The magic of the Scone Cup Carnival

One of the best carnivals for race fans in Australia has been created from the move of a Sydney Saturday metropolitan race meeting to Scone, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley region.

The traditional Scone Cup day on the Friday has been boosted by the stand-alone meeting, creating a proper two-day carnival.

Cup day sees more than 8,000 racegoers in attendance – and with the population of Scone tipping under 5,000 – it’s not hard to see just how many locals and former locals put on their suits and frocks and come back to Scone on the big day.

They’re also on track to try and pick a winner – either via a friend of friend’s hot tip, choosing a name or silk colours, or by reading the form – which is often closer to hieroglyphics for the (extremely) casual punter.

But although the Cup commands attention, Saturday is now where the racing is really at, with six stakes races and more than $1.43 million in prizes.

It’s a real city meets country situation: city horses, with form at Randwick, Rosehill, and Warwick Farm, make the trip up to contest black-type Listed and Quality races, while the recently inaugurated Scone Guineas – a slightly hidden rich race for three-year old Inglis horses – promises a $500,000 purse for entrants.

Next year’s Dark Jewel classic has been upgraded to a Group 3 race, which ensures that the raceday will only get bigger.

Most of the races on the day are handicaps, and accordingly, the city horses are often loaded up as top-weights.

Proven Group race performers are given unenviable tasks. Fat Al took 61kgs into the Scone Cup and could only manage 14th.

Ortensia, trained by Scone local Paul Message, and a Group 1 winner on three continents, lugged 62kgs in her final race which has been named for her. She would finish a valiant ninth in her Ortensia Stakes, won by Satin Shoes for Clarry Conners, and head off to the breeding barn in retirement.

Plucky country horses are at the other end of the scale; often coming in at minimum weight at around 54kgs, and perhaps with a further reduction via a weight-saving apprentice on board.

The provincial performers who consistently run well at Scone, Tamworth, Gunnedah, or Mudgee, are given a shot at the big time by local trainers.

Instead of running in a $14,000 race, the gallopers take on black type races worth $80,000 or more. It’s a chance at the big time for the locals to stick it to the big Sydney names, of Waller, Waterhouse, and Cummings.

Except at this meeting, Anthony Cummings – son of Bart – was the star, along with local jockey Peter Robl.

The pair combined for four wins in a row, and were a hot chance at a fifth in the Scone Guineas.

But racing’s great stories are rarely predictable, and the Guineas saw one of the best scenes in racing in years.

Taxmeifyoucan, a $16,000 Inglis yearling purchase, and rated a $19 chance in the race, stormed home to pick up a $300,000 prize for first place with a margin of 1.25 lengths over his more fancied rivals.

To say the win was a big one for trainer Greg Hickman and connections of the horse isn’t coming close.

Hickman and ‘Taxme’ himself were swamped by a rowdy, excited bunch of owners described as “four or five football teams”, most from the Motza Syndicate.

Most were proudly wearing ties sporting Taxmeifyoucan’s winning red, yellow and blue racing colours – worn by jockey Blake Shinn who had the unfancied runner three or four wide.

The group poured into the mounting yard and promptly burst into loud song, surrounding Hickman and Taxmeifyoucan (who remained reasonably calm given the boisterous circumstances!).

It brought claps and laughter from the surrounding crowd – even from those who’d lost to the gelding.

This video shot by Steve Sewell, one of the part-owners, does contain some excited, colourful language, but all is forgiven given the circumstances:

Although Taxme doesn’t quite rate as the next All Too Hard – who at one point was considered for the rich race – as a gelding we are all fortunate that we’ll be seeing much more of him running after his post-Scone spell.

And that’s what racing needs.

It needs to continue to grow the sport by taking it away from the inner circles and into the provincials to create experiences such as this.

It needs to encourage owners to join in, have some fun, and enjoy the feeling of having a competitive animal.

It needs a public who can trust the outcomes of races and enjoy the sport for what it is – magnificent, thrilling, and a tribute to the stunning horses on the track.

[roargal]

(Images via Elise Boyd/The Roar)