Hundreds of racegoers soaked up spectacular sunshine to kick off the Winter Sun Festival race day at the Sapphire Coast Turf Club on Sunday.
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The track raced in heavy conditions following days of rain, which did see a few scratchings from the entries list, while other runners made the most of the surface.
Trainer Theresa Bateup enjoyed a spectacular start with back to back wins as runners from her stables carded wins in race one and two.
Apprentice Ellen Hennessy rode Factorize to a breezy finish in race one about three lengths clear of the Kalaru-trained Merc of the Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones stables.
The win was the start of a treble for Hennessy, who went on to rider winners in races five and six, putting runners over the line for trainers Matthew Dale and Brett Jones.
Bateup's second came quickly in race two when Maddison's Missile ridden by Madison Waters topped the order in a closer finish with Hennessy backing up for a silver place riding the Keith Dryden-trained Emma's Gift.
The Joseph-Jones stable enjoyed one podium topper with Jordan Mallyon urging Singing Dixie to the lead by a little over a length in race four.
Dryden and Dale also enjoyed some mixed success with a further couple of podium finishes for the day to round out a strong showing in a smaller-than-usual field.
Organisers said they were thrilled with the response to the day with hundreds through the gate and many frocking up for the day, which provided some of the warmest weather in the past several weeks.
The sponsors' arena was packed out for the day, while a good crowd also settled on the hillside to enjoy the races on the day.
Turf club secretary manager Rob Tweedie said they were particularly happy to welcome visitors from Canberra and Sydney who travelled for the long weekend that had also been able to take in other Winter Sun Festival activities.
The day marked the finish of the 2020/21 calendar for the club, but officials expect racing to return in July and kick off a strong roster of events leading into the summer months.