BATHURST Thoroughbred Racing might still be looking for more nominations for its Country Showcase Meeting on Friday, but the signs for the richest program ever staged at Tyers Park are looking good.
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As of Monday morning the club had received 118 nominations for its eight-race meeting, which has a total purse of $275,000 up for grabs.
Four of the races are set to have capacity fields, with nominations extended until Tuesday to try and fill the others.
At this stage the feature $50,000 Bathurst Cup Showcase race has 13 nominations, with the field limit being 14 plus four emergencies.
“The Bathurst Cup field is not quite full, we’ve got 13 for that and the two-year-old race [is short] as well. They are always tricky ones, but hopefully we will get a few more in the mix there,” Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing’s general manager Michelle Tarpenning said.
“We’re a couple of noms short in the Gold Circle Maiden over 1,800 metres, and The Barb is a few short with nine.
“But The Barb, that’s a race that trainers often work their horses up to, so hopefully we get a few more for that and it should be an excellent race.
“To get 118 nominations though is fantastic and with so much prizemoney on offer given it’s a Showcase meeting, hopefully we’ll get more coming out of the woodwork.
“What we’ve seen recently is a lot of the local trainers look at what is going on with the Sydney runners and often drop out, but hopefully with the prizemoney we have on offer, we will hold the numbers.”
Just as the fields are shaping up nicely, the Tyers Park track is in good condition for the second biggest meeting on the club’s calendar each year.
The 24 millimetres of rain which fell on Friday helped what was already a track in “fantastic” condition.
“The rain was really beneficial, we actually had a track gallop this morning [Monday] and bit was a Soft 5, so that rain was perfect timing,” Tarpenning said.
“Hopefully with the milder weather we are meant to have this week, the track will be a Soft 4 or 5, and the grass cover we have is good as well.
“We are all gearing up to what should be a great meeting.”
As well as the action on track, people will have the chance to meet champion jockey Jim ‘Pumper’ Cassidy, winner of 104 Group One races. Acceptances will be declared on Wednesday.
