Retina Lunch 2012

Once again Women In Racing supported Retina Australia (RA) by turning out for their annual raceday at Thoroughbred Park.

We had a great 2-course lunch, however it seemed that, at our table at least, everyone who was served chicken wanted the ham, and everyone who wanted the ham got chicken.  There was so much swapping of plates that everyone got confused, especially the waiters who were about to put down a plate of chicken only to find out that it should be a ham...

During the lunch the guest speaker was Dr Terry Diamond spoke about his marathon-distance run through each of the State capitals to raise money for RA. It took a lot of planning so that he could run a leg and then jump on a plane for the next city and his next marathon.

During the day there was a raffle running that seemed to provide WiR members with a significant number of prizes, with a noticeable stack piling up in front of Les and Dawn.  Les was disappointed that this year he didn't win a hat to match the one he won last year.

ACTAB had donated $100 betting vouchers that RA was selling for $50 and many tables took them up on the offer.  One table did particularly well as a result of its obviously superior punters.  With 10 people investing $5 each, they each finished the day with $130 in their pockets.  I understand that ACT Treasury want to offer them jobs.

A slideshow of the day is shown below.  If you can't see it properly, just click here.

Christmas Party 2012

This year for Christmas, Women In Racing had their party aboard the MV Southern Cross for a cruise around Lake Burley Griffin.

Starting with drinks and nibbles on the dockside, we were treated to perfect weather - warm and sunny, with no wind at all.  The Hawaiian theme meant that many people had transformed their appearance, so it sometimes took a while to work out who you were actually looking at.  For many, it was was an opportunity to wear outrageous fashions bought on holidays past that never actually seemed to suit any subsequent events.  For example, Burl turned up in a Fijian sulu wrap-around skirt that would probably get him accosted if he wore it out in Civic.

At 6:30 the boat headed off, with the Skipper having to earn his pay avoiding the fleet of sailing boats circling around us.  We cruised around the main part of the lake seeing the major buildings, such as the Carillion, the headed down Kingston way, and then back up towards Black Mountain.  Many people stayed outside a lot of the time to enjoy the view.

We were treated to an exhibition of Hawaiian dancing performed by the Committee.  With gyrations and swivelling hips they performed two floorshows, one downstairs and one upstairs.  Each show was followed by applause and cheers from the appreciative audience. It's clear that they could hire themselves out as exotic dancers if necessary, but looking at some of their faces afterwoods, it may have felt like an aerobics exercise class.

Santa made a surprise appearance, and walked through the boat handing out chocolates to the good boys and girls.  If anyone missed out on getting some chocolates, then maybe they should take the hint from Santa.

All too soon the trip was over and we had to return from Hawaii back to Canberra.  It was clear that everyone enjoyed themselves because the crew almost had to turn off the lights to get people to get off the boat.

Our thanks to to the Committee for organising this event and the others during the year and making membership of Women in Racing such good fun and value.

A slideshow of the event is below.  If it doesn't show on your browser just click here and then click on the slideshow button.

Cooma Cup 2012

It was a great day for racing: the sky was blue, the day was warm, and the champagne was ice cold.

We had an uneventful trip down to Cooma, with of course the cool kids at the back of the bus and the well-behaved in the front under the watchful eyes of our own schoolmarm.

Women in Racing sponsored one of the races, and Sue presented a new horse blanket to the winner on behalf of WiR.

Apart from the racing, the other entertainment for the day was the various Fashions in the Field competitions, ranging from under-8's to over-18's.   There are plenty of photos below of the different competitions.

A few Women in Racing competed, but were unsuccessful despite being the pick of the bunch.  Maybe the judges had eye problems.  They seemed totally unaware that Sue's outfit had previously won Fashions in the Field at Lightning Ridge.  I heard a comment that our gang would have more success if they had a Gorgeous Grandma category.

After a successful day at the races, we headed home.  We also got to learn the song that Sue wrote specifically for the Celebrity Challenge that she entered to raise funds for Cerebral Palsy.  We stopped for a barbeque dinner at Breadbo where the TAB's mobile betting caravan caught up with us.  Obviously we lost lots of money to them at Cooma and they wanted to see if we had any more. 

We got back to Canberra around 8:30.  Another successful trip.

If you have any problem viewing the slideshow, then click here and then on the "slideshow" button.

Bombala Races

In contrast to the last Bombala trip where the races got washed out and we ended up in the little town of Delegate for the day, this year the weather was perfect.

We set out at at a civilised time on Saturday morning and headed off to Bombala with stops at Queanbeyan, Hume and Cooma.  The stop at Queanbeyan was so that we could pick up a safety rail to go around the liquor supplies on the bus.  This serves two purposes, firstly to stop the wine sliding around, and secondly to stop people who are unable to walk straight from falling onto the crates of empties.  From what I could see, the rail saved many from the latter fate.

After a quick comfort stop and morning tea at Cooma (which was pleasingly above zero for a change), we arrived at Bombala at around 11am.  Our enthusiasm showed because we were some of the first there, and we set up headquarters in the main marquee.  It wasn't long before the locals turned up and the races started.  The racetrack has had some money spent on it because it now sports a permanent roof over the bookies, maybe to entice more to come in the future.  There was also a large mobile screen so that people could watch the local races and Sky Racing, and in particular the Caulfield Cup.

Women in Racing sponsored one of the races and presented a trophy to the winner.  Such a pity that nobody mentioned it to the poor WiR photographer so he could be on hand to photograph it.

Apart from the racing, the main entertainment were the Fashions on the Field competitions, with Barbara Joseph as one of the judges.   A unique feature of the competition in Bombala was the number of under-18s queued up to compete while drinking their stubbies.  The judges were quite annoyed by this and shooed them away.  A hint for any of you considering competing next year - apparently women and girls need to have accessorised with a handbag and men and boys aren't allowed to accessorise with bottles of beer.

All too soon the day was over and we headed back to Canberra, stopping at Cooma for a quick barbeque before arriving at around 8:30pm.  Everybody agreed it had been a great day.


Below are some pictures from the day.  If you can't see them, click here and then click on the slideshow button.

Annual Charity Lunch

Over 180 guests helped raise $13,000 for Vietnam Veterans.  It was a truly fun and happy afternoon at the Hellenic Club in Woden, with lots of wonderful auction and raffle items.  The green and orange theme worked well with many outfits using the two colours.  The drives in convertible cars auction, or "going topless", raised close to $1000.

Mike Frame did a great job as MC for the day, and the guest speaker was Brigadier William Rolfe OA (Ret'd) who gave an entertaining talk about his life after being injured in Vietnam. Congratulations go to the Women in Racing committee for organising such a successful event.

A few pictures from the day are below.  As usual, if you can't see the slideshow, click here.

Coolmore !

The trip to Coolmore was a first for Women in Racing, and it was a great success.

Coolmore is a horse stud in the upper Hunter Valley in NSW, about 6 hours from Canberra.  We left early on Saturday morning,  despite Naomi making us late and complaining the whole trip about forgetting to bring her handbag.  After a few stops and morning tea, we arrived at the small town of Denman where we were going to stay the night.  Arriving in the early afternoon, we headed off to the Pukara Estate olive grove where we sampled their olives and their many varieties of olive oil and balsamic vinegars.

After filling up on afternoon tea, we headed off to visit some nearby vineyards where we got to try their latest offerings.  We stayed overnight in Denman on Saturday night, spread out over a few motels because the trip had been more popular than any single motel in a small town could accommodate.

Sunday morning started with a visit to Golden Grove farm, just west of Denman. Golden Grove is a boutique broodmare and spelling agistment farm, were we got to see several newly-born foals and their mothers.  One of the foals had been born only the previous evening.  To most of us from the city this was the first time we'd ever seen mares and their foals so close up and personal.  It was touching to see the mothers staying beside their foals and seemingly guard them from the frightening hoards of Women in Racing.

After Golden Grove, we travelled a short distance to Coolmore which is a very impressive, and obviously exclusive horse stud.  We could tell this immediately by the locked gates and security guards.  But of course, recognising us as being Women in Racing, we were immediately granted access.  Coolmore covers about 9,000 acres of well manicured grounds and has about 170 staff; a large number of whom are probably gardeners.

We were escorted around by Sebastian who is one of the Coolmore marketing team.  He guided us through the stables and sheds where the stud work gets done and then showed us the stallions that are the reason that Coolmore is so successful.  We saw Encosta De Lago, Haradasun, and Musir.  He gave a great explanation of the horse breeding business, especially from the international perspective as Coolmore Australia is part of a much larger international organisation.  He spoke about the daily routine in the stud and the upcoming busy season that is about to start in September.

We finished the tour with coffee and a snack on the terrace of the office building overlooking a small picturesque lake.

Regretfully we left Coolmore and headed back to Canberra, stopping for a late barbeque lunch at Mooney Mooney getting home around 9pm.

We all agreed that it was a fabulous trip and one that most will want to do again.

A slideshow of the weekend is below.  As usual, if you have any problems seeing it, click here and then click on the Slideshow button.

Lightning Ridge 2012

Once again Women in Racing trekked north to visit our friends at Lightning Ridge.

We started off at the crack of dawn and after a few comfort stops, we reached Coonamble where we had lunch.  In keeping with the Bollywood theme, lunch consisted of curry, rice and pappadams.  A few hours later we were in Lightning Ridge.  The trip never seems to be as long as we expect when we start.

We had a great BBQ dinner at John and Neroli Bevan's place just outside the town.  There we met up with a few of the past Opal Queens and it was good to see what good ambassadors for Lightning Ridge they had become.  We've certainly had picked well in the past and we expect to do the same again this year.  You see, it was explained that Women in Racing play an important part in Lightning Ridge because we provide the neutral judges who aren't friends or relatives of contestants and we can leave town after the judging.

Saturday morning started off with a dip at the Bore Baths which is a large public swimming pool filled with hot artesian water at about 40 degrees C.  It's a great experience to get into the hot pool from the cold morning air and gaze around through the steam raising off the water.

After breakfast we went on a tour of Lightning Ridge, touring through the mining camps and the flood water that remains after last year's Queensland floods.  Following this we had morning tea at the Bevan's place where we visited their cactus nursery and practiced a Bollywood dance routine that had been choreographed by Sue.  We planned to dance this number at the Opal Queen awards night safe in the knowledge that no-one we knew back home would see it.

In the afternoon most of us visited the Chambers of the Black Hand which is an old opal mine that has been converted to a fascinating tourist attraction.  The owner of the mine got bored with mining all day, so started carving out the sandstone about half way down in to a series of caverns that he decorated with carvings.  These caverns have themes that include African animals, superheros, and an Egyptian tomb.

In the evening we went to the Opal Queen awards night, with three of us being the official judges of the Opal Queen herself.  The judges spent two hours interviewing all the contestants before coming out to join us. It was a great night and most exhausted themselves on the dance floor.

Sunday started with another trip to the Bore Baths before heading back to Canberra.

Once again it was a wonderful trip and I'm sure most look forward to doing it again.  But next time I'll be steering Karyn away from the opal jewellery.

Below are some photos from the trip.   If it doesn't show correctly on your browser, click here and then click on the slideshow button.

Games Afternoon

As an enjoyable interlude from racing events, this month we all met at the Brassey Hotel for an afternoon of fun and games.

It was good to see all the attendees getting into the spirit of the occasion sporting their madcap head-wear.

A lively series of games was held, with spirited competition between the various tables.  The games included quizzes on general knowledge, Canberra racing, and international racing; identifying spices, and Housie.  The only discord was the outrageous behaviour of the quiz master in refusing to accede to the indisputable superior knowledge of Table 5 who were clearly the intellectual superiors of the room.  Time after time their well thought-out corrections to the quiz master's misunderstanding of astronomy or other sciences were blatantly ignored.  It became clear that there was a conspiracy afoot.

Kudos go to Brenda Stuart for the best womens' hat, and to Bob Jones for the best mens' hat.

A slideshow should display below.  If you have any problems seeing it, click here .




A Postscript For the Quiz Master:
Excerpt from the International Astronomical Union 2006 General Assembly

"The IAU members gathered at the 2006 General Assembly agreed that a "planet" is defined as a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

This means that the Solar System consists of eight "planets" Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. "

Stable Tour

This weekend there was a large turnout of people to visit Trevor McIllrick's stables at Thoroughbred Park, and the day couldn't have been better to explore the working part of the racetrack that few get to see.  It was a glorious Autumn day.

We started off with champagne at the front of Trevor's stables, and then went down to see the horse swimming pool.  Les had organised for one of the trainers to bring a horse to demonstrate how the horses used the pool so we got to see the whole process.  It was interesting to see the horse swim around the heated pool and as it moved around you were deceived into thinking that it was walking around.The racetrack provides the pool for free to the trainers at the track.

Next we went down to the track itself to have a look at the Acton track that has an artificial surface that allows Thoroughbred Park to hold races after rain that would make a conventional track unusable.  The track surface is a combination of fibres, wax, and sand, and has a very spongy feel.

We then headed back to the stable where we had a brunch of bacon and egg rolls, coffee, and cake.  Trevor gave a talk about the training business and a typical day at a stable.  We were all persuaded that it was no life for us - it seemed that half the day was spent before most of us normally got out of bed.

Trevor brought out Racing Lady that is owned by a group of Women in Racing.  The horse was very well behaved and very photogenic.  Several people were even brave enough to have their photo taken with her.

Here are some pictures from the day.  Once again, if you have any problems seeing the slideshow, just click here.

Randwick Races

Talk about pulling a rabbit out of a hat!  What could have been the disappointment of cancelling the trip to Gundagai races, became a fantastic trip to Randwick Races instead.

The weather was perfect, and this trip we set out at a reasonable time (ie the sun was already up).  We had a stop at Berrima for a cuppa and some great home made cake.  Sue warned all the girls that the shops would all be closed so there would be no need for them to wander around in the forlorn hope of finding a new pair of shoes.  Entertainment was provided by a BMW car club that decided to share the park with us.  They parked their cars in neat rows then got out and polished their cars for what was probably the fifth time that morning.  In what appeared to be tradition, they wandered around to each others' cars and explained to any listeners why their own model of BMW was the best ever produced.

When we arrived at Randwick we found that Sue had negotiated the best seating at the racecourse, with out tables overlooking the finishing line and straight.  We could watch the whole race from the comfort of our tables.

Some of us went outside to watch a race, only to come back and find that our wives had been spirited away to a husband's worst nightmare - a charity auction.   Gai Waterhouse came around and personally invited people to it.  Fortunately (phew!) we were all outbid for the $2,000 items on offer.




Gai brought a lot of fun to the auction by personally promoting each of the offerings and mixing with the participants after.

Members' Racing Lunch - February 2012

Once again the Women in Racing Committee have put on a great event.  Taking over and filling Silks Restaurant for the day, we were treated to a great day of eating, drinking, and racing.

Starting off with a glass of champagne, we met up with old friends and moved to our tables where we were plied with food and drink until the races started.   Then we popped out onto the grandstand to watch each race and then back in for more food and drink.

Also between races, there were various Fashions on the Field competitions on the stage just outside the restaurant, so we also went out to see those.  There were competitions for kids, Under 14s, Under 18s, and the Myer Face of Canberra Racing - a sort of Open championship for anyone old enough to drink.  Catherine was one of the judges, so sometimes the judges got it right according to the people around me.

After the Fashions on the Field outside, we held the Women in Racing Fashions on the Field inside.  I'm sure the girls competing outside were glad that that the Women in Racing competitors stayed indoors for the day.

Click below to start the slideshow. If you have any problems seeing it, click here.




For those that forgot, or couldn't get outside in time, I've included a slideshow of some of the Thoroughbred Park Fashions on the Field competitors.  Click the button to start the slideshow, or click here if you have any problems.

Every race meeting is a WiR meeting

It seems that every race meeting at Canberra is a Women in Racing event. Even if it's not in the official calendar of events.

Having snuck into Thoroughbred Park after race 3 to watch a few races on a quiet Friday afternoon, I noticed (well, everyone in the Black Opal Room noticed) boisterous laughter coming from one of the tables.

I turned around, and what did I see?

That's right - half of Women in Racing partying up.   Somehow members migrated from their own tables to a single large table.  And as the table got larger, naturally the volume went up.

Fortunately the more conservative image of WiR was being maintained by one person sitting by themselves in dignified isolation.

Possibly a Designated Driver, but looking at those empty bottles on the table ...

Obviously a good day was had by all.