday as the racing season gets under way in the Mid West.

The annual event will be followed on Sunday by Ladies’ Day at the Geraldton Turf Club, which kicked off its season last Wednesday with a midweek meet featuring a visitor from the metro area.

Racing & Wagering WA commercial racing and planning manager David Hunter said people should get along to the Moora Cup to enjoy a “treasured” piece of country racing heritage.

“For more than a century, the Moora Race Club has been treasured by the community as a place of meetings and memories,” Mr Hunter said.

“The highlight of the annual race day is the Moora Cup but, just as importantly, the races are a focal point of the social calendar and a chance ... to get together.

“Volunteers are the backbone of country racing, and they deserve the reward of welcoming visitors who are keen to enjoy a unique bush racing experience.”

He said the meet would also be shown on SKY Racing this year as the industry looks to increase interest in regional racing.

The Moora Race Club said the feature was a racing tradition.

“There is perhaps no other occasion which conveys the spirit and character of country Australia as the ‘Call to the Post’ for a group of magnificent thoroughbreds at Moora,” the club said. The day will also feature Fashions on the Field.

There was a high-profile country visitor at the Geraldton Turf Club’s first meet as five-year-old gelding Dance Cockey, which won a class one handicap at Ascot in 2019, came to town.

The gelding, trained by Carey Martin at Muchea, duly crossed the line first in the Hit 96.5 Handicap in race four with Tyla Becker aboard, beating Keshaw Dhurun on Startrade.

Kenyluck, the club’s two-time reigning horse of the year, won on his first start since last season as Rosie Mahoney piloted him across the line in a photo finish ahead of Natasha Faithfull on Human Nature in race three, the Iron Jack Handicap.

Jordan Turner won the GWN Maiden on Traded Crown, trained by George Dupre. Faithfull on Quan, trained by Sean Rains, won race two, the Abrolhos Adventures Maiden.

Mitchell Pateman took the honours in the TabTouch Better Your Bet Handicap on Blue Horse, trained by Ashley Maley. Shaun O’Donnell on Starorio won the Bunbury Apartment Motel Handicap for trainer Cliff Green.

The Dongara Irwin Race Club is looking for support from young people to keep its Easter Saturday meets running, and is holding its annual general meeting on Saturday to appoint new members to the committee. For details call the Dongara Irwin club on 0458 770 988 or 0409 086 647.