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.