At the Gulgong Cup Festival of the Hoof

THE SPIRIT OF COUNTRY RACING It threatened the rain all day, and we had no umbrella. It was cold as a crypt. The queues for food were as long as the distance between the horses I backed and the first horse home (that long). But we had a ball at the Gulgong Cup Racing Carnival at the Gulgong Turf Club last weekend. Grandson Xavier arrived for the weekend with daughter Jessica (recently featured in BRW magazine) and son and Uamby Manager Daniel took the day off to check out the talent on the course and enjoy the weather.
COUSIN TERRY'S STAND The track is used only once a year for racing and it looked a treat despite the rain (25mls) the day before. Despite the track being heavy, we managed to back a few winners and placegetters, putting bets on with Terry Kiely, bookmaker from Cowra (my father's cousin).
WE RUGGED UP FOR THE DAY The lovely Louisa who stole my heart 34 years ago and Xavier who stole it 3 years ago.













THE LOSER. I even managed to pick first and second, having $5 each way on both. Still I didn't get much back, which tells me picking favourites to win is a loser's game.




















DAN LOOKED DASHING






A FAMILY PHOTO: JESSICA, TERRY, XAVIER AND DANIEL






MY UNCLE PAUL WAS A BOOKMAKER ON COUNTRY TRACKS. MY DAD USED TO PENCIL FOR A BOOKIE AT HAROLD PARK. TERRY IS CARRYING ON A FAMILY TRADE.














I PICKED FIRST AND SECOND IN THIS RACE, EACH WAY, AND MADE BUGGER ALL

















THE MADDING CROWD, GOOD FOR A THREATENING DAY










WE MIGHT OWN ONE OF THESE MIGHTY ANIMALS SOON I have always said I wanted to own a racehorse and have it trained by Percy Thompson and race it at Gilgandra and Bathurst, country tracks where the real spirit of racing survives. Where a battler can buy a nag, train it himself by leading it from the window of a car, scrape together the starter's fee, and sit with his horse in its box before the race, talking tactics.













WINNING CONNECTIONS HOLD THE GULGONG CUP, THE CUTE ONE IN THE MIDDLE IS IRISH JOCKESS KATHY O'HARA. COULDN'T YOU JUST PUT HER IN YOUR POCKET? It is so much fun living out here in this community. Life is a joy. The Gulgong Cup, part of the Henry Lawson Festival. Beat that!










PERCE AUCTIONING OFF A SERVICE FROM A FAMOUS STALLION Well, they were auctioning off a service to a terrific stallion (I didn't get the details), so I sidled up to Perce who was running the auction (when the price was $250) and asked him if he had a mare we could use the service on and he said "Yes", so I bid $275 and the others bid $285 and I got it for another $10. I thought it was a shame such a valuable service was going so cheap. And it's all for the Turf Club. So now we think we're the proud owners of a yet-to-be-conceived race horse. Cool, eh? Michael Lahey, the pioneer Irish political rabblerouser and 'terrorist' who was the first squire of "Uamby" owned and bred racehorses and trained them on a track here at the farm. maybe I was channelling him on Sunday when I bid for that sperm. Who knows? We could put up the prize money for the Uamby Cup next year and win it when our horse is a 3yr old.