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Thursday 22nd December 

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Tuesday the 1st of November

Melbourne Cup Day

At last the weather was on our side and another exciting Race Day was enjoyed by all.

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                                             Melbourne Cup Day 

The Race the stops a Nation!!

was held on Tuesday November 2nd 2010

                                        and what a Sensational day is was...

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Hotel Mooball Cup

Monday the 13th of September

Capacity fields and an eight race card thrilled punters at Murwillumbah on Monday the 13th when racing returned to the Tweed River Jockey Club (TRJC) for the first time since the successful conclusion of the Murwillumbah Cup carnival in June.

While the TRJC's scheduled July meeting was washed-out, predicted clear skies greeted patrons for the afternoon's full TAB card. The track was rated a Dead 4 and thanks to an eleven week lay-off from competitive racing, the surface boasted a lush and shiny cover of grass.

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The Big One

The Casella Wines Murwillumbah Cup

was held on Sunday the 27th June

In the most exciting finish to a Murwillumbah Newmarket in years, locally trained mare Easy Play took out the feature $20,000 sprint at odds of $21.00. So tight was the finish that a photo was required to separate the Gerald Ryan trained four year old from runner-up, Prince Lionheart. In the end, the margin between them was the smallest possible, a short half head. Borsha’s Warrior finished a further 1.25 lengths away in third place.

On a slow  rated track, Easy Play (Chris Whiteley) was able to charge home from well back in the field at the turn, gathering momentum in the last 100 metres to just nudge out this year’s Newmarket Prelude winner, the grey Prince Lionheart (Emily Kehoe). Though Easy Play and third placegetter Borsha’s Warrior (Justin Stanley) came into the race as emergencies, both boasted good credentials. Borsha’s Warrior had won the race in 2007 and was a last start winner, while Easy Play was one of last year’s Newmarket favourites.

 The Ryan stable had been pleased with Easy Play’s track work and general preparation in the lead-up to the event, noting how much she had matured since last year when she could only manage a fourth place finish in the event.

In the showcase $28,000 Murwillumbah Cup, $3.20 favourite Rebounded (Glen Colless) came away to score comfortably from Go Cart (Ayn Butler) and Murwillumbah Cup Prelude placegetter Yummy (Michael Palmer). Rebounded slotted in behind the pacemakers out of the straight the first time, taking over at the 800 metre mark and moving away from the rest of the field on straightening to score by 2.5 lengths. A further 2.25 length separated second and third placegatters. Rebounded, a six year old gelding by Telesto, has now won eight times for nearly $300,000 in prize money.

 The meeting was the last bar-one for five times Northern Rivers Racing Association premiership winning jockey Darron Coleman who retires on Tuesday at Casino. Coleman accepted a farewell award from the jockey club prior to the running of the last of the day, decked-out especially in the white, brown and red stripe silks of the Danny Bowen stable. The pair began their winning collaboration together at Murwillumbah over twenty years ago when then apprentice Coleman rode his first winner for master Bowen.  (story and photo supplied by Stephen Senise)

Easy Play and Prince Lionheart - 1st and 2nd place in the Newmarket

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The IGA MURWILLUMBAH CUP PRELUDE

was held on Sunday June the 6th

The Murwillumbah Cup carnivals feature sprint, the $20,000 WHK - Sky Racing Gold Murwillumbah Newmarket (1200m) is starting to look like the charge of the grey brigade as a better idea emerges of who the contenders will be for the 27 June event. Sundays Murwillumbah Cup Prelude meeting resulted in two races being taken out in quick succession by a couple of dashing greys with their sights on the Newmarket.

The Murwillumbah Newmarket Prelude was won convincingly by seven year old gelding Prince Lionheart. After being kept three wide for the entire trip on a rain affected track, apprentice Priscilla Schmidt shot Prince Lionheart clear on the home turn to score by 1.75 lengths. Prince Lionheart is now an automatic qualifier for the Newmarket and connections have confirmed they intend to nominate him.

In the Tumbulgum Tavern Benchmark 50 handicap, top weight and favourite Borsha's Warrior managed to fall in and score after late money saw his price in the ring come in from $4.20 to $2.60.

Apprentice Tasha Chambers had her work cut out for her as they left the gate with the big grey slow to get going and needing several cuts of the persuader to reach the leading division. Chambers decided to keep the six year old gelding moving forward, hitting the front at the 800m mark and going on with it down the side. Drifting a little in the straight, he was challenged by outsider Rose General who made a dash along the rails, but the grey managed to hold on, scoring by a head.

Borsha's Warrior is no stranger to the track, and is still remembered for winning the Murwillumbah Newmarket in a canter two years ago. His easy, all the way win by 2.5 lengths left many patrons declaring out loud that he could not be left out of calculations for the 2008 Grafton Ramornie, a Listed event. But a couple of disappointing follow-up performances in Brisbane saw him head for the spelling paddock instead of making the journey down the Pacific Highway to Grafton. A spokesman for Gold Coast trainer Les Kelly says that Sundays Murwillumbah win will see Borsha's Warrior return for a crack at Newmarket number two later in the month.

"Yep, we're going for the Newmarket, He's maybe not quite the horse he was when he was here two years ago, but he's still doing very well, and here's hoping they won't give him too much to carry. His campaign until now hasn't been fantastic, but he's coming good, and things are looking OK with him."

In other Murwillumbah Cup carnival news Bruce Hill, trainer of Sundays IGA Murwillumbah Cup Prelude winner, Warrior Within, would not be drawn on a return visit to the Tweed for a shot at the $28,000 Casella Wines Murwillumbah Cup (2000m). Warrior Within would be an automatic qualifier for the cup race if nominated. "The idea of a go at the Murwillumbah Cup is a good one, but I just can't say whether he'll be back. If it's run on a soft track that would appeal to him, but he can win in any sort of going and there are lots of possibilities opening up for him now that he's hit some form." Sundays meeting was also noteworthy for the debut of a new trainer, dual Melbourne Cup winning jockey Peter Cook. He prepared the unplaced Forest Jewel in the fourth race. "She needed the run as she hasn't gone around for 18 months, but she'll get there eventually. Hopefully."he added with a wry smile. The mare is presently his only horse in training though he has a two year old that he hopes will be joining her in the not too distant future.

Cook, who is a member of the Tweed River Jockey Club has been granted an interim Queensland trainer's license and is based at Gold Coast's Bundall racecourse. "I always said I was going to be heading to Murwillumbah at the first opportunity and here I am as good as my word"

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