New race series gives low-raters another opportunity

Clubs at Terang, Ararat, Hamilton, Horsham and Stawell have joined forces for a new harness racing race series that will see a field of lowly-rated pacers compete in a $14,000 final on December 3.

The inaugural Golden Gateway will be run for horses five years and older who have had at least 30 starts with no more than four lifetime wins – none within their last five outings – and kicks off early next month.

Terang will host a heat/s on November 6, with further qualifiers planned for Ararat on November 13, Hamilton on November 20 and Horsham on November 27 before the rich final on Stawell Pacing Cup day.

Preference in field selection will be given to horses with the most lifetime starts and heat winners will not be eligible to contest qualifiers at other venues.

Stawell Harness Racing Club manager Mark Percival said a conversation between he and Hamilton president Glenn Parkin had been behind the creation of the series.

“Both Stawell and Ararat had an appetite for one, and as luck would have it a local community festival called the Golden Gateway approached about engaging and an idea was born,” Percival said.

“Back in the gold rush, diggers used to get off the boat in Robe and walk through the western district to get to the gold field to avoid paying the immigration fee being charged in Victoria. It’s how gold was discovered in Ararat by some Chinese miners who camped there.”

Just Hamilton, Stawell and Ararat were part of original Golden Gateway plans, but discussions with Harness Racing Victoria chief handicapper Paul Oxenford saw it grow to include Terang and Horsham.

“Great support from the Terang and Horsham clubs mean that we race at all the clubs in November with a final for $14,000. This was after all the clubs contributed an extra $1000 to the stake money for the final,” Percival said.

“In future, the feature will rotate between the participating clubs.

“It has created a bit of excitement, and with the historical connection and the target horse population, I think it will become a regular part of the calendar.”

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria