Kilcoy Race Club counting down to feature meeting

24 May 2024

By Paul Dolan

The countdown is on to Kilcoy Race Club’s feature meeting of the year.

Kilcoy is the stand alone Sky televised meeting for Queensland on Sunday, June 2 with three feature races.

The Ladbrokes Kilcoy Cup will be run for $35,000 prizemoney and is for Benchmark 65 horses over 1200 metres.

Whereas most Cup races are run over a middle to long distance, Kilcoy stages its Cup over the sprint distance of 1200 metres for a particular reason.

"It’s to maximise use of our 1200 metres chute,’’ Kilcoy Race Club Chair Con Searle said.

"The chute was constructed in 2021 and commenced being used in October of that year, and there is a straight run of almost 400 metres.

"On wet or dry going, horses have been winning much more regularly from a wide draw than was the case from the previous 1200 metres starting point, which was on a bend.’’

The first Cup staged from the 1200 metres chute was in 2022 - won by the Pat Duff-trained Dare to Share and ridden by Wendy Peel from barrier one in a field of nine.

The Cup last year also saw a field of nine line up, with Wine Not Roses taking the win after jumping from barrier eight.

Ridden by Montana Philpott, she was trained by Sunshine Coast training team Stewart and Taylah Mackinnon.

Also over 1200 metres will be the running of the Searle’s Garden Products Princess of Kilcoy.

The race is at set weights for two and three year old fillies, with $22,000 in prize money on offer plus QTIS bonuses up to $22,500.

Also on the card is the Best Mates Handicap, a class two event over 1500 metres for $20,000.

The race name acknowledges the Beavis and Bartels families, whose involvement as sponsors at Kilcoy spans an amazing 49 years.

It started all those years ago with Keith Beavis and Carl Bartels who are both deceased and were, indeed, best mates.

The families, including Keith’s son Greg, have kept the tradition of Kilcoy sponsorship going through their Golden Shores retirement villages.

"Greg plans to make next year’s Kilcoy Cup day sponsorship, bringing up fifty years, as a really big celebration,’’ Searle said.

As well as the thoroughbred racing action, the ever popular mini-trotters will be involved in three races.

It is planned to have some jockeys riding on the day to change roles and drive the mini-trotters in a special race.

Being Kilcoy Cup day, Fashions on the Field for $500 cash and other prizes is open to all.