LONG-SERVING Leeton president Gary Punch has been remembered for his dedication to harness racing in the region. Punch died suddenly over Tuesday night. Punch has been president of Leeton since 2009, was also the Southwest and Riverina president and has been on the Wagga committee for the past two years as one of the appointments by Harness Racing NSW. HRNSW chief executive John Dumesny believes his commitment to the sport will be hard to replace. "The great part about Gary was he said what he meant," Dumesny said. "You had your discussions and then you moved on. It was one of his greatest attributes besides the hours and hours of voluntary work and commitment he gave to harness racing in the Riverina and across the state." It wasn't just Punch's administration roles that held him in high esteem but his broad involvement in the sport. "It is a true loss for the industry as he was a breeder, a trainer and an owner," Dumesny said. "He was certainly one of those people and while everyone is replaceable it will certainly be hard to find a replacement for him." Bill Trembath drove Punch's last winner Nifty Jolt to victory last month. He remembered Punch as a man who never held a grudge. "It is a real shock and I know the club will miss him as between him and Jo the work they do is unbelievable," Trembath said. Punch is survived by wife Joanne and their three children David, Glen and Nicole. **** SPORTY Dancer will step up to group three company at Menangle on Saturday. Coming off an Echuca win when resuming for Leeton trainer Todd Prest. She has drawn barrier nine in the Golden Easter Egg for three-year-old fillies. Stephen Maguire is also making the trip to Menangle with Major Roll drawn barrier two. Rubies For Tash will also have her first start for Jason Grimson on the metropolitan card. **** WHEREYABINBOPPIN has returned to the Shane Sanderson stable after a brief stop in Euroley. David Kennedy qualified the five-year-old for the group one Riverina Championships final but it was always planned to be a short stay. Whereyabinboppin has drawn barrier six at Geelong on Saturday night. **** GOOD Time Nedra continued her strong run of form with a win at Shepparton last week. After being placed in three of her last four starts, Good Time Nedra brought up her fifth career win for Jindera trainer Lyn Hancock. Donna Castles was the winning driver. **** TWENTYEIGHTBLACK added to his strong run since being sent to Queensland. The seven-year-old has now won two of his last seven starts, with another two seconds after heading north in search of better racing opportunities by his Riverina connections. Twentyeightblack set a new best mile rate of 1:53.8 with his win on Saturday night. **** BLAKE Jones and Todd Day split the driving honours at Wagga on Tuesday night. Jones scored with Nomorelying for partner Ellen Bartley before Colin Fliedner produced Keilor Baby Shark to win on debut. Day drove a race-to-race double on the card. First he won with his own pacer Inspector Callahan before scoring with One Horn Billy for Kevin Powderly. **** BLAKE Micallef continues to have more success in the Western Districts. The Young reinsman combined with Josh Turnbull to score with Lucky Lyla at Parkes on Saturday. **** WAGGA continues its busy period with an eight-race card set down for Friday. The first is at 1.46pm. Leeton then races on Tuesday.
