GOLD COAST PHOTOS FROM LAST SATURDAY PLUS A FEW RING-IN'S....Part 1

By Phil Purser

10/03/2010

All Gold Coast photos Dan Costello - rest Phil Purser

I regard this jockey Luke Nolen as very lucky to be alive following a horrendous race fall in Brisbane a couple of years ago. Dan Costello took this photo of him when he was well on the road to recovery - and Luke bounced back last Saturday with another Group 1 winner, this time aboard Wanted a $13 chance in the Newmarket at Flemington.

Racing got underway at the Gold Coast on Saturday with Luckily winning the opening race easily for jockey Matthew Palmer and trainer Bryan Guy. Luckily both of those chaps were able to steer well clear of the second horse - as they wouldn't have wanted to be seen with her, as her name was Blonde'n'Dangerous.

This street in the Ipswich suburb of Raceview is named after the classy Brisbane galloper Prunda who ran second to Mullala in the 1963 Stradbroke. He also won an International Stakes in Brisbane when ridden by champion English jockey Lester Piggott. Prunda was blind in one eye, as my book article published in 2006 advised - yet he was allowed to race in Brisbane, whereas top Toowoomba galloper Box Hero, who was also blind in one eye was banned from racing in the metropolitan area - proving it's not what you know, but who you know.

This was a picture of the Ipswich Turf Club car park when their meeting scheduled for last Thursday was abandoned due to the state of the track. You'd have needed a boat to get from the car park to the course.

Talking of Ipswich, this is the huge park named Limestone Park that is near the city centre. It has numerous walking tracks and sporting fields within it, but the city has had so much rain recently that you'd need a cane knife just to create a path where you can walk, as it's too wet for the council slashers to get in.

Jockey Brad Pengelly worked out that staying well off the fence would be the go on the "heavy 10" Gold Coast track, so he brought Race 3 winner, Sir Roseland down the outside of the track to win racing away as the $3.40 favourite.

Things may be wet everywhere around South East Queensland - so backing jockey Don Barron was hardly an omen tip last Saturday at the Gold Coast, but he got home here on Race 4 winner Aunt Rock, which ran the $3.50 equal favourite for trainer Dale Sutton.

By now the jockeys had twigged that someone was actually interested in the meeting - and that the Justracing camera was on course - so Justin Stanley raised his finger after being victorious in Race 5, the 3YO Maiden aboard the Les Kelly trained King Of Danes youngster - Brave Queen, which started at $16 but bolted in by 4.5 lengths.

For those people interstate or intrastate who haven't seen it, this is the entrance to Caloundra's Corbould Park racetrack. Want to see more photos of Caloundra? Best stick with me then.

This photo taken just last week shows the progress that is being made with the on-course stabling facility at Corbould Park at Caloundra.

Here's another salute for the Justracing camera, this time from young Ashley Butler as he is victorious aboard the John Thompson trained Class 2 winner Asyoucando, which ran the $4 second favourite. On the line Asyoucando had a length to spare over the John Wallace pair of Northern Apache and Star Of Ombra.