More than $250,000 in prizes is going off at the Sapphire Coast Turf Club Saturday and Sunday as part of the Bega Cup Carnival.
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Sapphire Coast Turf Club secretary/manager Rob Tweedie said the Bega Cup Carnival strengthened his love of racing over the weekend.
“The two feature races gave me a quick reminder of why i love the racing industry so much,” Tweedie said.
“Forget the glitz and glamour, it’s the dedication, passion and emotion of lovely people in this great sport.”
With a $35,000 prize pool, the feature Bega Cup race lured strong entries including trainers Bede Murray, Robbie Laing, Rob Price, Nick Olive and Barb Joseph and Paul Jones.
Little known racer Green Aventurine trained by Brian Adams was the big winner with Kayla Nisbet surging home from the 600m to claim the win.
Bega trainer Chris Strickland was happy to take the runner-up spot as All Giving ridden by Michael Travers wasn’t far behind the winner.
Tweedie said the ride by Nisbet was sensational.
“Apprentice Kayla Nisbet had the six year old mare relaxed and travelling, at the six hundred metre mark Kayla started pinching runs up the rail,” he said.
Then, after “using no petrol” made a beeline for the finish to seal the win.
Maria Adams accepted the award and Tweedie said it was a bit emotional as she no doubt had some thoughts of her late father Kevin Robinson.
“She had a few tears and I’m pretty sure a few thoughts of her dad as she accepted the trophy,” Tweedie said.
“Not a bad effort to take out the Cup with their one and only horse that lives in the back yard.”
Both days of racing featured a number of visiting trainers, making it hard going for the small contingent of local trainers.
There was more than $250,000 in prize money up for grabs across two days and 15 TAB races at the carnival.
Tweedie said the riders of the carnival were Brendan Ward and Simon Miller who both rode three winners across the weekend.
The top trainers were Barb Joseph and Paul Jones and Nick Olive, who both collected doubles.
Officials were thrilled with the response to the weekend that also featured plenty of off-field attractions for racegoers.
Saturday’s race day featured a seven race TAB card as well as a swag of trackside attractions for locals and visitors alike.
A small number of teams contested the gallop relay – a six by 100-metre relay for a share of $1000.
The Bega Roosters league-tag Chicks took out the women’s event over the Sapphire Coast Runners group, while the Merimbula Diggers AFL club outdid the men’s runners.
An eager young group of junior Sea Eagles rugby league stars took on the men’s contest and valiantly finished third.
There was also music on hand from Petie Rose and the jumping castle and sumo-suit wrestling for the kids, and ‘kids of all ages’.
One of the main draw cards for Saturday’s event was the “When love comes to the races” promotion, which was a singles get together in the marquee area.
Organisers said everything was running well on the day and they were pleased with the response to the initiative.
Sundays events also featured a number of races and similar attractions.
The Bega Cup is the only two-day racing carnival of its kind on the Far South Coast and is recognised as one of the biggest race meets on the turf club’s calendar.
The club’s next race meet will be on March 4.